See how easily you can Avoid or Beat an NYC Parking Ticket

Last Updated on October 30, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin

You can avoid or beat an NYC parking ticket by knowing the defense

When can a member of the NYC driving public legally stop, drop, and go and avoid or beat a parking ticket?

I was doing some recreational reading of the 23 pages of rules contained in Section 4-08 of the NYC Department of Transportation Traffic Rules. One of the frequent parking decisions a member of the driving community must make to avoid a parking ticket is to correctly identify whether a vacant parking space lives in a No Stopping, No Standing, or No Parking zone.

Why is this so important? Because the nature of the activity you can do in each of the three parking zones depends upon the identity of parking zone.

For example, you can stop temporarily to drop off or pick up a passenger and personal property in a No Parking zone. But, if you miss the mark, and the vacant parking space lives in a  No Standing zone, your mistake will cost you $115.

The decision is pretty easy when there is a parking sign revealing the type of parking zone. But, what if there isn’t a parking sign spilling the beans?

How to learn the type of parking zone when there isn’t a parking sign?

I know of two ways:

• Memorize ’em
• Keep a “cheat sheet” in your car

Here’s a cheat sheet for you:

No Stopping Zones (no parking sign required):

1. Traffic Lanes
2. Sidewalks
3. Intersections
4. Crosswalks
5. Street excavations
6. Tunnels and elevated roadways
7. Divided highways
8. Bicycle Lanes
9. Restricted use and limited use streets
10. Major Roadways (not defined)

You cannot stop temporarily, drop off or pick up people (or personal property), and skedaddle in these 10 unmarked No Stopping zones.

No Standing zones (no parking sign required)

1. Parks
2. Bus lanes
3. Railroad crossings
4. Safety Zones
5. Pedestrian ramps

You are permitted to stop temporarily, drop off or pick up people (not property), and skedaddle in these 5 unmarked No Standing zones.

No Parking zones (no parking sign required)

1. Emergency site
2. Vacant lots
3. Marginal streets and waterfronts

A marginal street is “A marginal street shall mean any street, road, place, area or way adjoining or adjacent to waterfront property and designated as a marginal street, wharf or place on a plan map adopted pursuant to law.”

Waterfront property is “The term waterfront property shall mean all waterfront property, city or privately owned, between salt water and the next adverse owner. An adverse owner is the first private owner of property not designated as waterfront property.

[Larry’s note: “Say what?!]

Wharf property is “The term wharf property shall mean all wharves, piers, decks and bulkheads and structures thereon and slips and basins, the land beneath any of the foregoing, and all rights, privileges and easements appurtenant thereto and land under the water in the port of New York, and such upland or made land adjacent thereto owned by the city of New York as is vested in or may be assigned to the Department of Business Services of the City of New York.”

[Larry’s note: “There is something very wrong with having this tortuous definition of Wharf Property, and not have a definition of a bus stop in these rules. C’mon man.”  tor·tu·ous

You can stop temporarily, drop off or pick up people and personal property, in these 3 unmarked No Parking zones.

Commentary

I think the conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat says it best:

`But I don’t want to go among mad people,’ Alice remarked.
`Oh, you can’t help that,’ said the Cat: `we’re all mad here. I’m mad.  You’re mad.’

`How do you know I’m mad?’ said Alice.

`You must be,’ said the Cat, `or you wouldn’t have come here.’

Do you know the difference between a no stopping and a no standing zone? If not, it will cost you money.

Park safely, and keep an eye out for those maddening parking zones.