Parking in NYC (ideally Midtown)?

August 17, 2022 7:25 AM

I'm unfortunately going to be in midtown Manhattan (near Bryant Park) for 48 hours with a car. Help?

I just downloaded SpotHero, but any suggestions about best places to park (or not to park)? I'm assuming I should just book a garage space rather than look for street parking.

Also: I'm going to be purchasing a few bulky items while I'm there, and would prefer to put them in the car as I purchase them, rather than take them back to the hotel. Am I allowed to access my car while it is parked in a garage (SpotHero suggests that these garages mostly valet-park their cars). Thanks!

Also: I'd potentially be prepared to park on Staten Island or wherever, and take public transportation in, if it were substantially cheaper to park and/or if there were substantially cheaper tolls (coming from Philly). Any thoughts?

posted by ClaireBear to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (13 answers total)

When we've had to take a car into the city, we always park in the deck on top of Port Authority bus terminal. You park yourself, take a ticket, and we've done just what you're suggesting (dropping things in the car multiple times) - we've also packed a cooler in the back of the car so that we can take perishables home.
posted by ersatzkat at 7:29 AM on August 17, 2022 [3 favorites]

Coming from Philly, Port Authority as suggested by ersatzkat has the advantage of being right by the Lincoln Tunnel, so you don't have to do much driving once you're in Manhattan.

You might look into parking by a PATH station in New Jersey. Parking would probably be cheaper (disclaimer: I have not actually done the research) and fare is $5.50 round-trip, which is much cheaper than the toll on any Hudson crossing.
posted by madcaptenor at 7:45 AM on August 17, 2022

Are you going to be using your car during the trip, or just leaving it there the whole time? If you're leaving it, one option to look into is parking your car somewhere where you're going to get a ticket for street cleaning/ alternate side, and then just paying the ticket. A street cleaning ticket is $65 in midtown Manhattan, which is probably cheaper than what you'd pay in a garage.
posted by Ragged Richard at 8:20 AM on August 17, 2022

I drive into the city and park on the street on a semi regular basis. I park mostly on the upper east side, but, by happenstance parked in midtown on Monday. I have a big F-150. To park it in a garage, they always want extra bc of the size. So, I always try the streets first. I would agree with Ragged Richard's strategy. I would take it a little further by saying it may be easy to get a spot depending on the day and time you are arriving. Try to get there when the time to move your car for alternative side of the street parking is near. That is usually 9:00am. Some people move their cars and some sit in it until the street cleaners come and they move to double parking on the other side and AS SOON AS the street sweeper passes, they move back. The traffic enforcement agent works with the street sweeper so once it passes, you are good to park there regardless of the time. I think being in midtown can be a plus. Very little residential parking. Probably, after say 6-7pm, there will be legal spots available. I think you should be looking further east, between say Park Ave and 2nd Ave. Too far east and you have some residential and the UN.

I am not sure if I parked on the street closer to Bryant Park or Grand Central if I would put valuable packages in the car throughout the day. I would bet against a break in, but I would not put it out of the question. If you decide to garage, there is at least one park yourself garage just on the south side of Madison Square Garden. I park there sometimes for events. I do not know the day rate, but you can put stuff in your car/trunk all day long.

I think the choice of street or garage is about your tolerance for hassle and the cost of buying no hassle (garage). And, your parking karma. I have it. Some do, some don't.

(The other alternative is to park on either the upper east or west sides in a residential area. You might have to circle a few times, but if your vehicle is smaller than my F-150, you WILL find a legal spot in which you can leave your car for free for at least 48 hours. It would be a hassle to drop packages, but no impossible.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:46 AM on August 17, 2022

Where are you making these bulky purchases? Also in Midtown, or is that just where your hotel is?
posted by saladin at 8:47 AM on August 17, 2022

There is a Municipal Garage on Essex & Delancey that allows you to go directly to the car, so you could leave it there and take stuff up to it safely and with ease. it's $77 a day (8 for the first hour, $3/hour after that, with no maximum), and directly above the Delancey/Essex street subway stop, which is serviced by the F/M/J Trains. More info here, but no need to pre-book, you can just drive in, take the ticket and go, and you could go back to your car to drop stuff off 24 hours a day, and there's always at least 2 staff members on duty.

If you want to look at what on-street parking regulations looks like near the specific streets where you are gonna be, I like Spot Angels, but I do think you will end up moving your car and driving around a lot if you are looking to park on the street for 2 days, and I would be shocked if you didn't rack up some parking tickets in the process.
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:59 AM on August 17, 2022

If these things are too bulky to fit in your trunk, I strongly encourage you to find out if your hotel will provide a concierge service to pick up the items after purchase and hold them safely in your hotel's office until you leave.

Honestly, you might do that regardless, as lugging bulky things around midtown to a safe garage is not going to be fun. And if they are high value, this may attract the attention of people who may wish to relocate your purchases from your car to their own home.
posted by ananci at 9:26 AM on August 17, 2022 [4 favorites]

I would pack something to throw over purchases to maybe dissuade theft or maybe marked garbage bags.
posted by theora55 at 10:11 AM on August 17, 2022

Response by poster: Thanks for the advice, guys - very helpful! We're in town for other reasons, but NYC Craigslist seems like a rich place to pick up gently-used items to furnish a new place due to a recent move. I'd be picking up smallish to medium things like a small bench, a folding box spring, maybe a coffee table. (In other words, not huge things like a couch or a mattress...) Most of the stuff is within a mile or two of Midtown: I'm used to walking miles carrying fairly uncomfortable things, so while a bit irritating, I'm not anticipating the actual logistics of pick-up to be too bad. I would hope any potential thieves would see that the items have little value (under $100), although I guess you never know - the blanket is a good idea, or maybe the concierge service if it isn't too pricey.

Perhaps a dumb question, but: can you rack up multiple parking tickets in a few days? We'll likely be there for 48 hours, but no more than 56 hours. The street parking idea is tempting, especially now that I've read reviews of valet-parking garages, where apparently they often park cars 4" apart, climb over them to get in through windows that they leave open, and in the process dent and scratch the car up...
posted by ClaireBear at 10:41 AM on August 17, 2022

There is a Municipal Garage on Essex & Delancey that allows you to go directly to the car, so you could leave it there and take stuff up to it safely and with ease.

You do not want to be hauling bulky stuff from Midtown to Essex and Ludlow, via subway or otherwise. (I also can't imagine hauling such items on the PATH out to Jersey would be any fun at all.)

I wouldn't be leaving anything valuable visible in a street-parked car, but I guess if it's bulky used furniture people will be less inspired to help themselves. With the alternate-side cleaning back, I do think unfortunately a garage is your best bet. You have to check, but a number of them will allow a self-park.
posted by praemunire at 11:06 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

Perhaps a dumb question, but: can you rack up multiple parking tickets in a few days? We'll likely be there for 48 hours, but no more than 56 hours.

You technically can, but parking restrictions specifically for street cleaning follow a schedule, so it would be unlikely that you'd get more than one in the period you're talking about. For example, one side of a street might be cleaned (and thus ticketed) on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11-13:30. So if you didn't move your car, you'd only intersect with that period once. You only get one ticket per street cleaning period.

Again, this is just for street cleaning, which is indicated by a sign that has a P inside a circle with a broom crossing over it to make the no parking sign. Other kinds of restrictions are more expensive, can happen every day, and can get your car towed.
posted by Ragged Richard at 1:24 PM on August 17, 2022

Hearing more about your Craigslist plan I personally would just drive around to all your craigslist pickups in one or two trips and then keep it parked in the muni garage or some other self-park garage the rest of the time.

You can absolutely get multiple parking tickets in a few days. My personal record is three in 36 hours (2 for metered parking, one for street cleaning. woof. Another thing is be careful to make sure you are reading the sign that applies to your spot. I got a ticket the other day because there is ONE spot on my side of the block that NO parking from 8-6 M-F, but if you are right next to the sign indicating that, the visible sign says Metered parking from 9a-7p and then the stuff about alternate sides. I went down to move my car at 9am and had a ticket from 8:06am.

Agreed that Valet Garages are a dicey proposition- old car had a sun roof and we got a boot shaped dent on the roof because they parked the cars so tight they had to climb in and out the sun roof.

I guess it's worth check spot angels and see if there are a few stretches of blocks near your hotel that don't have metered parking all day (unlikely tbh), but this should be a roll the dice and have a backup plan kinda plan.
If you are patient you might be able kinda sit in your car in an illegal spot and wait for someone to leave.

My last piece of parking advice is that the ParkNYC mobile app is pretty handy for paying/extending the parking meters.
posted by wowenthusiast at 3:56 PM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

If you're leaving it, one option to look into is parking your car somewhere where you're going to get a ticket for street cleaning/ alternate side, and then just paying the ticket.

Please don’t do this. Those of us who live here would like to actually have the streets cleaned, and your car in the way obstructs that from happening.
posted by Liesl at 11:18 PM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]