Parking In New York City
If you are considering visiting New York City with a car, remember that parking in New York can be a significant challenge. If you do not plan ahead and adhere to some simple rules you’ll be fined, your auto might be towed or you may pay an arm and a leg in parking costs.
Here’s a basic rundown on NYC parking:
Garages
Hourly fees in NYC garages can cause heavy dents in your budget and in in the middle of town can cost well over $40 an hour.
Remember you can find discounts for nyc parking online and some sites even offer smartphone applications which will help you to find deals on an ad-hoc basis.
There are sometimes early bird deals for people that bring their cars in the parking garage before 10:00 am.
Often it is a good idea parking in a garage a bit further from where you want to get and take the subway, bus or walk to your destination. For instance, parking garages near Ninth and Tenth Avenue usually charge lower costs than mid town garages and you can find superb deals for the whole day.
If you are moving into New York permanently and have a vehicle, consider signing up for a monthly parking plan.
Monthly charges can run about 300 – 400 dollars a month with quite a few garages charging additional fees for SUV’s, but it is feasible to find less expensive deals.
Street parking
Here is the understatement of the month – Street parking in NYC is tough!!
There are areas in the city that it’s incredibly difficult to find a vacant space at any point of the day. Regardless of whether you find one – parking meters are pricey and at most places you’ll need to come back every hour or two to add more coins or pay more at the parking muni meters
On Sundays meter parking is free of charge.
In any case always!!! Carefully read the signs close to where you wish to park. Go a few feet to your left and to your right and make sure you understand the sign that is applicable to your space. Understanding what the various signs mean is difficult particularly to people coming to NYC for the 1st time. If you are unsure ask. The best people to ask are policemen or store owners right near where you are parking.
Check out the NYC DOT parking laws website for more info.
It’s also important to follow the guidelines about Alternate Side Parking
During specific days and hours you aren’t permitted to park on certain sides of the streets for cleaning and traffic flow purposes. There are ad hoc radio announcements on the suspension of these rules, sometimes as a consequence of stormy weather like snow, but there also are pre scheduled suspension of the Alternate Side Parking for holidays. You can take a look at the 2011 suspension calendar at the NYC DOT website.
NYC Parking Coupons is a a site that provides info on parking in NYC and offers coupons for parking in NYC