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Have you ever encountered someone standing in a parking spot (to hold it for someone else) that you wanted? And if so, what did you do?
And have you ever tried to hold one for someone else?
My understanding is this is illegal in NYC.
Streets of NYC belong to the City. It is illegal for anyone to place anything to reserve or block off anything without a permit from the City. Just as it is illegal to paint the curb yellow in attempts to keep people from parking.
If there is a debate over a parking space and NYPD is called/comes along things will depend upon what is going on. Possession being 9/10's of the law if someone is already parked then they are likely not going to be told to move. If someone is just standing there "reserving" a spot the Po-Po may tell them to sling their hook and move out of the way.
If you place anything in spaces to reserve it becomes more complicated. If someone parks a vehicle in such a way that it takes up too much space, there isn't a law against that. Someone placing objects to block off would have to be caught by NYPD in the act I'd say. Unless directed otherwise such as by a posting of a valid notice (such as those for a film crew, ConEd, or whatever) that one cannot park you are free to move any object placed to "reserve" a space. Again you may value your life and property cheaply but....
In the comments section of the blog I linked above, someone made the point that if it were legal, probably a big side business would pop up where kids would come along after street cleaning, "save" all the spots and then start charging people to park in them. I don't know how likely this would be to happen, but it's kind of a funny image.
They do it or atleast used to do it by Yankee stadium all the time... I remember walking up to the stadium and seeing a bunch of dudes standing near spots with bricks and bins laid out all over the place covering spots charging $10-$20 for parking spots.
Same thing happened to me while I pulled up to a Cyclones game to find parking... I was looking for parking and some dude moved a bin and told me $10 to park there... thanks but no thanks I'll just pay the extra $5 and park in a lot.
Have said this before; doormen all over the UES and parts of UWS "reserve" spots for tenants all the time. This behavior is mostly confined to the rich heartland of UES (Fifth to Park Avenue) or around CPW, but never the less they do. Especially on Fifth you see cones going out around 645PM or so when the no parking rules are set to expire. This why Mr. Vanderbilt can slide into a spot right in front of his building..
Many high end so called "luxury" co-ops, condos or rental buildings are famous for putting out those "Please Do Not Block Our Entrance" signs if not actual cones in order to keep the area in front of their door clear. Many places will paint the curb yellow in an attempt to reinforce this; but again that is against the law.
Have said this before; doormen all over the UES and parts of UWS "reserve" spots for tenants all the time. This behavior is mostly confined to the rich heartland of UES (Fifth to Park Avenue) or around CPW, but never the less they do. Especially on Fifth you see cones going out around 645PM or so when the no parking rules are set to expire. This why Mr. Vanderbilt can slide into a spot right in front of his building..
Many high end so called "luxury" co-ops, condos or rental buildings are famous for putting out those "Please Do Not Block Our Entrance" signs if not actual cones in order to keep the area in front of their door clear. Many places will paint the curb yellow in an attempt to reinforce this; but again that is against the law.
Well we know a different set of rules apply to the mumsies...
I do not try and take a parking spot that someone is standing in, obviously holding it for someone nearby to pull in. It may be illegal, but for me it's not worth the chance of a violent confrontation.
Yes, this ^
The same blocking, "reserving" behavior goes on in Philly (where I live) as well. It's especially notable when it snows. Same rules as NYC: the city, not the car owner, owns the streets. However, even our mayor said a couple of years ago something like "if you spent an hour digging out a spot for your car, well, then ..."
Last year I was waiting for my wife at the train station. It had snowed, and the plowing reduced a two-lane street to about 1 1/2 lanes. I pulled my car part-way into a coned-off spot, just to let traffic pass more easily. Immediately I hear honking from the car behind me. I rolled down my window and gestured for her to go around me (there was plenty of room). The spot I was partly occupying was, of course, "owned" by the woman. She popped out of her car in a flash and started a tirade: "I f***ing worked on that spot for f***ing 2 hours! You f***ing better get out of there right f***ing now!" You get the point.
As luck, or Karma, would have it, as the woman was spewing, a car queued up behind her and the driver started honking at HER. She was focused on my and ignored him. Then he tried to go around her, misjudged the width of his car and SHEAR OFF HER DRIVER-SIDE MIRROR.
By this time, the train had arrived, my wife assessed the situation and scooted into the car in what had to be record time. We removed ourselves from the scene without waiting to see if the cone-woman's head exploded into a snowbank.
Can get nasty in NYC, I experienced for the 1st time...i was switching a parking with my car with my fiancee's vehicle to save her a walk and I was about to get into her car to take the spot....a woman with her kid swoops in and takes the spot. She pretends she didnt know what I was doing and tells me to park across the street in front of a driveway. We argue over what happened. Silly her to continue on from her apt window as i know where she lives and she rants how I don't own the spot, yet she defends her actions by saying she has lived in the building where the spot is for a long time. How hypocritical. I have contemplated to get back at her when the time comes. Not worth fighting a spot in NYC....you never know when and what might happen.
This is not the same, but I have a neighbor with two cars. When he goes out, he moves his 2nd car up (or back) a bit to hog two spaces. He essentially gets to 'own' both spaces, because no one can ever park there unless they have a motorcycle.
The cost of registering the second car is probably less than the inconvenience or cost of having to look for parking every day.
There's a store on my block that tries to do that. The owners/workers need spots, so they'll either put out cones, or, if the opportunity exists, use their car, and the cars of others that will cooperate (like the super in my building) to block out spaces.
However, since I know their game, I make use of it myself. If my super is blocking out a space for them, and I need it, I'll call him and have him move his car, then take the space.
I saw them do the cone thing this week and a couple of cops came by and gave them crap for it.
This is not the same, but I have a neighbor with two cars. When he goes out, he moves his 2nd car up (or back) a bit to hog two spaces. He essentially gets to 'own' both spaces, because no one can ever park there unless they have a motorcycle.
The cost of registering the second car is probably less than the inconvenience or cost of having to look for parking every day.
Same thing happening in Rego Park. I suppose because their driveways are very narrow and it's easier to park on the street in front of their house. They use cones or park their vehicles halfway blocking a driveway and halfway in front of the house.
I have stood for about five minutes, saving a spot for a friend.She had a new born baby, it was winter very cold outside.
That's why I did it, nothing happened. But I told her this was the first and the last time for me. I felt stupid doing this, I had
the mean l👀👀k on my face.
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