Meter Moron Issues Tickets to String of Manhattan Cars on New Year’s

Stupidity didn’t take a holiday on E. 38th St.

A traffic agent inexplicably hit at least 10 cars parked along a block in Murray Hill with $115 tickets Friday, even though rules were suspended for New Year’s Day.

When confronted by angry drivers, the meterman refused to back down. Instead, he insisted he was following the orders of a supervisor.

“I think whoever wrote the ticket just got off a spaceship,” howled 50-year-old Ricardo Rocas, a doorman at 160 E. 38th St. “They just arrived on planet Earth and don’t know it’s New Year’s Day.

”Every New Year’s Day we know for a fact we can park there … The guy who wrote the ticket is wrong,“ Rocas said.

The strip of cars slapped with tickets were parked in a ”No Standing 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. except Sunday“ zone between Lexington and Third Aves.

Since New Year’s Day is classified as a major legal holiday, parking should have been permitted in the zone, according to city guidelines.

NYPD officials declined to comment.

Barry Finer, a doorman at 155 E. 38th St., said he’s been parking his car on the street on New Year’s Day for more than two decades – and not once has he gotten a ticket.

”I’ve been working here for 20 years, and I know there are six holidays when we can park on the street. New Year’s Day is one of them,“ said Finer, 50, who gained acclaim as the city’s ”singing doorman“ earlier this year when he released his own album.

About 10:20 a.m., Finer confronted the agent after he ticketed his silver Nissan SUV. The encounter left the longtime doorman fuming.

”He said his supervisor told him to do it,“ Finer said. ”This guy is a veteran. He’s supposed to know it’s a holiday and parking is suspended.“

Bosko Savanovic, 50, a handyman from Queens, appeared dumbfounded when he walked up to his Dodge Caravan and spotted a ticket on its windshield.

”Are you kidding? Are you kidding?“ Savanovic said. ”This is definitely not the way to start the New Year. “I never come in my car, but I took it today because it’s a holiday.”

What Savanovic found especially perplexing is that no tickets were given to any cars on the opposite side of the street.

The cars on adjacent blocks also appeared to be spared.

Gabriel Shaw, 54, a porter at 155 E. 38th St., wasn’t so lucky.

Though he usually takes the train from his Queens home to work, he drove Friday because it was a holiday. “The ticket agent either needs to go back to school or learn English,” said Shaw. “The person should be suspended for sure, and his supervisor should get in trouble, too.”