Questionable Circumstances Surround Ticketing of Student

YC Student Seen as Victim in Citation for Long Unenforced Traffic Regulation

Three weeks following a student protest that temporarily halted traffic on Amsterdam Avenue, police officers reportedly began ticketing vehicle operators for driving on the thoroughfare in violation of posted signs. The December 10th ticketing came following a series of automobile accidents involving the injury of Yeshiva University student pedestrians who were crossing the avenue which bisects the Uptown Campus. The unusual circumstances surrounding the ticketing of one Yeshiva College student have prompted questions about the motivation of the officers.

During the fall semester, a litany of serious accidents at the corner of 185th and Amsterdam Avenue had prompted students to protest in the interest of their own safety. After The Commentator called for the closure of the Avenue, a student rally resulted in the crowding of the street and the prevention of traffic passage for some time. Three weeks subsequent to that November 19th display, students were questioning whether the Amsterdam Avenue issue was leading to their victimization in a different manner.

According to posted signs along Amsterdam Ave. and its cross streets "Amsterdam Avenue is closed between 186th St. and 183rd St. between the hours of 8:00am and 11:00pm with the exception of buses and local deliveries." However, this prohibition against through traffic has not been enforced during the last several years. Moshe Adler, a senior in YC, was ticketed for violating these regulations while picking up friends at the Morgenstern Residence Hall. The ticket came as a surprise, since Adler and many other student drivers routinely drive through the affected stretch of Amsterdam without consequence.

The unusual details of the incident have resulted in concern among students. Adler had just retrieved his car from the Empire State Garage located on Amsterdam at 184th St. and had proceeded north toward 186th St. where he made a right turn and parked across the street from the dormitory.

While waiting for his friends to emerge, two police officers knocked on his window and demanded his license and registration. When Adler inquired about the nature of his infraction, the officer stated that Adler had driven on a street which is only open to city buses.

The officers took Adler's license and headed to their cruiser where they remained for the next twenty minutes. When they returned, they handed Adler his license and a ticket recording the violation. The officers had never sounded their siren nor made any effort to pull Adler over while he was driving, but instead came right up to his car after he parked. Therefore, it was possible for Adler to be definitively identified as a YU student since he was wearing a yarmulke and had stopped adjacent to the residence hall. Adler suspected that there may have been some measure of selectivity involved in the issuance of his ticket.

Voicing this sentiment, Adler told the officer, "I've been in this university for three years and it is well known that this traffic restriction is not enforced. I suspect that racism [anti-Semitism] may be involved." The officer abruptly responded that Adler was the third to be ticketed for the same infraction that evening. One student reportedly witnessed the ticketing of a non-student, but that report could not be confirmed.

Adler plans to plea not guilty to the violation and intends to contest the sixty-five dollar fine and the points in court. He has suggested that he will claim that the regulation was unfairly and selectively enforced. There is also a question as to whether or not his actions were, in fact, in violation of the statute since he was making a local stop. Additionally, he could not have reclaimed his car from the Amsterdam Ave. lot without in some way driving on the forbidden length of the thoroughfare.

Many students have expressed their fear that Adler was specifically targeted because he was a YC student, possibly in retaliation for the November 19th protest. Others have suggested that these law enforcement officers abused their power in an incident which may have had anti-Semitic overtones.

Yossi Blum, a YC senior who was among those Adler was picking up, expressed his concern, "It is difficult to understand how officers entrusted with enforcing the law can allow through traffic to proceed unhindered while ticketing a YU student just because he was a YU student. The regulation was created to protect YU students. How can we be protected from those who would enforce it in an unfair manner?"

The officers who issued the ticket belong to the local 34th Precinct. The Community Affairs Officer at the 34th explained that "if there's a [traffic regulation] sign that is posted, it has to be enforced." He added that he could not address a specific incident and refused to comment further. Representatives at the Department of Transportation and the New York City Police Department claimed that they were not familiar with the situation.

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• Editorial: Students Must Speak Out Against NYPD Blues