» NYC Parking

How Your Car Sets the Parking Rate
May 4, 2012

Any parking garage we’ve used or heard about charges customers based on how much time the vehicle is in the parking garage. In a NYC parking garage, for example, you can pay an expensive per hour rate, a lower rate if you enter and exit by particular times (early or late in the day), or a flat rate for 6, 12, or 24 hours at some NYC parking garages.

But a Boston parking garage is taking a new approach. This parking lot is charging customers based on how much their vehicle impacts the parking lot and the world around us. For example:

  • Vehicles that get less than 15 miles per gallon will pay a 10% surcharge,
  • Hybrid or electric vehicles will get a 10% discount.

According to www.fastcoexist.com, ‘Scott Oran of Dinosaur Capital Partners (the company behind the lot) rationalized the move to the Boston Herald: “A big SUV has a cost both in terms of the environment and in terms of being a heavier vehicle that causes more wear and tear on our lot,” he said. “We think that should be reflected in our price.” ‘

Filed under: NYC Parking,Parking News — Tags: , — mtohn @ 11:37 am
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Margot Tohn in Parking Today Mag
April 30, 2012

A few months ago I wrote how I had received, then beat, a NYC parking ticket. Parking Today magazine was intrigued by my story and asked me to write an article with ways that cities and towns could help both residents and visitors not get parking violations. And if someone did get a ticket, how to ensure that the regulations and signage were so clear that the ticket couldn’t be dismissed.

Some of my recommendations included:

  1. Place the signs so people know which part of the street that sign refers to,
  2. Create regulations that make sense,
  3. Have clear and simple language on the signs,
  4. Make sure the signposts are sturdy and installed well enough so the wind can’t turn around the sign,
  5. traffic enforcement must submit a ticket that is correctly filled out, and
  6. fix all broken parking meters.

The response to my article has been great! Read the full article here.

Filed under: NYC Street Parking,Parking News,Parking Tickets — mtohn @ 11:30 am
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Cars Booted for NYC Parking Tkts
April 20, 2012

PayLock_Smart_Boot NYC parkingBad news if you have $350 or more in NYC Parking Tickets. NYC has hired PayLock to put new-age tire boots, called Smart Boot, on any car with more than $350 in NYC parking violations.

According to the NY Daily News, here’s the scoop on how much it will cost you in time and money to shake the Smart Boot.

  1. A city marshal will be deployed with teams of PayLock employees. The marshal will verify that a car has more than $350 in judgments, then authorize PayLock to boot it.
  2. The scofflaw can either call a toll-free number and pay his bill immediately by credit or debit card or go to a city payment center to pay the tickets and fees in cash, and get the code to self-release the boot. 
  3. A motorist who owes $355 in parking tickets, for example, will have to pay an additional $180 for Paylock’s “boot fee,” $70 for Read more…
Filed under: Parking Tickets — Tags: , , — mtohn @ 12:11 pm
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Crazy NYC Parking Garage Rates
April 19, 2012

Elliott Brownstein

If you have ever wondered how the NYC parking garage rates came to be, it all started nearly 50 years ago when one man decided that the current signs were just too confusing.

Elliot Brownstein was working in the advertising business in 1964 when he read a newspaper article outlining the NYC License Commissioner’s concerns that visitors to the 1964 World’s Fair would find the NYC garage signs hard to understand and would end up overpaying for parking. Back then, each letter was six inches tall but the Commissioner wanted the letters to be 12 inches tall — that would require a billboard!  On top of that, the NYC parking garage rates had this structure:

Up to 1 Hour $.75
2nd Hour $.55
Each additional hour $.35
After 7 hours $.25/hr

This meant that every customer and garage attendant had to be able to add $.75 + $.55 + $.35 for each additional hour, and then maybe $.25 for each hour after that. Read more…

Filed under: NYC Parking — Tags: , , , — mtohn @ 5:38 pm
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20 Ways to Save on NYC Parking
February 28, 2012

Why isn’t most NYC parking free? The street is public property, right?

If all street parking were free, then many people wouldn’t move their cars and people wouldn’t be able to find an empty spot. So charging for on-street parking is a way to manage the supply and demand, plus generate revenue for NYC to maintain the city. And since street parking is highly sought after, NYC can charge for it based on its value to drivers.

When it comes to NYC parking, you have three choices: the first two are a non-metered, free parking space on the street, or try to find a vacant metered space. If that fails, there are 1,100 NYC parking garages in Manhattan alone that will take your car, make sure it isn’t stolen or damaged, and charge you appropriately for it.

But we found at least 20 ways to save on both NYC street and NYC garage parking. If you think of any more ways, let us know!

NYC Street Parking

  1. Non-Metered Streets:  there are many streets in residential areas where there is free parking on the street. Usually in the E 60s and above, or the W 70s and above. Read more…
Filed under: NYC Street Parking,Parking & Driving Advice,Parking Tickets — Tags: , , , — mtohn @ 11:01 am
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NYC Parking for Handicapped & Disabled
February 8, 2012

Information for NYC parking for disabled persons:  getting a vehicle license plate for disabled persons, parking permit for disabled persons, parking for disabled people.

Who is eligible for vehicle plates for NYC parking for disabled persons or a parking permit for disabled persons?

The NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law defines the permanent disabilities that qualify. If you have a permanent disability that qualifies, you can get vehicle plates for reserved parking from the DMV or a parking permit from your local government. It is illegal to park in a parking space reserved for persons with disabilities if you do not have the correct vehicle plates or parking permit. You can use the vehicle plates or parking permit in New York State and in most other states.

How do I get a parking permit for disabled persons? Read more…

Filed under: NYC Parking — Tags: , , , — mtohn @ 6:10 pm
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Idling Near Schools – No Tickets!
February 7, 2012

NYC isn’t giving out enough tickets to drivers who idle their vehicles, according to a recent CNN article.  There were about 10 million NYC parking tickets issued in fiscal year 2010, and only 2,989 ‘idling’ parking tickets issued in fiscal year 2011.

The NYC law used to be that New York drivers had three minutes to turn off idling engines, but in 2009 the city passed more stringent laws: Drivers now have one minute to turn off their engines if they’re adjacent to a school. On average, agents are issuing one idling parking ticket per year.

Filed under: Parking & Traffic Tickets,Parking Tickets — Tags: , — mtohn @ 4:13 pm
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NYC Has 2nd Most Expensive Parking

NYC Parking TicketNew Yorkers can stop complaining about the cost of NYC street parking, at least for a few minutes.  The news just came in that Vancouver street parking is actually the most expensive street parking in North America, at $5.75 per hour.

But NYC and Chicago are close behind at $5.00, and then San Francisco at $4.25.

And if you overstay your NYC parking meter? Then you, along with folks in San Francisco, will be paying the highest amount for your NYC parking ticket, at $65 each.

The survey, done by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, showed that:

Hourly Parking Meter Rates

1. Vancouver — $5.75 (lowest rate is 1.00)

2. New York City & Chicago — $5.00 ( NYC’s Greenwich Village is highest while lowest rate is $2.50 in downtown, Chicago’s lowest rate is $1.50) Read more…

Filed under: NYC Street Parking,Parking & Traffic Tickets,Parking News,Parking Tickets — Tags: , , , — mtohn @ 3:33 pm
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Can I Park Here app
February 5, 2012

Joshua Brustein from The New York Times just reviewed a new parking app called ‘Can I Park Here’. The app lets you take a photograph of a NYC street parking sign, and then the app will tell you if you can park there or not, and for how long. Once you decide to park, the app will start a timer and mark your location so you don’t overstay the meter or allotted time and get a NYC parking ticket. Totally cool and pretty simple, right?

Brustein tested about a dozen NYC parking spaces, though, and the app just didn’t work for him. The app reported that Brustein wasn’t actually close enough to the NYC parking sign, but even when he put his phone about one foot from the parking sign and took the photo, no luck. He eventually found out Read more…

Filed under: NYC Street Parking,Parking & Traffic Tickets,Parking Apps,Parking Tickets — Tags: , , — mtohn @ 8:57 am
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Muni-Meter Changes
February 1, 2012

NYC muni-meter for street parkingLast year, we told you that you could use a NYC Muni-Meter receipt at more than one NYC street parking spot. So if you purchased 3 hours and only used 2 hours, you could still use that receipt for the third hour if you needed to park somewhere else — that also had a NYC Muni-Meter.

Sadly, that convenience may be changing. The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering changing the rules so that you can use what’s left on the Muni-Meter receipt ONLY at a meter that charges the same rates. Read more…

Filed under: NYC Parking Card/Muni Meters,NYC Street Parking,Parking & Traffic Tickets,Parking Tickets — Tags: , , — mtohn @ 5:51 pm
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