New York-- You ever have "one of those days?" A day when you feel like, you can't just catch a break.
A woman in New York has a "give me a break" story for you. And add to that, she may have to pay for a crime she didn't commit!
She received a ticket for parking in a bike lane that doesn't exist. Again, the bike lane does not exist. What did the city say about the ticket? New York City is saying "too bad, pay the fine."
The woman Phyllis Cannon told CBS 2 her story of getting a ticket for a violation that doesn't exist and her court ordeal.
From any angle there is no bike lane in front of 1810 Hone Ave., in the Bronx, but that didn't stop the city's aggressive traffic agents from slapping hardware store owner Phyllis Cannon with a $115 ticket for parking in the spot that absolutely, incontrovertibly, never ever, ever was a bike lane.
Cannon told the station she is angry about it.
She pleaded not guilty, but the plea was denied because she didn't include documentation. She appealed, this time including documentation, but she was turned down again.
"I feel that on the other end there's somebody there that's just stamping everything 'denied.' I don't even think they're reading it. I don't think they're looking at it. They're just denying everything.
When asked why, Cannon said, "Because the city wants our money."
Council Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca said he is furious.
"You have a traffic agent who has run amok. This is not justice. This is a woman who was taken for a ride, a $115 ride, a damn expensive one," Vacca said.
The city told CBS 2 Cannon lost the case because she didn't submit the documentation of the phantom bike lane when she first pleaded not guilty. The city rule is that no new evidence is accepted on appeal.
The city's billionaire mayor was singularly unmoved by Cannon's plight.
"What do you want me to do?" Michael Bloomberg said. "Fixing a ticket is not something the mayor should do and I will not do that. I have no idea whether she was right or wrong. I don't know whether the process worked."
Councilman Vacca said he is so angry he's going to investigate how many people in the entire city have gotten tickets for bike lanes that just don't exist.
There is a bike lane in the neighborhood, on Yates Avenue, five blocks from where the ticket was issued.
Click on CBS 2 to watch this story.
CBS 2 NY