Breast-Feeding While Parked: A Ticketable Offense?

New York Times:

We've heard of being ticketed for breast-feeding while driving. What about a ticket for being parked while breast-feeding?

On July 30, Enrique Velez and Marta Lily parked their car on East 27th Street -- in what they admit was a no-standing zone -- so that she could breast-feed their 6-month-old son, Nathan, who was crying from hunger.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[MadCroation]

This country really sucks.

[Alarmist]

Same headline was in the New York Times.

Sorry, but parking in a no-parking zone is a ticketable offense, no matter the reason. And breastfeeding does NOT entitle someone to break the rules. If she were HAVING the baby, that's a different story!

This entitlement has to stop. I'm all for breastfeeding, but it does not automatically give anyone the right to act like a diva.

[ElectronoftheOne]

This is a story about being parked in a no-standing zone. Why the misleading headline?

[Pippilangstrumpf]

She didn't get ticketed for breastfeeding. She got ticketed for breaking the law by parking in a restricted area.

That baby was not going to die of hunger in the 5 more minutes it would have took to look for a legal parking area.

I breastfed both of my children til they were 2 years old, so I'm all about supporting breastfeeding, but rules are rules and the law is the law. Even when it's an inconvenience for you.

[eden4barack08]

I agree the ticket was for the no-standing zone, not for breast-feeding, but if you think they could've found another parking area in "5 more minutes", you don't know NYC.
lol

[jasev01]

In NY you can get ticketed for breathing. No surprise at all.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Ridiculous. But not surprising.

As a technical matter, they were NOT "parked." In a No STANDING zone, you can "stop" to take on passengers or stuff, and driver has to stay in/with vehicle. They were STANDING. Moreover, at 240p in a zone where the reg expired at 3p, on a weekday, when it flips to No standing / No parking / No nada. (Confirmed with street view on Google maps, 27th st at Park Ave.)

So clearly, they were NOT blocking traffic. At worst, they were preventing a 20 minute "Stand" by a hypothetical commercial vehicle until even IT would have to roll on.

Reminds me that my wife and I got a ticket while we were stopped in a No Standing zone -- a few blocks away on 6th Ave in the 20's. She was waay pregnant at the time, the engine was STILL RUNNING (for the AC), and I had just run into a store to get something -- from a maternity store!

My wife said the Meter Maid told her that because wife was sitting in the PASSENGER seat, it was a ticketable offense.

When I heard that, having nothing to do with moving the car, I ran after the meter maid, whose defense was: "No one ran into a store for ME when I was pregnant."

We appealed, got a reduced fine. I wanted to file a complaint, but cooler head prevailed. We didn't want to get a single mom fired. Bad, er, carma.

[KrautMan]

C'mon, that's a totally misleading headline. Here and there you guys at HuffPo get a li'l sloppy , I have to say. I don't care if the NY Times headline is misleading as well, I expect a bit more neutral information and solid research from you guys. No?

[derrickhoyle]

cosign