When my husband and I visited New York City as tourists long ago, driving in the city elevated our blood pressure. Then we moved here, and I realized that the driving wasn’t the problem. It was the parking. (And the subway, and the apartment search, and the sticker shock, and the crowds….)
In those Pre-Harlem-Costco days, we’d muse how nice it would be to stock up on supplies someplace more economical than Duane Reade. But as new parents in a new city with new jobs and no clue about any of it, we didn’t want to up the ante by tackling street parking or to lower the bank account with $500 monthly garage parking. So we’d ration the Bounty until my parents arrived with a shipment from Pennsylvania.
Then four years into the parenting, and New York, and parenting in New York thing, after we had explored all I could tolerate via public transport, we decided to share a friend’s car with her. So in between weekend road trips to beaches in Queens and pizza parlors in Staten Island, whenever it was my shift to car sit, I’d gather my coffee, iPhone and to-do list and wait in the car for 90 minutes until the street sweeper or parking enforcement agent suggested I move along. Twice a week. Then our friend Steve told me that, done right, street parking need only take 60 to 90 minutes a week. (Half the time.)
Herewith a few of Steve’s tips:
1. Alternate ahead of schedule
In our neighborhood, alternate side parking runs from 9am to 10:30am on Mondays and Thursdays on one side of the street, Tuesdays and Fridays for the other. (Presumably it’s so street sweepers can tidy up, but I’m pretty sure it’s just another revenue generator for the city.) And while the street Zamboni may pass by at 9:01am, the meter maids are still hanging out for the other 89. (I’m aware the term isn’t PC, but I’m still smarting from $130 in parking tickets in one week due to an ailing 4th grader.)
The trick, Steve said, is to move your car a day before you must move it. At 10am on Monday—or 10:10am at the latest—move from your Tuesday spot to an empty space, probably across the street. Then wait 29 minutes for the clock to run down. Any earlier, you wait unnecessarily; any later and you risk missing out on a space. Be warned—even when it’s only drizzling, spaces go quickly.
If you can’t temporarily double park, meter or garage your car for the hour or so until you need to claim a street space. But check out parking garage rates in advance. Garage fees vary by as much as 50% in the same neighborhood.
2. Learn the art of alternate side parking
Scope out nearby streets to see where street sweeping times change. Say your local restrictions end at 10:30am, but you won’t be home in time to park. A few blocks north or south, parking restrictions may run from 11am to 12:30pm, which might give you the time you need.
Park a few spaces back from the corner. If the sweeper comes close to the end of street sweeping time and you’re too close to the corner when you move for the sweeper, someone may zip into your spot and you may not have enough space (or time) to park once the cleaner passes.
Should you cut it too close to the end of alternate side parking and see half a spot that you want, smile big and ask the drivers in front and back to scoot just a smidge to make room for you.
If you’ve run late to your car only to find a fluorescent orange envelope under your windshield wiper, just leave your car where it is and go about your business. Sticklers they may be, parking attendants don’t usually ticket for the same crime twice.
Do the math. If you’re going to be out of town for more than a few days (while your car stays local), it could be more economical to get one $65 parking ticket than to garage for three nights.
2. Make the most of street parking
Even when you can’t find a spot on a side street, there are tricks to be had. You can park at a muni meter space until morning—but notice when the meters kick in. In some places, it’s 8am. Elsewhere, it’s 9am. If you can be an early riser, try the bus lanes. Assuming you retrieve your car by 7am, you can avoid $25 to $45 in garage donations. (In five years, I’ve only paid to overnight three or four times. It usually helps to be just about to give up, and then the parking god, Damnit, will serve up a spot.)
3. Take advantage of others’ beach holidays
While street parking isn’t as convenient as your own driveway, we are heading into the next best thing – summer, when many City drivers leave for vacation. (Winter can also be your friend since alternate side parking rules often are suspended when it snows; alternate side parking is not your friend, however, when you’re shoveling your car out of a snow bank.)
4. Check the calendar
Another gift from the parking gods is the parking holiday. From Ash Wednesday to Purim and Idul-Fitr to Diwali, not to mention the Good Fridays (Catholic and Orthodox) and the New Years (Asian Lunar and the other one), there are some 40 days a year when street sweepers don’t sweep, parking enforcers don’t enforce, and drivers needn’t jockey for spots. Maneuver yourself appropriately, and you’ll clear up your morning—if not your week. Download the ASP calendar at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/motorist/alternate-side-parking.shtml.
5. Get the right app
After five years of street parking, one block begins to look like another. (Did I park on 83rd between 1st and 2nd? Or was it 81st between 2nd and 3rd?) To remember where I’ve stationed the wheels, I like a free iPhone app called Find my Car.
6. Park out of town
If you live in Manhattan but don’t fancy yourself a street jockey (or someone who pays big for real estate the size of a marshmallow) and don’t need your car every day, check out garages in less pricey boroughs or even less expensive nabes in Manhattan. In some Manhattan neighborhoods, you can find them for as low as $120 a month. Got a beater? Consider street parking in a borough where byways are cleaned less frequently. If you can’t get out there to move your car, you’ll only risk one ticket—not twins.
I would write more, but I’m off to move the car. Two last tidbits:
- Don’t try these tricks on the UES in the 70s. Steve wasn’t keen on the competition. Though he is moving to New Jersey and won’t have to worry about alternate side parking rules in his driveway, he has promised to visit and will need his tips then.
- Lastly, the Friday after Thanksgiving isn’t considered a parking holiday. You’re welcome.
A business reporter who has written for The New York Times, TIME magazine, The Associated Press,Advertising Age and other publications, Hillary Chura now spends most of her time ferrying children to and from school, desperately wanting to nap, and tirelessly trying to parent for le$$ in New York City. She was reared in North Carolina and currently lives in on the Upper East Side with three boys—her husband and their two sons. Hillary gets most excited when she finds Southern prices in Manhattan stores.
