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Parking Tickets in New York

Each year, parking tickets in New York cost drivers more than $500 million in fines. To put that number into perspective, that’s enough to pay more than 10,000 people an annual salary of at least $50,000. This article will break down just how much a parking ticket costs in New York and provide a few tips and tricks to help you get out of them.

How Much Is a Parking Ticket in New York?

The price of parking tickets in New York varies depending on a number of factors. Here are a few examples:

• The type of ticket
• The location of the ticket
• The time the ticket took place
• How many tickets you received
• How many additional fees are applicable

In general, the price of a parking ticket costs between $45 and $125 in fines. As the great Ron Popeil would say, “But wait, there’s more!” Every time a court convicts you of a parking ticket in New York, there’s a chance that it will also apply additional financial penalties.

Common NY Parking Tickets

To help you get a better picture of what not to do and where not to park in the state, we’ll break down a few of the most common parking tickets in New York.

Expired Parking Meters

Expired parking meter tickets are among the most frustrating kinds of parking tickets. They’ve also been featured extensively in sitcoms and other TV shows over the years. If you park on the street without paying a parking meter, there’s a high likelihood that you’ll get a ticket. Even if you do pay the meter and you’re just one minute late, you might find a ticket on your windshield when you get back to your car.

Double Parking

Double parking is when you parallel park next to another vehicle that is also parallel parked. This practice is illegal in most of New York, especially in New York City, because double parking blocks in the driver closest to the curb and prevents them from being able to safely leave their parking space.

Parking Within 15 Feet of Fire Hydrants

In New York—and in most places—it is illegal to park within 15 feet of a fire hydrant. Failure to adhere to that law and provide sufficient space for emergency personnel to access a fire hydrant can result in you receiving a parking ticket.

Violating Alternate Side Parking Rules

Alternate side parking rules refer to regulations designed to enable more efficient street cleaning. Oftentimes, the areas affected by these rules are marked with No Parking signs that list specific times and days. During the affected windows, you cannot park your vehicle in those places.

Violating a No Stopping Sign

No Stopping signs are signs that require you to continue moving your vehicle at all times. In areas marked with these signs, it is illegal to stop your vehicle. You cannot stop, wait, load or unload items, or pick up or drop off passengers in these areas.

Parking at a No Standing Sign

No Standing signs are signs that allow you to stop but not to stand or park. Standing is when you idle in your vehicle while it is still on. In these spaces, you are allowed to pick up and drop off passengers but you cannot stop for long enough to load or unload items. It is also illegal to stop and wait in these areas.

Disregarding a No Parking Sign

No Parking signs are signs that allow you to stop or to stand but not to park. The difference between standing and parking is that standing involves the vehicle still being on and operated but parking involves the vehicle being stopped, put in park, and left there. It is legal to load or unload items or to pick up or drop off passengers, but it is still illegal to park or to wait in these areas.

Parking in School Zones

School zones are roadways designated for use by educational institutions and students. Although most drivers can use those roadways, there are additional regulations pertaining thereto and students and faculty almost always have the right of way. It is illegal to park in any of these zones during specific hours, especially if it obstructs the safe usage of the zone by students or faculty.

Disputes of a Parking Ticket

Just because you get a parking ticket doesn’t mean you have to pay it. There are a handful of ways to dispute parking tickets in New York, each of which can help increase the chances of getting your ticket dismissed. To clarify, getting your ticket dismissed is the best possible outcome of a parking ticket dispute. It’s a good thing!

Missing or Unreadable Signs

If you’ve received a parking ticket in an area where the sign was missing or unreadable, that could help your case. If you can prove that there was no way for you to have seen the sign or understood what it said and that any other reasonable person would have made the same mistake, you might be able to convince the judge to dismiss your ticket.

Broken Meter

If a parking meter is broken or out of service when you arrive, do not park there. The law states that you have to either park at a functional meter or use a functional meter to purchase a parking receipt. However, if the meter was functional when you parked but broken when you received the ticket—and you can prove that—then you might be able to get it dismissed.

Defective Ticket With Wrong Information

If you receive a ticket that has your name misspelled or is one letter off on your license plate, that is usually not enough to get the ticket dismissed. Rather, the judge will amend it to show the correct information. However, if there are major inaccuracies on the ticket (such as the wrong vehicle make and model, the wrong vehicle color, and the entirely wrong license plate number), you might be able to get it dismissed.

Disabled Ticket

There are plenty of parking spaces in New York that are reserved specifically for people with disabilities. If you wrongfully park in one of those spaces, courts will typically not show you any leniency. However, if you have the proper permits, plates, and placards that allow you to park in one of those spaces legally, taking those to court might help to prove that you should not have received the ticket in the first place.

What if I Don’t Pay My New York Parking Ticket?

Failure to pay a New York parking ticket can result in you receiving increased penalties as well as an entirely different ticket in addition to your original parking ticket: Failure to Pay.

Penalties, Fines, and Interest

The fines and other financial penalties incurred as a result of a parking ticket conviction will increase with interest the longer it takes you to pay them off.

Vehicle Booting and Towing

Too many unpaid parking tickets or too high an unpaid balance and you might end up with a court-ordered boot on your vehicle. The court might even issue an order to tow and impound your vehicle until you pay the entire outstanding balance plus interest on top of hefty towing and impoundment fees.

Suspension of Registration

Failure to pay a parking ticket can result in the government suspending your vehicle’s registration, which would make it illegal to operate in any capacity.

Impact Credit Score

An unpaid parking ticket’s balance can be reported to credit bureaus as a delinquent debt. A single 30-day delinquent debt can reduce your credit score by any number of points. There have been cases where a single unpaid balance resulted in nearly a 100-point drop in credit.

How To Avoid NYC Parking Tickets

To avoid parking tickets in NYC, it’s best to follow the tips and tricks outlined below.

Check Your Meter Time Limit and Don’t Arrive Even a Minute Late to Your Car

When you pay a parking meter immediately after parking your car, make a note of the time. Write it down so you won’t forget. Aim to get back to your vehicle as early as possible, returning to put more money in the meter if necessary.

Place Your Meter Receipt Face Up on Your Dashboard

Place your meter receipt face up on the dashboard so that it is clearly visible and easy to read through your windshield. This will ensure that the meter readers have an easy time reading it and making sure that your information is not ticket-worthy.

When Multiple Parking Signs Exist in the Same Area, Heed the Advice of the Most Restrictive One

If you see a No Parking sign right next to a Free Parking sign, for example, do not park there. This an unusual example that typically won’t happen in reality, but it illustrates an important point: Always follow the rules of the most restrictive traffic signs.

Keep Your Registration and Insurance Up to Date

Letting your registration or insurance lapse can result in you receiving a ticket, your vehicle being towed, and/or other penalties. To make matters worse, you can actually be arrested for driving without valid insurance in New York.

Park at Least 15 Feet Away From Fire Hydrants

You don’t necessarily need to bring a tape measure everywhere you go, but having a general idea of how long 15 feet is can help you to avoid getting a ticket for parking too close to a fire hydrant.

Understand the Difference Between No Stopping, No Standing, and No Parking Signs

Here’s what each of those three phrases mean:

• No Stopping: You cannot stop for any reason.
• No Standing: You can only stop to pick up or drop off passengers.
• No Parking: You can only stop to load or unload items or pick up or drop off passengers.

Never Park in Any Part of a Crosswalk or Designated Bike Lane

If you see a parking space that’s open but would require you to partially block a crosswalk, bike lane, fire lane, bus lane, etc., do not park there. Even if your vehicle is a single inch over the line, you can get a parking ticket.

Pay Your Parking Ticket Through Appwinit.com

If you’ve been given a parking ticket, don’t fret. You might not have to pay for it just yet. In the WinIt app, you can find affordable legal assistance from expert attorneys in your area with the knowledge and know-how to take your case to court and win it.