A Titanic Parking Ticket Riddle is Solved

Last Updated on November 25, 2015 by Lawrence Berezin

A parking ticket question that went unanswered for years

I have been searching for years for the answer to this haunting parking ticket question, “What does ‘CD’ mean on a parking ticket?” I have stalked the answer to this riddle like Captain Ahab, the monomaniacal captain of the whaling ship Pequod, stalked Mobey Dick (and, we all know what happened to Captain Ahab).

Finally, after giving up hope of solving this Rubik’s cube of a parking ticket conundrum, I stumbled across the answer.

The answer to the parking ticket riddle

I was researching parking ticket law on a new, innovative search tool, Ravel Law, when I read a case that contained the answer:

…Plaintiffs’ challenge turns on the enforcement of parking regulations against commercial vehicles in two basic circumstances. First, the City permits parking for certain limited commercial purposes in two types of otherwise restricted zones (collectively, “CD” zones).

The first is designated by signs stating “No Standing Except Trucks Loading and Unloading” (“No SETLU” zones) and is governed by Section 4-08(k)(2) of the New York City Traffic Rules and Regulations (the “Rules”), which permits commercial vehicles to park in a No SETLU zone “for the purpose of expeditiously making pickups; deliveries or service calls.”

The second is designated by familiar “No Parking” signs (“No Parking” zones) and is governed by Section 4-08(a)(4) of the Rules. Section 4-08(a)(4) allows commercial vehicles to park in No Parking Zones “temporarily for the purpose of and while expeditiously … loading or unloading property to or from the curb.”2 Second, Section 4-08(k)(6) of the Rules excludes “vehicles owned or operated by gas or oil heat suppliers or gas or oil heat system maintenance companies, the agents or employees thereof, or any public utility” from a prohibition against the parking of commercial vehicles in residential areas between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. — All Aire Conditioning, Inc. v. City of New York, 979 F.Supp. 1010, 1013 (S.D.N.Y. 1997).”  ALL AIRE CONDITIONING, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants. HENICK-LANE, INC., Plaintiff, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants. 979 F.Supp. 1010 (1997) Nos. 93 CIV. 4718(LAK), 96 CIV. 9483(LAK). United States District Court, S.D. New York. September 30, 1997.

Here’s a link to the full decision.

Commentary

OK, so the answer was a little disappointing. There was no shock and awe, and “CD” wasn’t even a required element. But, finding the answer was more satisfying than when I rescued the princess in the original version of Nintendo’s Mario Brothers game back in the 15th Century.

That feat took three months of daily game playing and when I finally won, a tiny princess walked across the screen, turned to me and said, “Thank you, Mario.”

Park safely and always find the answers to your riddles.