A measure proposed in the New York City Council would allow people with unpaid parking tickets to only partially pay the fines, the reasoning being that it is better to get at least some of the money owed than none at all, Crain's New York Business reported.

The proposal, by Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera, would eliminate fees and interest penalties for people's delayed or missed parking ticket payments if they agreed to pay 25 percent off the tickets' face value. Cabrera noted that the pandemic has made it difficult for people to fully pay these penalties and that, even before the pandemic, the city did not have a very good record on collecting traffic fines, having missed about $100 million in revenue between 2012 and 2019. This measure, reasons Cabrera, means that the city would be able to collect at least some of what it's owed, compared to nothing at all.

The proposal is similar to a bill introduced a few weeks back that pertains to business fines. One would provide temporary civil penalty relief for small businesses from certain sanitation, health, transportation, consumer affairs, noise control and buildings violations that took place from March 12, 2020, until the expiration of the city's emergency order. Further, it would retroactively provide refunds to those businesses that paid the city for such penalties during this time period. The other permanently expands cure options available to small business owners; lowers existing penalties; and waives the penalties for certain violations relating to sanitation, health, transportation, consumer affairs, noise control and buildings laws.