NEW ORLEANS -- For hundreds of residents on a chilly Thanksgiving Day, there was no better way to warm up than a good race around City Park for a longtime Thanksgiving tradition.
But many of the runners got even more heated when they got to their cars after the race.
After they had already taken off running, hundreds of residents were ticketed by the city for parking on the neutral ground along Marconi Drive.
Drivers said they've been parking there for years and never had this problem before, but many found a $75 dollar ticket on their windshield.
Though there are signs on Marconi about not parking on the neutral ground, residents said that area is frequently used for parking without drivers getting ticketed. Some even said they've seen police even direct cars onto the neutral ground for other events in the neighborhood.
“We’ve been doing this for, at this location, 20 years or plus, and we’ve never had this problem before,” said David Bozant, who got a ticket.
Geoff Rose, who also got a ticket, said, “It’s the city trying to get greedy. This is ridiculous. It’s Thanksgiving, it’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s why people hate doing things in the city of New Orleans now.”
Those tickets are $75, and if they're not paid within 30 days, the price tag shoots up to $150.
