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Press Release

Holiday Season is Parking Ticket Season in NYC

Day After Thanksgiving #1 for Tickets, Out-of-Towners Top Victims

BROOKLYN, NY, NOVEMBER 24, 2021 – The start of the holidays is the start of parking ticket season in New York City. The last quarter of the year sees the most tickets issued when lots of out-of-towners flood the City, severely limiting available parking.

“There is a noticeable uptick in events, celebrations, entertainment and shows for the holidays,” says parking expert Lou Camporeale, author of The New York City Parking Survival Guide. “The pent-up desire of people to do things after a year-and-a-half of COVID lockdowns will lead to lots of folks going out, and lots of parking tickets,” Camporeale added.

New York issues far more parking tickets than any city in the nation. In the last full fiscal year of 2018/2019, more than 12 million parking tickets were left on vehicle windshields in New York, generating close to $1.3 billion in revenue. Thanksgiving week has, for decades, seen the most parking tickets issued in New York City. Shoppers heading out for Black Friday should know the day after Thanksgiving sees the most parking tickets issued on a single day in New York City. In a normal year, Black Friday sees more than 25,000 parking tickets issued in the five boroughs, worth close to $900,000. In 2007, Black Friday saw a record 41,000 tickets issued. With increased vehicle ownership due to many avoiding covid exposure on public transportation, and reduced street parking resulting from the open restaurants program, that record could be in jeopardy.

During the turkey holiday, out-of-state vehicles make up the bulk of ticket victims. “Parking signs in New York can be confusing, obscured/defaced or missing, making it impossible for visiting drivers, and many New Yorkers, to decipher what is legal parking,” Camporeale added. He says 15 to 20 percent of tickets issued in the City are questionable. With the City literally banking on most drivers declining to fight the violations and just pay. The city relies on parking ticket collections for a significant part of its fiscal revenue.

Camporeale suggests using smart phone apps to secure paid parking in areas where it’s available. In sections of the city where street parking is the only alternative, he says reading the sign is critical to avoiding tickets, and taking photographs is vital to fighting a ticket, which everyone who receives one should do.

The New York City Parking Survival Guide, published since 1998 and now in its third edition, is a how-to guide on understanding and fighting tickets effectively. In any given year, 20 to 25 percent of tickets issued are defective and should be dismissed. The most common ticket error is location, which must have the exact address of where the vehicle was located. If there is no address, such as beside a park, it must be shown as “opposite” a specific address. Also, the borough of the violation must be listed, which, if missing, is grounds for automatic dismissal. The Guide contains several instances of items which would lead to automatic dismissal.

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