One would think that a citizen of the United States would be able to engage in the intended use of a bench in a city park without finding him or herself in trouble with the law.

Not in New York City, apparantly, where good intentions combined with lack of common sense on the part of law enforcement recently.

It's an only in New York story. A woman was given a ticket for sitting on a park bench because she doesn't have children.
The Rivington Playground on Manhattan's East Side has a small sign at the entrance that says adults are prohibited unless they are accompanied by a child.

Forty-seven-year-old Sandra Catena says she didn't see the sign when she sat down to wait for an arts festival to start. Two New York City police officers asked her if she was with a child. When she said no, they gave her a ticket that could bring a one thousand dollar fine and 90 days in jail.

As one might imagine, the laudable goal of the law was to keep pedophiles away from the playground. Unfortunately, these good intentions were supplemented with an utter disregard of common sense by cops who couldn't see that the better option was to ask Ms. Catena to move along.

If we have at last reached the day when sitting by a playground is a criminal offense, then we to recognize that government has gone too far in micromanaging our daily lives "for the public good".

Posted by: Greg at 01:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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