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Right, should have mentioned that, Chava61 is quite right!!!!
Long vacations and short getaways, can be a downer---cause, if street parking, what do you do with the car?
You'll have to find someone to move it for you; or, find a garage somewhere, in this case it doesn't matter if it's in your neighborhood or not; or just eat the tickets (and in some cases risk being towed, which is quite expensive).
Personal, example, for some time now I have been dealing with an illness, hospitalized and all, leaving me too tired and weak to deal with the car, and for a time, my vision was effected. So, what to do with the car. I had a friend who thought, cause I wasn't thinking, and offered to come and deal with the car/alternative side parking. Big offer, much appreciated!
Fortunately, my brother came to my bedside and stayed at my apartment---so the task fell to him. Once out of the hospital, as I said I wasn't ready to deal, and my brother was ready to fly home, a far state, I said to him forget flying, take the car and take care of it for me. I'll come for it when I'm ready. It's been a year, finally I'm ready! ))
That's just one, real life, example of what a pain a car can be in NYC. When you're on your death bed, the last thing you want to be thinking about is "alternate side of the street PARKING!!!".
To own a car in NYC, you first must be able to afford the car payments, car insurance, which is quite expensive, along with the expense of parking. You may park your car on the street, but then you'd have to contend with "alternate side of the street parking". Which means parking is not allowed on one side of the street, 1 to 3 days per week, and varies depending upon neighborhood (density). This can be totally inconvenient and/or expensive if you receive a parking violation (very likely). If you use your car to commute daily and leave prior to the time parking is not allowed then street parking can be doable, but then finding a space can be difficult. It's not unusual to park blocks from where you live because space isn't available. To avoid the issue with parking, those who can afford to, utilize garages or open lots---which are not cheap. Additionally, garage or lot parking may be limited in your building (if it has parking) and/or neighborhood, so availability even if one can afford the cost can be an issue. Many own homes with garages or driveways where they can store their cars, but this is not common in most neighborhoods, except for the few outlying suburban-like areas.
That about sums it up. Keeping a car and parking itself are a luxury for most.
So, for those who can afford the expense and/or can contend with the above having a car is normal; for those who can't it is not.
Let no one contend to you that NYers don't use cars, they do! Though, for anyone new to this city, I would strongly suggest you leave the car behind. You won't need one, if and until you begin to branch out beyond the city core, which will be some time--if ever. Also, NYC traffic is not for the timid or uninitiated (quite a bit more challenging than most Americans are used to).
I already own the car, so there's no issue of payments. What I'm asking is this: if I move to, say, Queens or Brooklyn (Manhattan just seems out of my price range, even though prices have fallen slightly), will said ownership of said car be a liability? How difficult and/or expensive will it be to find a hassle-free, reasonably convenient parking arrangement? Or, if cars are absolutely not used in those regions, is it a better idea to find some sort of garaging upstate as long as it's near public transport to the location?
I'm aware that the NYC boroughs are more optimized than most areas are for train and other public transportation. I'm mainly trying to get an idea of how much use vs. liability the car will be if/when I move to that area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by likeithere
It depends on where you are in Queens. Some places (Woodside, Sunnyside, LIC . . . You mentioned Astoria. Astoria is one of those places) you can get away without a car. It would be nice, but not neccessary. Other places (Queens Village, Laurelton) you need a car. It depends on if there is a subway nearby, because some neighborhoods have no train (subway or LIRR) or it is so far away you need the bus or some other form transportion in order to get to the subway. Some of these places are almost like the suburb. Generally speaking, the farther you get from the city and the closer you get to Long Island, the fewer trains there are and the more neccesary a car becomes. If you work in the city, the commute from these places will be long and shopping (groceries, clothes, whatever) will be best with a car. Unless you want to carry heavy bags on the bus or lug them up the stairs to the train. But whereever, there are always alternatate side parking rules and parking is not always (never?!!) easy. Odds are if you have you been living in a neighborhood for a while, you will know where you can always find parking, the ideal times to move your car so you can find parking and so on. The places where trains are scarce, parking is easier in those neighborhoods, but nothing as easy as in Long Island. Overall, I would say a car is a luxery is the city, not quite a luxery and not quite neccessary in parts of Queens, but comes far closer to being neccessary in other parts of queens (still not like living in the far reaches of long island where you can't even go to the store without a car). You can get by, but it would be harder.
You mentioned that in Astoria, a car would be nice. In your opinion, what's the utility-to-hassle ratio?
Quote:
Originally Posted by babadi
Since you mentioned Astoria in particular: parking is better in some places than in others, but overall, I'd say it's pretty bad. When I lived there, there were alternate-side nights where I looked for a spot for literally half an hour. My car was keyed, had its side-view mirror knocked off by a truck who just kept going, and had its tail light smashed by a bad parallel parker over the course of a few months.
All of this is probably par for the course when it comes to parking in most of NYC, but what's especially annoying in Astoria is that when you get fed up with parking on the street, there aren't a lot of options for paid off-street parking, either. At least in some neighborhoods there are lots or garages where you can pay for a monthly space -- in prime Astoria, your only hope is to try to find somebody to rent you a driveway or alley spot.
Traffic in the neighborhood is also pretty bad -- the intersection of Hoyt Ave. and 31st Street has to be one of worst intersections I've ever seen.
What is "keyed"?
Are there no garages in the region? Would it then be recommendable to abandon dealing with the car and try to garage it in some other region?
"Keyed" is when an, ahem, not so nice person drags a key the length of your car making a big silver stripe that the designers did not intend.
This could be because your car is parked too closely to that individual's car or driveway, or because that individual had an enemy in the past who drove the same model car, or because there is some sort of decal on your car that displeases the individual, or just because the individual felt like it and was nice enough to pick your car out of all the cars on the streets that day.
As far as utility v. hassle, there are garages, spots for rent, etc. in the outer boroughs but not all that many compared to Manhattan. In LIC (Hunter's Point) there are garages where it runs about $300 a month to park. Not bad compared to many Manhattan garages, quite high for most of the country.
There's really no way to tell except to have a specific location in mind and see if there's any spot near there. One place to check is craigslist. Some apts in Queens come with a parking spot (either included or, more often, for an extra fee) but they are the minority. Otherwise, it's the streets, with the accompanying difficulty in finding a spot, moving for street cleaning, and possibilty of having the car dented, dinged, or keyed. More like probability it will be dented. I had a car six months on the streets of Queens and got a couple dozen bumper nicks, a big dent on front right panel, and a smashed side mirror.
"Keyed" is when an, ahem, not so nice person drags a key the length of your car making a big silver stripe that the designers did not intend.
This could be because your car is parked too closely to that individual's car or driveway, or because that individual had an enemy in the past who drove the same model car, or because there is some sort of decal on your car that displeases the individual, or just because the individual felt like it and was nice enough to pick your car out of all the cars on the streets that day.
As far as utility v. hassle, there are garages, spots for rent, etc. in the outer boroughs but not all that many compared to Manhattan. In LIC (Hunter's Point) there are garages where it runs about $300 a month to park. Not bad compared to many Manhattan garages, quite high for most of the country.
There's really no way to tell except to have a specific location in mind and see if there's any spot near there. One place to check is craigslist. Some apts in Queens come with a parking spot (either included or, more often, for an extra fee) but they are the minority. Otherwise, it's the streets, with the accompanying difficulty in finding a spot, moving for street cleaning, and possibilty of having the car dented, dinged, or keyed. More like probability it will be dented. I had a car six months on the streets of Queens and got a couple dozen bumper nicks, a big dent on front right panel, and a smashed side mirror.
Oh, ok. I had thought it was some sort of attempt at sabotaging the locks on the car.
Thanks for the advice on how to look for parking in Queens.
Would the Bronx or other boroughs be a better location for a car owner then? Or is this likely to be an issue city-wide?
300/month to park is cheap compared to Manhattan? Damn...I'm almost afraid to look up how much parking in Manhattan must cost.
I'm assuming then that I'll have to look for car storage garages upstate or in NJ or something, in hopes that they're near public transportation?
It depends upon the neighborhood in Manhattan for parking cost, but it's not difficult to pay $750-$1k on parking in some buildings.
The Bronx Can be easier, but certain parts of it such as Riverdale, Country Club, Throgs Neck do make it easier to own a vehicle, since there's more street parking, and/or garages are a bit less expensive. In some situations, it's also possible to get a driveway or other off-street parking if you live in a multi-family house.
If you just want to store the car for weekend/occasional use, then you could look into renting a spot on Craigslist, though be sure to know the insurance coverage for your vehicle, since the property insurance might not be the same as a commercial garage/lot if you rent from an individual. It's better to ask your insurer, and ask the landlord about the insurance, than to have an issue later.
__________________
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Would the Bronx or other boroughs be a better location for a car owner then? Or is this likely to be an issue city-wide?
300/month to park is cheap compared to Manhattan? Damn...I'm almost afraid to look up how much parking in Manhattan must cost.
BMW is right about cost of Manhattan parking. I know plenty of people in other cities who pay less in rent that many Manhattanites pay for parking.
On the Bronx, etc. It's pretty hard to generalize by borough. Each outer boro has a lot of densely packed urban areas where on-street parking is tight (and likely to bang up your car) and off-street parking is more rare than in Manhattan. Each boro also has places where driveways are more common and/or on street parking is much easier, but those places tend to be farther from Manhattan. Riverdale's a possible exception to the farther-from-Manhattan rule but it's a somewhat complicated area. Some parts are very suburban/almost rural, others pretty urban. On-street parking is hard in the more urban parts (except maybe up north by Mt. St. Vincent) but there may be garages attached to larger buildings that are less costly than in Manhattan.
If you're willing go that far from Manhattan, it may be worth it to live just outside city limits in a place where having the car would be easier.
300/month to park is cheap compared to Manhattan? Damn...I'm almost afraid to look up how much parking in Manhattan must cost.
I have a friend who parks in a public lot, I think either a Central or Icon lot in downtown, and she pays $460/month, $80 additional surcharge if you drive a SUV. The interesting part is that she pays about $420 for her car payments!
You mentioned that in Astoria, a car would be nice. In your opinion, what's the utility-to-hassle ratio?
that depends on what your needs are. if you go out to the burbs or elsewhere on a regular or a semi-regular basis to visit family or freinds, having a car might be better than renting one everytime. and grocieries and shopping in general - how far afeald do you want to go in pursuit of sales? i come from a family of 4, so there is a lot in the way of groceries and just household products we need to get weekly so a car is good for hauling stuff back. if you are single, you might be able to do all that without a lot of trouble on the subway. the queens center mall is near the subway but there is a parking lot and if you have a lot of bags . . . one of the better shopping places in queens, stienway (other queens shopping areas incluide jamica and junction blvd), is in lic and parking in steinway is near impossable. the larger buildings will have parking spots avilable but probably you will have to pay seperately for them. i don't think there are a lot of a garages so you might be stuck with the hassels of street parking. you might rent someone else's garage or parking spot (i know someone who does). you won't need a car for everyday things in astoria probably. if you have a car, probably you will only use it on weekends and maybe not even than. probably there will be corner stores, a hardware store, a post office, drug stores, a supermarket or two and boutiques within walking distance. if you want the other stores or go out of the bouroughs . . . depends on you. i would, because there is more vairty and also i like sales. so a car would be nice for me, espically if the entire family is coming and taking the subway would probably take longer. i could live without one, but i wouldn't like it much.
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