Village Court

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Justices

Honorable Christian Pelchar
Honorable Andrew Smith (Acting Village Justice)

Court Clerk

Angela-Jo Dennison
Telephone: (607) 734-7156 Option #2
Fax (607) 240-5387
Mailing Address

Elmira Heights Village Court
215 Elmwood Ave
Elmira Heights, New York 14903

Office Hours (Weekly)

Tuesday: 9 am – 4 pm

Wednesday: 9 am – 4 pm
Thursday: 9 am – 11 am
Except Holidays (Call the Court Clerk to verify Office is open)

Court Schedule

Court is held every Wednesday evening at 5:00PM
Except Holidays (Call the Court Clerk to verify Court will be in session)

Methods of Payment For Fines/Fees/Surcharges/Bail/Civil Fees

Payment of Fines
Methods of Payment for Penal Law, Vehicle & Traffic Matters
https://www.ncourt.com/x-press/X-onlinepayments.aspx?Juris=4f83e9b7-35c0-4947-8184-93c6c8aa14c6
 by phone by calling the toll-free number 1-888-912-1541.
*You will need your case number, last name, and date of birth.

Please note that you can only pay in full online and by phone.
Also note Parking tickets CAN NOT be paid online at this time.
A convenience fee will apply for both services.
Unaccepted Payments
The court does not accept personal checks or payments over the phone.
In-Person Payments
 Credit card payments in person for full or partial payments.
 For each in-person credit card transaction, there will be a 2.99% convenience fee
applied.
 Please be prepared to show picture ID. The name on the card must match the
name on your ID or the court will be unable to process your transaction.
 Fines may be paid by cash (if paying in person), money order, or certified check if
paying by mail.

Additional Information
 Payments are accepted during court office hours, Tuesday & Wednesday 9am to
4pm, Thursdays 9am to 11 am or at Wednesday 5 pm night court.
 There is a drobox in the wall just outside our doors for your convenience.
Payments must be in a sealed envelope with your name and case # clearly written
on the envelope.
 Money Orders or Certified Bank Checks can be mailed to

o Elmira Heights Village Court
o 215 Elmwood Ave
o Elmira Heights NY 14903
 If a receipt is requested please provide a self-addressed, postage-paid return
envelope
 Checks not certified will be returned
 If the payment exceeds the actual amount due, the entire payment will be
returned
 Do not send cash through the mail
 For more information please contact the Court clerk at 607-737-6750.

Vehicle and Traffic Law Charges

If you receive a traffic citation (ticket) in the Village of Elmira Heights, your scheduled appearance date appears at the lower left side of your E-ticket.

If the offense charged is a traffic violation you can enter a plea of guilty, or not guilty by mail by completing the appropriate section (Part A if pleading Guilty) (Part B if Pleading Not Guilty) on the right side of your E-ticket and mailing it to the court prior to your scheduled Court appearance date. You may also appear personally in Court at the scheduled time to plead to your charge.

  • If you plea guilty by mail, the Court will send you a fine notice by mail indicating the fine and when it is due.
  • If you plea not guilty by mail, the Court will schedule a non-jury, or bench trial and notify you of the trial date by letter.

If you mail your E-ticket to the Court without entering a plea of guilty or not guilty, or do not sign the citation, the citation will be returned to you. If you fail to enter a plea by mail OR fail to appear on the scheduled Court appearance date, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles will be notified to suspend your driving privileges.

If the offense is a Misdemeanor, or Felony, you MUST appear in person at Village Court to be arraigned on the charges.

PARKING TICKETS

Why did I receive this summons:
Most of the Parking tickets written from November to March involve Alternate side parking (or odd/even parking).  Alternate Side Parking is defined in our Village Code as follows:
[Amended 4-18-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
In addition to the restrictions and prohibitions on parking otherwise provided and except where parking is prohibited for a full block on one side of the street, no vehicle shall be parked or remain parked on any public street between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., inclusive, during the months of November, December, January, February and March, except on days with even numbers, according to the calendar, when vehicles may be parked on the side of the street on which the buildings bear even numbers, and on days with odd numbers, according to the calendar, when vehicles may be parked on the side of the street on which the buildings bear odd numbers. Exceptions to alternate sides parking provisions are set forth in Schedule XXII (§ 209-62), attached to and made a part of this Part 1.
Other Village Code Parking Violations can be found at:
Parking violations of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law can be found under section 1200-1204 at the following link:
How to respond to your parking summons:
1. Enter your plea of either guilty or not guilty and sign in the provided section.
2. Put your current address in the space located for this.
3. You may either take a photo of your ticket (be sure it is not blurry and all parts of the ticket can be seen) or if you have the ability to scan the ticket into PDF format, you may do so.
4. Attach either the photo or the scanned ticket to elmiraheightsvillagecourt@nycourts.gov
5. In the subject line of the email please put your parking ticket number
6. If you plead guilty the court will email you back the fine amount.  You will then be asked to send a money order or check (DO NOT MAIL CASH), along with the ticket to the following address:
Elmira Heights Village Court
215 Elmwood Avenue
Elmira Heights, NY 14903
2. You may also pay in person on the following dates and times:
Tuesday 9 AM to 4 PM
Wednesday 9 AM to 4 PM
Wednesday 5 PM (Regular Court)
Thursday 9 AM to 11 AM
What happens if I plead guilty?
The Judge will assign a fine and you will be asked to pay it by a certain time.
What happens if I plead not guilty?
The court will give you a date and time to appear.

Criminal Charges

Criminal charges usually involve charges based on the New York State Penal Law or Criminal Procedure Law. Violation and Misdemeanor charges can be prosecuted in this Court. Felony charges are usually transferred to County Court after arraignment in this Court.

Village Code Charges

Village Code charges involve charges based on the Elmira Heights Village Code. They are fully prosecuted in this Court.

Summary Proceedings (Evictions)

This Court can hear evictions for Non-Payment Proceedings (Evictions for non-payment of rent only) or Holdover Proceedings (Evictions for any other ground other than non-payment of rent). You will be required to provide the properly completed necessary forms and pay a filing fee of $20. You will also be required to serve the papers legally.

Small Claims

Small Claims Court is an informal court where individuals can sue for money only, up to $3,000. Anyone over 18 years of age can bring an action in Small Claims Court. Corporations, partnerships, associations, or assignees cannot sue in Small Claims Court, but can be sued.

You will be required to pay a filing fee of $10.00 if your claim is for $1,000 or less and a filing fee of $15.00 if your claim is for more than $1,000.

The Court provides the Small Claims Form, notifies the defendant of the Small Claim action and the date of the hearing.

If you have filed a small claim and have resolved the matter prior to the court hearing, you should notify the court, in writing, immediately. Only the individual that filed the claim can withdraw the matter.

Prosecution Attorneys

All Felony, Misdemeanor, Vehicle and Traffic Law and any other State charge is prosecuted by the Chemung County District Attorney’s Office located at 210 Lake Street, PO Box 588 in Elmira, NY, 14902 (Phone: 607–737–2944).

All Village Code, Village Ordinance and any local law charge is prosecuted by the Village Attorney who can be contacted through the Elmira Heights Village Clerk’s Office at 215 Elmwood Ave in Elmira Heights, NY 14903 (Phone: 607–734–7156).