I was visiting New York from Nevada for a weekend and received a
summons for a violation of 16-118(6), public urination.  The officer
gave me what turned out to be wrong information -- he claimed that I
could call 212-NEW-YORK, and get a website address where I could pay a
fine.  He reassured me this, given that I'm from accross the country
and am essentially unable to show up in court.  It turns out there is
such a website but it doesn't apply to summons issued for public
urination.

After investigating a little, I was told by a clerk in the summons
office that I could write a letter to the judge to pay any fines by
mail, but then I'd have to plead guilty.

1) Is there a way to have the charges dropped?
2) If I do plead guilty and opt to pay any fines by mail...
   a) what is the procedure?  How long does it take for them to get
back to me typically? Will they send me a letter? or call me with the
fine information?  will they simply dismiss the case?
   b) Will anything be recorded in any sort of record which may be
accessible at a later date?

I wonder why so many people pee in NYC...... 

There have been so many questions here about people being fined for this.

Is there a shortage of public washrooms or is there another reason???

Steph53

Steph,
It is all a result of the new no smoking in bars law.  The smokers
from the bars are all out on the street, having quickly downed their
beer, 'cause they aren't allowed to drink on the street (another set
of questions here), and then after a drag or two, ... well, the men's
room is way back at the far end of the bar, and the cigarette isn't
finished yet ...

Right, Nelson?

Takatakataka,
Search on "all questions" here with:   urination ny OR nyc
and you will find what has been posted concerning this.

Myoarin

Thanks for the comment.  I did actually read the previous posts before
posting myself.  None of the answers or other comments addressed my
questions directly.  I only saw the bit about getting a lawyer -- and
it seems a bit excessive for everyone with my questions to get a
lawyer.  I would think, with the interest in this topic, that by now,
someone would be able to post information about their first-hand
experience.

As for why so many people piss...
1) It's a big city
2) Public restrooms are extremely difficult to find...
     i.e. at 2 AM when clubs have guest lists, lines are long, 24 hour
convenience stores keep their bathrooms off limits, some places
closed, their aren't a lot of options
3) The police have been given the mandate to crack down on small
violations, in the hopes of curbing more serious violations -- the
broken window policy.

To address this, there was a movement to install more pay public
restrooms, so that way the city could derive some revenue and curb the
problem at the same time... Sadly, they're not moving so quickly.

In all fairness to takatakataka, he/she never said they were a smoker.

So lets back off that issue....

He/she makes a good point about the lack of public restrooms.

Hope you get an answer from a real researcher soon, takakataka...

Steph53

In my case smoking had nothing to do with it.  I took a cab into the
meet-packing district and waiting in a line to find they were only
taking people off the guest list, and while in the process felt the
need to piss. I looked around but only found long lines and
pisser-unfriendly convenience stores -- no public restrooms.  So, I
did the next best thing, pitch dark street, behind a column -- and
bamm... cop on a bike.

Still looking for answers to my question.  Anyone?

Right, Steph, and I never said anything about anyone here, just a
facetious explanation of your first comment.
Myoarin