Where does the car go?

May 4, 2012 4:34 AM

Where would you leave a car in (or around) New York City for 4 or 5 days?

My boyfriend and I are driving down to New York City in mid-June (from Toronto) and are returning 4 or 5 days later. We'll be staying in Manhattan, probably near the Lower East Side. We don't have to keep the car with us, or even near us. We'd be happy to leave it in Jersey, for instance; we just want it to be somewhere safe. Do you know of any reasonable (even cheap?) solutions? We don't need to use it while we're visiting. Thanks!

posted by Clotilde to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (20 answers total)

If you go to the outer boroughs, there are plenty of streets that only have street cleaning once a week. I would drive to Bay Ridge Pkwy and 3rd Ave in Brooklyn (a safe, clean, nice neighborhood) - then circle around the neighborhood a bit until you find a parking spot that gives you 7 days before the next street cleaning. It will not be hard to find it.

Then you can take the subway back to Manahattan, fromm 77th St and 4th Ave. And you park for free in a safe neighborhood.
posted by Flood at 4:45 AM on May 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

Flood's got it. Park Slope in Brooklyn is another safe neighborhood with once a week alternate side parking and is a bit closer to Manhattan, though parking might be a little tougher to find. You can cruise all the streets from, say, Union Street to 15th Street, between 4th Avenue and Prospect Park West, and find a spot. (I am fairly certain it will be once a week alternate side in that whole area but obviously, be sure to check any street signs. And don't park on the commercial avenues.)
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 5:13 AM on May 4, 2012

Also came to recommend Brooklyn, specifically the Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens area. My wife and I routinely leave our car street-parked around here for days at a time without any bother. Just make sure (as Flood mentions) to find a spot that isn't going to be swept for the next several days (although you could always just come back out and move it a few blocks away if it comes down to it).
posted by saladin at 5:38 AM on May 4, 2012

There are plenty of parking garage solutions, as well.. it may run you a little over $30/day for 24 hours, but I think it's safer than on the street. There's a couple large garages on 41st/42nd by 10th Ave, or you can go to Jersey City.

You can check best parking for comparative rates.
posted by rich at 5:39 AM on May 4, 2012

Another good spot in Brooklyn is along Flatbush Avenue between Prospect Park and the Botanical Gardens. There's always plenty of space.
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:04 AM on May 4, 2012

Staten Island anywhere past the third stop on the Staten Island Rail. No alternate side at all, you can walk to the LES from the ferry terminal.
posted by 1adam12 at 6:17 AM on May 4, 2012

Westchester has a number of park and ride lots
posted by iamscott at 6:31 AM on May 4, 2012

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, under the BQE expressway at Graham Avenue. Free unlimited parking. No street cleaning. Easy access to Manhattan, and discovery of Williamsburg. And maybe I can use your car for a trip to Ikea pretty please?
posted by Liesl at 6:51 AM on May 4, 2012

Street parking is a risk; street parking for 1 week or more equals more risk. This does not mean just theft, but likely damage, etc.

The cheap solution is also in Brooklyn (or Queens): negotiate a weekly rate with someone who has a driveway. Lots of houses in both boroughs do. This is common, your car is off the street, which is the best thing you could do for it on a 7 day left-alone. You can post in Craig's list if time is of the essence.
posted by Kruger5 at 7:07 AM on May 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Why bring the car all the way into the city at all? Leave it at the White Plains Metro North Station or another Metro North Station such as Poughkeepsie.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:12 AM on May 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

My idea above about parking in an outer Borough will work - but on second thought, reading JohnnyGunn's comment - I think he has the best idea.
posted by Flood at 8:15 AM on May 4, 2012

JohnnyGunn suggested a *terrible* idea. White Plains and Poughkipsee are 1.5-2.5 hours (one way) by train to the LES. Why would one go out of their way up there just to park their car? That's 4 hours of return commuting.

Brooklyn, Queens, parts of NJ are all much closer and offer exactly the same type of solution.
posted by Kruger5 at 10:02 AM on May 4, 2012

I say go Brooklyn. My car hangs out in Clinton Hill for long periods of time. Fort Greene is great, too. Ditto Williamsburg on a side street. I don't agree about Park Slope--the streets are narrow and always jammed, but YMMV, obvs.

This site will help you plan block by block where you can park and avoid street sweeping days. Paired with some digging around on Google Maps, you'll be golden.
posted by Rudy Gerner at 10:13 AM on May 4, 2012

Kruger5: "JohnnyGunn suggested a *terrible* idea. White Plains and Poughkipsee are 1.5-2.5 hours (one way) by train to the LES. Why would one go out of their way up there just to park their car? That's 4 hours of return commuting.

Brooklyn, Queens, parts of NJ are all much closer and offer exactly the same type of solution."

It is on the way. Instead of driving the last hour, they would relax and take the train.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:42 AM on May 4, 2012

Driving down from Toronto, he will pass several Metro North train stations. Right?
posted by Flood at 10:53 AM on May 4, 2012

I see where the confusion is coming from:

the Toronto-to-NYC trip goes nowhere near Poughkipsee/White Plains - it goes western ny state -- nj -- nyc. (You might have been thinking montreal-nyc).
posted by Kruger5 at 10:56 AM on May 4, 2012

Could you rent a car, drop it off in NYC, and rent another one to drive back? It might actually be cheaper, and it is certainly easier.
posted by twblalock at 11:14 AM on May 4, 2012

A safer option that just ditching it on a street in the outer boroughs: outer boroughs also have much cheaper garage rates than what you'll find in the city. Why not pay $15 a day to store it in Park Slope rather than parking there and hope nobody hits it/steals it/breaks a window/tickets it for some bogus reason/leaves a shitload of flyers on the windshield right before a rainstorm/etc. ?
posted by Sara C. at 1:43 PM on May 4, 2012

Kruger5: "I see where the confusion is coming from:

the Toronto-to-NYC trip goes nowhere near Poughkipsee/White Plains - it goes western ny state -- nj -- nyc. (You might have been thinking montreal-nyc)."

I have relatives in Buffalo. When you drive from Buffalo (Toronto/Hamilton) you take the Thruway to Albany then head south on the Thruway. When you Cross the Tappan Zee on 87 heading to the City, just past the bridge, off 287, is White Plains or North White Plains station. Use one of them. Car safe, train easy and relaxing. No worries about driving anywhere near the city or Brooklyn or wherever.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 10:26 PM on May 4, 2012

Metro-North parking costs money. In Poughkeepsie, at least, the daily meters used to be for 24 hours max and the lots would be at capacity at certain times of the day. And Metro-North itself is pretty pricey. Parking in Brooklyn has never, ever been a problem for me, in terms of car damage or safety. YMMV but I wouldn't think twice about it.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 1:07 PM on May 5, 2012