Public Urination in New York City

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Matt Flegenheimer and J David Goodman, A Street Crime Tests Attitudes on How to Fight Minor Offenses; Public urination creates a quandary in New York. New York Times, July 16, 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/1 ... e-for-policing.html

Quote:

(a) "Last year, 28,609 people were cited [in New York City] for public urination, an offense that must be witnessed by an officer to be charged. As of June 14, there have been 6,799 such tickets, down from 8,329 at this point in 2014. (During that same period, officers wrote 33,971 summonses for public alcohol consumption, down from 44,339 last year.)

(b) more common [than relieving himself in broad daylight in the middle of Broadway traffic] are arrests around late-night hangouts. In 2014, the 110th Precinct, covering stretches of Corona and Elmhurst in Queens with restaurants, bars and nightclubs, wrote 1,329 summonses for public urination, nearly 400 more than in any other precinct.

(c) "In many cases, the $50 ticket can be paid by mail, provided the person pleads guilty. That can create ramifications for job seekers and immigrants, said Jason Stern, 45, a lawyer who specializes in public urination cases. For example, he said, when applying for a green card, a person is asked to disclose anything more serious than a traffic infraction. 'None of my clients are hiring me to save themselves $50,' said Mr. Stern, who charges $500 to $1,000 per case and whose clients include working professionals, college students and taxi drivers. 'Taxi drivers get a lot of public urination tickets.'

"That Mr Stern can sustain a legal practice in this way underscores the stigma that comes with having to put down 'public urination' on an official form [job application, immigration]. Mr Stern said he has been able to get the charge changed to littering; the same fine applies, but the stigma is substantially reduced.