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UPDATE 7/15/20: Well the TVB never opened as planned on 7/6/20…things were pushed back two more weeks. As of today though 7/20/20 is confirmed as the date they will start up again on a limited basis. Read more in our 7/15/20 post.
UPDATE 6/26/20: The TVB (NYC traffic violations) looks like it will be OPENING after the July 4 weekend. For the week of July 6 through July 10, it looks like they are planning to resume operations at anywhere from 25% to 50% of the normal volume in different TVB offices. If you have a case that is scheduled for sometime 7/6 or after and have not been notified that it has been rescheduled then you may be required to go. Try to confirm that online or feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding an open matter.
UPDATE 6/10/20: The TVB remains closed through at least 6/29/20. We are hearing some chatter that they may reopen in some capacity following the July 4 weekend. Everything through 6/29/20 at this moment has been rescheduled. If you have such a case, you already have been or will be notified soon.
UPDATE 4/22/20: The initial “reopen” date of 4/20/20 for the Traffic Violations Bureau (all NYC traffic violations) has, as expected, come and gone. The court remains closed “indefinitely”. If you have a case scheduled for a date the court is closed, it will be rescheduled. If you have a suspension deadline pending that requires an appearance in court and that deadline falls on a date the court is closed, then you will not be suspended. All such suspension deadlines will be pushed off until after court reopens. Note however that the DMV public online system may still show a suspension deadline that has passed. Don’t worry–you won’t actually be suspended from what we’ve seen. You can read more about that here. There is nothing new to report on courts outside of NYC as they will continue to handle things on a court by court basis. Most remain closed for traffic violation business as of this date.
Hello New Yorkers,
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in New York and current shelter-in-place guidelines, we will keep this page as updated as possible regarding the status of our office and the current situation at the TVB in NYC and other courts around the state.
Feifer & Greenberg remains open for business. Even during a virtual statewide shutdown, a small number of tickets may be written. People also still have other questions regarding tickets issued before the outbreak, suspensions that may be pending, their license in general, etc. We remain available to handle your case, answer any questions you have, and help you prepare for important case activities that will eventually resume.
All eight NYC Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB) offices are closed as of 3/18/20. The closures were first announced on 3/18/20 with a tentative reopening date of 4/20/20. Given the status of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York, we fully expected the reopening date to be extended and at the time of this post the DMV website is now showing an “indefinite” closure. Read more below about how the DMV is currently handling this closure.
If you have questions about your license, a moving violation, court closures, or a pending/current suspension, reach out. We will receive your inquiries and phone calls at home and are reachable via our regular contact information.
Whether you are a new or existing client, feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
All appointments and hearings scheduled for local New York Traffic Violations Bureaus (TVBs) are postponed until further notice. If you had a scheduled hearing, you can expect updates via email (if you are a client of ours) or postal mail (the DMV will mail updates to all) if you have not received one already. Current clients of course can also reach out to us directly regarding the status of their case.
The eight NYC traffic courts are listed as follows:
All hearing dates scheduled while the court is closed will be rescheduled for a future date.
Many attorneys have been in direct contact with the DMV and/or head judges within the system. We have been told that any suspensions set to start during the closure will be pushed back until the TVB is open.
We believe these are temporary measures and are not sure what the final “deadline” may be. In fact, the initial “push back date” of 4/20 already looks too optimistic as the TVB will likely remain closed beyond then. The main goal is for the TVB/DMV to avoid any new suspensions automatically kicking in while the TVB is closed.
Unfortunately, we cannot be certain that this will save everyone facing a pending suspension. We’ve seen some cases show conflicting or problematic information via the tools available to us online and we are continuing to monitor the situation closely. On April 9, one of our partners sent an email directly to the Commissioner of the DMV detailing the concerns we have regarding these pending suspension tickets. Read the text of that email here.
Rest assured that we will do everything we can to request leniency for any lapses in case proceedings that occur during this unpredictable period. We know that the DMV and TVB are not out to punish anyone during the statewide quarantine. At the same time, administrative lapses and automated systems can present problems. We promise to keep an eye on our clients’ cases and help them avoid any unintended consequences.
Unfortunately, the TVB has for now claimed that these suspensions will remain in effect until the court has reopened. We feel this is quite unfair and will be pushing the DMV to consider alternatives to an in-person appearance if they appear amenable to assisting us with some of our other requests. There are some additional hurdles the DMV might need to overcome to get these suspended matters fixed while the court remains closed. Building a method to accept suspension fees online that usually must be paid in person is one such hurdle.
Per the NY DMV: “All Licenses, Non Driver ID’s, and Registrations with an expiration date of March 1, 2020 or later are extended. Inspections due March 31st and later are extended until further notice.”
All DMV offices are closed at this time and the DMV is encouraging use of their online tools for every situation that can indeed be handled online. Visit https://dmv.ny.gov/ for more information.
Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester courts are all currently closed for traffic violations purposes, as are just about all courts throughout the state at the moment.
These courts are all a little smaller and more nimble than the TVB, don’t handle anywhere near the volume the TVB does, and are not part of the DMV. These courts would need to affirmatively and manually send an order of sorts to the DMV regarding a new suspension. Therefore, we are not as concerned about new suspensions going into effect outside of NYC any time soon.
If your case involves a traffic court outside of NYC or Long Island, you can try to get in touch with any available staff to inquire about the status of your case. They might have limited phone and mail service, as they are often run by much smaller staff. In some cases, they may be able to assist individuals from their homes, or they may direct you to another town or county office.
There are plenty of things to be anxious about during this crisis, and we don’t want your traffic case or license suspension to be one of them. We are here and ready to assist you if there is anything you need, including getting your biggest questions answered.
Call us today at (888) 842-5384 or contact us online, and we will return your message as soon as we can.
Stay safe out there, and we hope to be able to see you in person again very soon!
We have organized a statewide network of attorneys. In our network are both attorneys who work for Feifer & Greenberg and attorneys who work for other firms that regularly provide of-counsel representation to our clients. This statewide network allows us to match clients in a particular county or court with local attorneys who regularly appear on similar matters in the same county or court. It enables us to help clients anywhere in New York State and in our opinion provide particularly effective and affordable representation for our clients. Local attorneys can draw on their particular local experiences and, with travel time and expense removed from the equation, help us keep our legal fees low.
We recommend fighting almost all tickets. Even if the current NY traffic tickets aren’t particularly harmful, you have an incentive to keep your record clean for the future. Convictions quickly lead to surcharges, insurance increases and other complications. You should strongly consider any decision to pay a ticket without fighting.
Our lawyers are experienced, prepared attorneys who understand the nuances of fighting traffic tickets. Experience, preparation and good decision making help us to help our clients avoid points, surcharges, insurance increases and the other negatives that can easily result from a traffic ticket.
At Feifer & Greenberg, our New York traffic ticket attorneys are dedicated to helping clients with their speeding tickets. We have worked on thousands of traffic matters, successfully dismissing tickets that would have cost our clients hundreds or even thousands in fines, surcharges and insurance increases.
If you want to fight your speeding ticket, make sure you know what is at stake . Speak with our experienced New York traffic lawyers to ensure that you are taking the proper steps to keep your record clean.
Please note that our website is an Attorney Advertisement. We do not recommend that anyone substitute anything they read or learn on the internet for personal legal advice from competent legal counsel.
Feifer & Greenberg, LLP, 15 Maiden Lane, Suite 601, New York, NY 10038, (888) 842-5384
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