Alternate Side Parking Rules in New York
New York City is a notoriously difficult place to find street parking. When parking a car in New York City, it is important to pay heed to the Alternate Side Parking Rules. The New York City Department of Transportation determines and enforces parking and traffic regulations for the city. These parking regulations are relayed to the public by over 1 million signs posted on streets. When parking in New York, make sure to read all posted signs carefully, as parking regulations can vary on the same side of the street, within the same block.
Other People Are Reading
-
Purpose
-
The purpose of the Alternate Side Parking regulation is to govern when cars can be parallel parked on a particular side of the street to allow for regular street cleaning. Not all streets in New York City allow for alternate side parking. If you do park on an alternate side parking street, you will have to move your car during the posted street-cleaning hours. These street cleaning hours usually occurs two mornings per week, for a one to three-hour period.
Holidays
-
On official holidays, alternate side parking rules are suspended. Therefore, if the street-cleaning hours fall on one of these holidays, you do not have to move your car. These holidays include government, religious, and cultural holidays, such as New Year's Day, Labor Day, Christmas, Lincoln's Birthday, the Asian Lunar New Year, Idul-Fitr, and Rosh Hashanah. Many of these holidays fall on a different day each year. The New York City Department of Transportation maintains a current list of holidays on its website (see Resources).
-
Emergency Suspensions
-
Alternate side parking rules may be altered due to excessive snowfall, inclement weather or other emergencies. In the case of emergency suspension, the Department of Transportation will inform the local media. You may also dial 3-1-1- to reach the New York City Call Center and request information on emergency suspensions.
Temporary Suspensions
-
Alternate side parking rules may also be suspended temporarily in order to post new regulations, to change existing street cleaning rules, or to replace missing or damaged parking signage. This allows the Department of Transportation time to change the signage to reflect the new rules. Temporary suspensions will be posted on applicable streets.
Penalties
-
If you fail to move your vehicle during the street cleaning hours, you may be ticketed. Also, as all of New York City is considered a "tow-away" zone, your vehicle could also be towed. The total cost of retrieving your vehicle and paying your ticket could be several hundred dollars, so make sure to read all signage carefully and move your vehicle at the appropriate time.
-
