To the editor:
My family and I moved to Pelham from Massachusetts at the end of this summer and have enjoyed settling in and making this lovely town our home. Within a week of my arrival, I was pulled over for making a U-turn on Wolfs Lane. The policewoman, also a woman of color like me, was polite but firm in handing me a ticket and urged me to go to the town traffic court to reduce the fee. I was confused by this ritual but did my due diligence.
When I went to court a few weeks later, I stood in the long line of almost all Black and brown people and then spent two hours waiting in the courtroom with what seemed like 50 to 75 people with traffic tickets. Almost all of us, save for about five individuals from what I could tell, were racial minorities. The kind and entertaining judge and the three policemen with whom I interacted were all white. I knew that racial profiling exists everywhere, including Pelham, but was still struck and disappointed by the stark evidence in front of my face.
Because of the long queue of people, about ten of us with a similar charge were taken to a room to hear our options for the $275 traffic ticket. It was me and about nine Black and brown men. One Black man insisted that he could not see the traffic sign because it was blocked by a tree. He was ignored. Another older Latino man pleaded that he had done nothing wrong and had gone out of his way to ensure the safety of a pedestrian who was jaywalking. His pleas were also ignored. I ended up pleading guilty and paying my reduced-fee ticket but not before listening to a young construction worker in anguish that he had to pay a ticket for stopping his delivery truck in front of DeCicco’s. He had had no other options but to do so, and his employer refused to help pay the ticket. On top of this, he was losing a whole morning’s worth of work because of these hours spent at the court. He was practically in tears.
As a salaried professional, I can pay my ticket without hardship. But for a daily wage earner or a working-class single mother, this ritual of costly tickets and hours in court for minor infractions is a serious burden. I wonder how much money is being extracted from working-class people of color by Pelham? Where exactly does this money go? Research shows that many small towns across America finance a modest but significant part of their budgets and debts with revenue from petty violations, especially by racial minorities. Surely, a town like Pelham, with its significant property-tax base, would not have need to do this.
In sum, this combination of obvious racial profiling, monetary extraction and being dismissive of people’s reasonable pleas in court is disturbing and warrants some awareness and conversation—that is, if we care about basic values like equality and fairness.
Zehra Parvez
137 Seventh Ave.
billy lima • Feb 29, 2024 at 10:14 pm
where there is smoke there is usually a fire. food for thought
Arthur Long • Oct 18, 2023 at 6:38 pm
Generalizing from one day’s experience seems dangerous, particularly as the Village’s police department is increasingly diverse. Unfortunately there are way too many drivers violating rules, from speeding to running stop signs to trucks on streets where they are not permitted to U-turns in plain sight of no U-turn signs and sometimes in plain sight of police cars. The citizenry wants a lot of traffic enforcement. I wonder how much of your day was because a number of roads with the most traffic connect Pelham with neighboring towns. I live on Boulevard and Elderwood and see daily speeding and rolling the Elderwood stop sign – all very dangerous particularly for children. A lot of the infractions come from the East where there are only two or three blocks in the Village before you hit New Rochelle. The same with Wolf’s Lane near the High School and its proximity to Mount Vernon. Perhaps the police are doing what they should – enforcing the rules where there is the most activity, which casts a broader net than if they sat on a secluded residential street. I would hate to see the police stop having a car on Elderwood watching for traffic infractions because of a fear of being accused of profiling. As for the tax base, after a few more months as a resident, it should become clear that with two Villages, a Town, and a School District, there are a lot of mouths to feed.
LeRoy Marriott • Oct 18, 2023 at 10:29 am
First and foremost, I am a lifelong resident and would like to welcome you to Pelham. I grew up playing on your street and my friend’s mom is your neighbor. At 92 she just received a summons for putting out her grass clippings on the wrong day!! Everyone in Pelham knows NOT make a U Turn or double park on 5th avenue or Wolf’s Lane, you will get a ticket even if you are GREEN! Signs are posted almost every 50 ft. on every pole and are certainly in clear view to all. Judges hear excuses by the hundreds and I’m sure some are legit, but most are just a way to avoid a hefty fine. You make the statement that the delivery driver had NO other options. Fourth Avenue runs parallel to Fifth Avenue and C-Town has a rear entrance and parking lot, so OTHER options were available. Fifth Avenue is a narrow street and a double parked truck would hamper an emergency vehicle if passing through. Double parking is an age old problem in Pelham and the Village Govt. and Police dept. get numerous complaints on a daily basis by us, the residents. Nothing is more frustrating than getting stuck behind a double parked car on Fifth Avenue! In response to “Racial Profiling”, police officers don’t and can’t pick and choose who breaks the law, discretion is limited due to the frequency of the two infractions. You mention the race of the the police officers in court in at least two instances, which is indeed irrelevant to the issue at hand, traffic infractions. I think it is important that you know that Pelham has the most DIVERSIFIED Police dept. it has ever had since its inception. Two Female officers, one as you classify as “of Color”, several African Americans, at least one Muslim and at least one Spanish officer, if not two or three. Pelham Police Dept. hires officers off a “preferred” list, meaning Pelham residents get priority over non residents. The diversity in the Police Dept. actually reflects the population in the Village for the very first time ever. For the record, every Police officer is the color BLUE! As far as where the money goes and our “significant” tax base, I’m with you a 100%, but fines are levied by ALL municipalities as both a deterrent and a means of generating income for the municipality. I read the article and feel bad for a new resident who got a ticket, others will read the article and think Pelham is a racial profiling Village, which is obviously the real reason for the article. It is sad that you chose to identify everyone in your article, including yourself, by the color of their skin, we should not be judged this way but I think you already know that, especially as a country that is trying to move FORWARD not BACK.
billy lima • Feb 29, 2024 at 10:06 pm
the part where you said “at least one muslim and one spanish officer” tells me every time i need to know about pelham manor policing system and the fact you agreed the tickets generate money for the municipality screams corruption to its highest degree.
Dawn Vetrano • Oct 18, 2023 at 7:57 am
Pelham traffic would be in chaos if drivers did not obey traffic signs and laws.
Melissa Ronan • Oct 18, 2023 at 7:47 am
I want to share that within days of moving to Pelham 20+ years ago, I too was pulled over for making a U-turn on Wolfs Lane, so I could relate when I started reading this story. But that’s where the similarities stop. I explained to the officer that I had just moved to the town and was not aware of the no U-turn rule. But there was a sign right there where I had turned. I did not receive a ticket. I am white.
Arthur Bratone • Oct 17, 2023 at 10:26 pm
It has been this way for 50 years and it is way past time that this changed! It is a disgrace and has been covered up for years. I moved to Pelham in 1953, and lived in Pelham and Pelham Manor for most of the years since. My wife and I also started, owned, and managed a restaurant (Bistro Rollin) for 7 years. Several of our employees were people of color and they were regularly harassed just coming and leaving work! I am glad you have spoken out and both villages and the town need to take immediate, real steps to see that it stops!!
Babs Sakler • Oct 17, 2023 at 7:27 pm
I don’t know if what you are saying is fair. About 2 years ago I had to pay a moving violation in the Pelham court and settled on a reduced rate. Most of the attendees were white – including myself – so perhaps this was a fluke. It’s very dangerous to make blanket statements like this based on 1 day in court. It’s obvious the police were doing their job and didn’t wrongfully accuse anyone of doing something that they did not do.