New York Laws
Title 9 - New York City Transit Authority
1209-A - Transit Adjudication Bureau.

(2) Whenever a person charged with a transit infraction or alleged to
be liable in accordance with the provisions of section two thousand nine
hundred eighty-five of this chapter returnable to the bureau requests an
alternate hearing date and is not then in default as defined in
subdivision six of this section, the bureau shall advise such person
personally, or by registered or certified mail, of the alternate hearing
date on or by which he or she must appear to answer the charge or
allegation at a hearing. The form and content of such notice of hearing
shall be prescribed by the executive director, and shall contain a
warning to advise the person charged or alleged to be liable that

failure to appear on or by the alternate designated hearing date, or any
subsequent rescheduled or adjourned date, shall be deemed for all
purposes an admission of liability, and that a default judgment may be
rendered and penalties may be imposed.
(3) Whenever a person charged with a transit infraction or alleged to
be liable in accordance with the provisions of section two thousand nine
hundred eighty-five of this chapter returnable to the bureau appears at
a hearing and obtains an adjournment of the hearing pursuant to the
rules of the bureau, the bureau shall advise such person personally, or
by registered or certified mail, of the adjourned date on which he or
she must appear to answer the charge or allegation at a continued
hearing. The form and content of such notice of a continued hearing
shall be prescribed by the executive director, and shall contain a
warning to advise the person charged or alleged to be liable that
failure to appear on the adjourned hearing date shall be deemed for all
purposes an admission of liability, and that a default judgment may be
rendered and penalties may be imposed.
b. Every hearing for the adjudication of a charge of a transit
infraction or an allegation of liability under section two thousand nine
hundred eighty-five of this chapter hereunder shall be held before a
hearing officer in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated
by the bureau.
c. The hearing officer shall not be bound by the rules of evidence in
the conduct of the hearing, except rules relating to privileged
communications.
d. The hearing officer may, in his or her discretion, or at the
request of the person charged or alleged to be liable on a showing of
good cause and need therefor, issue subpoenas to compel the appearance
of any person to give testimony, and issue subpoenas duces tecum to
compel the production for examination or introduction into evidence of
any book, paper or other thing relevant to the charges.
e. In the case of a refusal to obey a subpoena, the bureau may make
application to the supreme court pursuant to section twenty-three
hundred eight of the civil practice law and rules, for an order
requiring such appearance, testimony or production of materials.
f. The bureau shall make and maintain a sound recording or other
record of every hearing.
g. After due consideration of the evidence and arguments, the hearing
officer shall determine whether the charges or allegations have been
established. No charge may be established except upon proof by clear and
convincing evidence except allegations of civil liability for violations
of triborough bridge and tunnel authority rules and regulations will be
established in accordance with the provisions of section two thousand
nine hundred eighty-five of this chapter. Where the charges have not
been established, an order dismissing the charges or allegations shall
be entered. Where a determination is made that a charge or allegation
has been established or if an answer admitting the charge or allegation
has been received, the hearing officer shall set a penalty in accordance
with the penalty schedule established by the authority, or for
allegations of civil liability in accordance with the provisions of
section two thousand nine hundred eighty-five of this chapter and an
appropriate order shall be entered in the records of the bureau. The
respondent shall be given notice of such entry in person or by certified
mail. This order shall constitute the final determination of the hearing
officer, and for purposes of review it shall be deemed to incorporate
any intermediate determinations made by said officer in the course of
the proceeding. When no appeal is filed this order shall be the final
order of the bureau.

8. Administrative and judicial review. a. There shall be appeals
boards within the bureau which shall consist of three or more hearing
officers, as the executive director shall determine. The executive
director shall select a chairman for each appeals board from the members
so appointed. No hearing officer may sit on an appeals board
considering an appeal from a determination made by said hearing officer.
b. A party aggrieved by a final determination of a hearing officer may
obtain a review thereof by serving upon the bureau, within thirty days
of the bureau's service of its notice of entry of such order a notice of
appeal setting forth the reasons why the determination should be
reversed or modified. There shall be no interlocutory appeals.
c. An appeal from a final determination of a hearing officer shall be
submitted to the appeals board, which shall have power to review the
facts and the law, but shall not consider any evidence which was not
presented to the hearing officer, and shall have power to reverse or
modify any judgment appealed from for error of fact or law.
d. Appeals shall be made without the appearance of the appellant and
appellant's attorney unless the presence of either or both are requested
by the appellant, appellant's attorney, appellant's parent or guardian
if appellant is a minor, or the appeals board. Within twenty days after
a request for an appearance, made by or for the appellant, appellant's
attorney or the board, the bureau shall advise the appellant, either
personally or by registered or certified mail, of the date on which he
or she shall appear. The appellant shall be notified in writing of the
decision of the appeals board.
e. A party may request and obtain a record of the proceedings
resulting in a determination for which an appeal is sought, but the
party shall pay to the bureau the cost of providing such record. When a
record is timely requested for the purpose of preparing an appeal, the
bureau shall not thereafter cause the appeal to be heard or submitted
less than ten days after the delivery or mailing of the record to
appellant or appellant's attorney.
f. The service of a notice of appeal shall not stay the enforcement of
an order appealed from unless the appellant shall have posted a bond in,
or shall have paid, the amount of penalties imposed in the order
appealed from within the time period established by rule of the bureau
for payment of penalties following entry of such an order.
g. No determination of a hearing officer which is appealable under the
provisions of this section shall be reviewed in any court unless an
appeal has been filed and determined in accordance with this
subdivision. When an appeal has been filed, the order of the appeals
board shall be the final order of the bureau. Judicial review may be
sought pursuant to article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and
rules.
9. Enforcement of judgments. a. The bureau shall have the power to
enforce its final decisions and orders imposing civil penalties for
violations of laws, rules and regulations enforced by it as if they were
money judgments, without court proceedings, in the manner described
herein.
b. Any final order of the bureau imposing a civil penalty, whether the
adjudication was had by hearing or upon default or otherwise, shall
constitute a judgment rendered by the bureau which may be entered in the
civil court of the city of New York or any other place provided for the
entry of civil judgments within the state, and, provided that no
proceeding for judicial review shall then be pending, may be enforced
without court proceedings in the same manner as the enforcement of money
judgments entered in civil actions. A final order against any person or
persons shall be a bar to the criminal prosecution of, and in the case

of a minor, juvenile offender proceedings against, said person or
persons for conduct upon which the order was based.
c. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions: (1) Before a judgment
based upon a default may be so entered the bureau must have attempted to
notify the respondent by first class mail, in such form as the bureau
may direct: (i) of the default decision and order and the penalty
imposed; (ii) that a judgment will be entered in the civil court of the
city of New York or any other place provided for the entry of civil
judgments within the state; and (iii) the entry of such judgments may be
avoided by requesting a stay of default for good cause shown and either
requesting a hearing or entering a plea pursuant to the rules of the
bureau within thirty days of the mailing of such notice.
(2) Upon receipt by the bureau of a copy of an order to show cause in
lieu of a notice of petition, or of a notice of petition, served upon it
in a proceeding for judicial review of any final order of the bureau
which constitutes a judgment which may be entered in the civil court of
the city of New York or any other place provided for the entry of civil
judgments within the state, the bureau shall forthwith serve by
first-class mail the attorney for the petitioner in such proceeding, or
if the petitioner has initiated the proceeding pro se, the petitioner,
with a notice stating whether or not a judgment was entered in any such
court or other place provided for the entry of civil judgments within
the state prior to the pendency of such proceeding for judicial review.
If a judgment was so entered, such notice from the bureau also shall
contain: (i) the name and address of the court or other place in which
the judgment was entered, and (ii) identification of the judgment book,
index number, docket number, date of entry, other information or
combination of the foregoing, sufficient for the petitioner's attorney
in such proceeding, or for the petitioner pro se, to locate such entry
of judgment according to the indexing system utilized by the court or
other place in which the judgment was entered. Proof of service of such
notice from the bureau shall be filed by the bureau with the court in
which the proceeding for judicial review is pending at the same time as
the filing with the court of the bureau's first legal papers in such
proceeding. The court in which the proceeding for judicial review is
pending shall not accept for filing the bureau's first legal papers in
such proceeding unless such legal papers are accompanied by such proof
of service.
10. Funds. All penalties collected pursuant to the provisions of this
section shall be paid to the authority to the credit of a transit crime
fund which the authority shall establish. Any sums in this fund shall be
used to pay for programs selected by the board of the authority, in its
discretion, to reduce the incidence of crimes and infractions on transit
facilities, or to improve the enforcement of laws against such crimes
and infractions. Such funds shall be in addition to and not in
substitution for any funds provided by the state or the city of New York
for such purposes.

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