Last Updated on November 19, 2023 by Lawrence Berezin
Here’s the PPPD Application
PPPD Brochure
Where do I mail my completed application?
Mail the Completed Application to:
NYC PPPD
NYC DOT Parking Permits and Customer Service
30-30 Thomson Avenue, 2nd floor
Long Island City, NY 11101
Do not drop off applications or forms at the office.
NYC DOT’s PPPD Unit will review your application for completeness and forward it to the DOHMH Medical Certification Unit. Incomplete applications will be returned with a letter requesting the missing information.
DOHMH’s Certification Unit will review your application and supporting medical documentation. If DOHMH approves your application, the PPPD unit will issue you a permit.
If DOHMH denies your application, the PPPD unit will send you a denial letter explaining the appeal process. The entire application process could take up to 90 days.
[The source for all this valuable information: NYC DOT]
Commentary
The NYC DOT is an excellent source of information about parking for people with disabilities. Likewise, I got this information from their webpage. There’s plenty more helpful information on the DOT website.
(Likewise, here’s another post I wrote that may be of interest]>
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I thought some areas in the garment district were prohibited. Maybe they changed that rule since. That restriction used to be listed on the back of my my parents permits.
My parents have received multiple parking tickets even though the permit was displayed. I wrote letters for each ticket with appropriate evidence and sent them to the advocacy unit. All were dismissed. Those cops writing these types of tickets are awful.
Hi Claudia,
Always great to hear from you and read your informative comments.
I agree about the Garment Distict. However, I double checked and I can no longer find a statement that PPPD are not allowed to park in the Garment District.
Is there anyone in Parking Ticket Land that can enlighten us about PPPD parking in the Garment District?
Thanks!
Regards,
Larry
I forgot to add something quite important about PPPDs….both my parents have handicapped permits aka PPPDs. My father’s permit is expired and he has been worried, unnecessarily may I add, about getting tickets because of this. The DOT’s website indicates that expired permits from 2020 are “…still being honored as valid until further notice and will not receive a summons or be booted or towed.”
If you get a parking ticket for an NYC PPPD that expired in 2020, 2021, or 2022, send your summons and a copy of your permit number along with your defense statement and any other evidence you may have to:
NYC Department of Finance
Advocacy Unit
66 John Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10038”
Nevertheless, my father has applied twice to renew his PPPD permit but he has been denied each time. DOT keeps asking for more and more medical records. He sent more once but they still want even more. He is 93 and had one hip replaced twice and the other hip replaced once. I think it’s crazy at this point so we will be heading to consult with a local politician to get some help.
My point is that expired permits are still valid from 2020 on.
*****Also, the information below is stated online at the DOT site about regarding the garment district:
“Using the New York City Parking Permit for People with Disabilities (NYC PPPD)
The following list indicates what is covered by your NYC PPPD.
The permit entitles the operator of a vehicle to park:
At any metered parking space, Passenger or Commercial, without charge
At any “No Parking” space regardless of hours including those for Street Cleaning regulations
At any space designated for use by Authorized Vehicles, including Diplomats (DPL), New York Press (NYP) or any governmental agency, except spaces designated for Ambulances and Ambulettes
In any “No Standing except Trucks Loading/Unloading or Truck Loading” Zone (EXCEPTION: Garment District parking area on cross town streets 35th-41st Streets, between 6th and 8th Avenues). These signs should be read carefully; permit holders may park only during the days and times that trucks may park.”
Well said, Claudia.
Thanks for the additional valuable information!
Regards,
Larry
Sadly, I have learned the hard way that some judges are being totally unreasonable in regard to demanding proof that a PPPD was actually displayed at the time that a ticket was issued, despite this being impossible to prove.
I am a long time holder of a PPPD, and I have had two instances where I had to pay a ticket for alternate side (street cleaning) violations after the traffic agent lied on the ticket by indicating that no permit was displayed. This is due to an unfair change in policy, which was made during the DeBlasio administration.
Originally, if a PPPD holder was incorrectly issued a ticket, the policy was that they could mail it to the Parking Advocate department, along with their permit number, and after confirming that the permit was valid, the Parking Advocate department would issue an administrative dismissal. After having successfully followed this procedure numerous times successfully, I submitted an alternate side ticket to the Parking Advocate department, requesting an administrative dismissal. Instead, I received a notice that a hearing had been held (with no notification given to me) and I had been found guilty.
I contacted the Parking Advocate department, thinking that this was an error. Instead, I was informed of a policy change made by the Department Of Finance, at the directive of the Mayor’s Office. The Parking Advocate department is no longer allowed to issue administrative dismissals on the basis of a valid PPPD, and instead must send the ticket to an ALJ for a hearing.
The first time this happened, the ALJ reviewed my letter requesting an administrative dismissal, and without any notification to me that a hearing was being held, found me guilty for failing to prove that my permit had been displayed.
The second time, I thought I was ready. I submitted a request for a hearing, in which I included photos of the front and back of my PPPD, a photo of it displayed in my windshield, and a statement attesting that it was displayed when the ticket was issued. I was found guilty, with the ALJ stating that while I had proven that I had a valid PPPD, the photo of it in my windshield did not prove that it was displayed at the actual time that the ticket was issued. I appealed the verdict, stating that without being present at the vehicle at the moment that the ticket was issued to take a photo of the ticket actually being placed on the car with the PPPD visible, there was no possible way to prove what the ALJ was requesting. The appeal was denied.
I think that the law should be changed to require that proof having a valid PPPD should be affirmative grounds for dismissal, just as presenting a valid muni-meter receipt is an affirmative defense to a parking meter violation.
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, albeit bad experiences. The “change in policy” you refer to is outrageous.
Meanwhile, it is difficult enough to secure a NYC PPPD and now the Evil Empire wants you to prove it was displayed on your dashboard and not your refrigerator? Absurd!
Firstly, this policy needs to be changed back to the original policy. Secondly, your suggestion that proof of a PPPD should be grounds for dismissal is an excellent suggestion.
Good luck, Mike.
Regards,
Larry
I agree that having a valid PPPD should be affirmative grounds for dismissal in Instances like this. The same situation with ticketing happened to my dad and both times, I wrote to the Parking Advocate Unit and the tickets were dismissed without hearings. Why is it different for other permit holders? So odd!
If someone has a PPPD issued, why would they remove the permit from the dash in their car? Thus, these types of tickets make no sense! The officer issuing the ticket should be required to provide a photo showing the permit was not in the dash (and not the other way around , which is impossible) at the time the ticket is issued!
Mike, I’m sorry you had to deal with all that. So unfair!
Hi Claudia,
You bless us with wonderful, common sense comments. However, this is Parking Ticket Land, and I’m afraid common sense is undervalued or ignored.
Meanwhile, I glad you found the Parking Ticket Advocate helpful.
Regards,
Larry