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I'm going to be driving a U-haul (van probably) into Manhattan so I have no idea what I'm going to do as far as unloading. I doubt I'd be able to find a spot to park and even if I did I don't think that would work since you'd have no room to unload from the back. The only thing I can think of is to just leave it in the street and hope the cops don't give me a ticket while I unload. How does everyone do it?
That's basically it, unless you happen to luck into a parking spot. People tend to park in front of fire hydrants (leaving blinkers on) or double park (be sure to fold in your outside mirrors) and work as quickly as possible. Ideally, you can designate someone to sit with the truck so that it can be moved if necessary. (It's a good idea to have someone with the truck anyway, to make sure no one tries to steal anything from inside.)
I'm going to be driving a U-haul (van probably) into Manhattan so I have no idea what I'm going to do as far as unloading. I doubt I'd be able to find a spot to park and even if I did I don't think that would work since you'd have no room to unload from the back. The only thing I can think of is to just leave it in the street and hope the cops don't give me a ticket while I unload. How does everyone do it?
I am in the moving buisness(man with van). You are really playing with fire by going with that theory. You need a "van sitter". One who sits behind the wheel of the van which is parked at a fire hydrant and who also makes sure that nobody steals what is inside of your van. That is the way to do it. Double park? forget about, you will stand out and get ticketed. Parked at a hydrant will give you the space behind the van that you need to unload.
Some parts of Manhattan you can get away with it, but midtown, downtown,etc not a chance. Vans have side doors as well, unload from the side if possible.
Also, you might have to make sure the building can accommodate you on whatever day you want to move...You're going to need to talk to the super in advance and not just show up with your van.
Sometimes you can coordinate with street cleaning. So if you can find out when street cleaning happens outside your building, that would help.
Example: say your street has street cleaning Tuesdays from 10 to 11:30am. That means no one can park at that time (also called "alternate side" parking) and that side of the street is cleared of all cars.
If you plan to arrive in your truck around 11am (make sure it is AFTER the streets have actually been cleaned but BEFORE the end of the banned time), you should be able to have any spot you want on that side. You will have to stay in the truck until the end of street cleaning (11:30 in this example) in case sanitation cars come around to ticket. At 11:30 you are parked legally right in front of your building. If you wait til 11:30 or 11:45 to arrive, you will be too late - the street will already be filled with parked cars.
Maybe you could hire an extra person from a man with a van service from craigslist to help you unload. Or hire two people - one to stay with the truck and one to help you unload.
When you talk to the super, I'd tell him if you're looking to hire a couple of guys to help, since he might know some people who would help you out for a reasonable fee. Plus, it never hurts to hire the super's buddies as your moving assistants, should you need to hire anyone, or to have one of them babysit the van. And, should he offer to help out in watching the van, or otherwise assisting in the move, be sure to take care of him with a good tip.
The hydrant is legal during daylight hours, provided someone stays with the van who is licensed and has the keys in the possession to move the vehicle. They should be behind the driver's seat, however, hence the need for a van sitter.
Look at the following link, which explains the parking violations codes. Code 40 gives the description for legally parking at a hydrant. NYC Parking Violations
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try to do it during a time a time of the day/week that your more likely to find parking. It was actually surprisingly easy for us to move in. We parked right on our block on a Sunday & had no problems. But, we did have to schedule a specific time w/ our super because he had to lock one of the elevators.
One thing that might work in your favor is that truck parking is legal on most blocks outside of purely residential areas generally between the hours of 7AM to 7PM. Car parking is not legal during these hours. You have to feed the muni-meter, but this is relatively cheap. Also, on the flipside, it is illegal to park a truck on a residential block - which is something you may need to deal with when you are done and need to park the truck overnight.
The parking rules change from block to block. There is a very useful website called PrimoSpot that lays out the parking rules for every single block in Manhattan on an interactive map. The iPhone app is one of my "can't live without it" apps.
Double-parking for any length of time will get you a ticket. There is a 100% chance of this. The city employs an army of metermaids and metermen(?) who do nothing but go out every day and raise millions for the the city's coffers. Oftentimes, a ticket is just a cost of doing business in the city. You have no choice.
I am in the moving buisness(man with van). You are really playing with fire by going with that theory. You need a "van sitter". One who sits behind the wheel of the van which is parked at a fire hydrant and who also makes sure that nobody steals what is inside of your van. That is the way to do it. Double park? forget about, you will stand out and get ticketed. Parked at a hydrant will give you the space behind the van that you need to unload.
Some parts of Manhattan you can get away with it, but midtown, downtown,etc not a chance. Vans have side doors as well, unload from the side if possible.
Heed the man's words, otherwise you'll regret it!
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