Be Careful If You Park In A Yankee Stadium Parking Lot With An Expired Inspection

We'll be the first to admit that this is not the fault of the Yankees, but it is still an unfortunate tale that we came across over on NYYFans.com. Luckily there was a happy ending.

This disgruntled Yankee fan took his family to the new Yankee Stadium, and aside from feeling ripped off by the inflated prices for what they deemed sub-par Johnny Rockets food, they had a ticket on their car waiting for them after the game was over. The reason for the ticket? An inspection that was two days late.

We parked in one of the stadium lots. Apparently, with the the Yankees' blessing, while their fans are at the game, the city sends one of its rent-a-cops around the parking lots, looking to suck even more money from Yankees' fans. Mind you, you already pay a $20 fee for the privilege to park in this lot, and subject yourself to this unknowing inspection.

This rent-a-cop noticed that my inspection sticker was two days overdue. Rather than a courteous written warning you normally get from a law enforcement agent when you are overdue just a few days, this guy writes out a full-blown ticket.

Easy revenue for the city from captive Yankees fans. Shame on the Yankees for allowing their fans to be subjected to this.

Anyone who has dealt with the traffic cops in NYC can feel this guy's pain. That being said, when you don't get your inspection renewed on time, and bring your car to a public parking lot, it is opening yourself up to be taken advantage of by these scavengers of the police force.

Circling public lots for expired inspections is clearly a revenue tactic by the city to fill their cash-starved coffers. The only way to prevent them from capitalizing in this way is to stay current with your inspections - whether one day late, or one year late, there is a cutoff point, and you will be ticketed. Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and the city has apparently become desperate. Another sidebar to this story might be the hard feelings between the city and the New York Yankees. Could the city be taking out their frustrations regarding the Yankees' tax-exempt bonds and stadium funding by inconveniencing their fans? It is definitely a tinfoil hat conspiracy theory, but the city definitely knows that this type of parking citation tactic will get fans up in arms. As evidenced above, the first party that the fans will lash out against is not the city, but the New York Yankees.

The good news? The disgruntled fan seems to have gotten in touch with the Yankees, who are at least receptive to coming up with a viable solution to his problem:

I have received a very professional and courteous response from the Yankees (I sent an email yesterday) which has made an appropriate offer to make amends for this incident of "poor judgment."

Be careful out there, Yankee fans, there is a battle brewing between New York City and the New York Yankees, and you might just get caught in the middle of it.