Avoid The Dreaded Parking Ticket Hotspot

It’s no secret that New York City is one of the easiest places in the country to land a parking ticket.  In fact, it seems that over the years, New Yorkers are increasingly being ticketed at higher rates. The issuing of parking tickets is a huge cash cow for New York City. The city issues the highest number of parking tickets in the United States with a total annual revenue of over a half a billion dollars.  More than nine million tickets are handed out each year, and that’s only for parking violations alone! Believe it or not, its easy to find yourself in a parking ticket hotspot: a place in the city where you’re more than likely to get that dreaded orange slip. Let’s learn about the spots in the city where you are most likely to get ticketed.

Manhattan

Drivers who are unfortunate enough to regularly cruise the streets of Manhattan beware! Manhattan is a parking ticket hotspot like none other. Drivers rack up more parking tickets in Manhattan than any other borough in the city. Overall, a little over $200 million in parking tickets are written in Manhattan on average. If you break this down, that’s nearly half of the approximately $500 million in parking fines issued in the city. Tickets are also the most expensive here than in any other place. The average ticket price in Manhattan $79.82.  This is at least $9 more per ticket than other boroughs.

Watch Out For These Manhattan Hot Spots

If you are driving in Midtown, the Financial District or on the Upper East Side, watch out! Drivers have the highest chance of getting a parking ticket in these Manhattan neighborhoods. The corner of 39th Street and Third Avenue is the number one parking ticket hotspot in the Big Apple, where agents issued more than 10,000 violations in 2017. At rush hour, this intersection hits a fever pitch as it is the main route heading into the 59th Street Bridge.  Unfortunately, many drivers get stuck in this particular intersection due to all the congestion not realizing they can’t make it completely through. It is an easy trap for drivers to get cited for blocking the box.

The address One Penn Plaza on West 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues is another parking ticket hotspot. In fact, it is the top location for No Standing parking tickets. Here, traffic gents handed out nearly 1,300 no standing tickets on the block to drivers many of whom are commercial truck drivers. On the flip side, drivers in Stuyvesant Town and Harlem get off a little easier with some of the lowest issued ticket statistics. The two Manhattan neighborhoods saw an average of three and five tickets per parking space, respectively.

Queens

70th Avenue between Austin Street and Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills is another big parking ticket hotspot. Agents issued more than 1,200 tickets for No Parking violations at this parking ticket hotspot. Looking around for parking here has reportedly been very confusing for many drivers. Drivers complain that some parking ticket signs have arrows pointing the same direction while others have arrows pointing in both directions. Meanwhile, drivers are likely to find themselves ponying it up to the city for failing to place a muni-reader receipt on their dashboard or letting it expire inside the Sunnyside Municipal lot.

Brooklyn

The number one ticketed location for blocking a bus stop is 204 Livingston St. in Downtown Brooklyn. Here, NYPD traffic agents issued 1,256 parking tickets to drivers. If you violate the alternate side parking rules at 50 Parkside Ave. in Prospect Park, expect to get a ticket as it is one of the mot ticketed spots in Brooklyn. Drivers in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn neighborhood also complain about an apparent ticketing trap. Here, a parking sign is obscured by a tree on Avenue A and Haring Street, where drivers have been leaving their cars and returning to a hefty fine.

Stay Away From These NYC Parking Ticket Hotspots

Below is a list of some of the city’s most ticketed locations and the tickets that traffic agents issue the most. 

Blocking The Box

East 39th Street and 3rd Ave = 10,157 tickets

East Fordham Road & Marion Ave = 7,500

Thompson Street & Watts = 4,170

No Standing

One Penn Plaza = 1,292

80 Broad Street = 1,284

75 Broad Street = 1,147

Bus Stop Violation

204 Livingston Street = 1,256

520 8th Avenue = 785

412 8th Avenue = 738

No Parking

106-20 70th Avenue = 1,253

263 7th Avenue = 944

88-40 164th Street = 840

Alternate Side Parking

50 Parkside Avenue = 388

50 Parkside Avenue = 295 (on the opposite side of the street)

89-11 153 Street = 282

Exceeding Allowed Time In City Lot

Sunnyside Municipal Lot = 3,658

Flushing Municipal Lot = 1,641

Steinway Municipal Lot = 981

No Muni Meter Receipt

Sunnyside Municipal Lot = 3,726

Flushing Municipal Lot = 1,277

Belmont Municipal Lot = 1,104

Fire Hydrant Violation

21-57 Borden Avenue = 173

80 Willoughby Street = 143

135-18 37th Avenue = 136

Double Parking

421 8th Avenue = 552

1450 2nd Avenue = 533

1550 3rd Avenue = 500

Double Parking In Midtown

375 Lexington Avenue = 611

450 7th Avenue = 558

4 Penn Plaza = 545

Bike Lane Violation

2328 12th Avenue = 283

751 2nd Avenue = 249

118 West 39th Street = 221

Crosswalk Violation

7th Avenue & West 33rd Street = 566

6th Avenue & West 33rd Street = 468

8th Avenue & West 31st Street = 247

Sidewalk Violation:

21-57 Borden Avenue = 797

161 West 35th Street = 325

21-51 Borden Avenue = 290

Safety Zone Violation

11 Penn Plaza = 390

433-89 44th Drive = 385

76 9th Avenue = 385

Pedestrian Ramp Violation

40th Avenue east of 184th Street = 31

1448 East Avenue = 24

1560 Grand Concourse = 24

Blocked Driveway

2760 Decatur = 48

3965 Sedgwick Avenue = 39

86-80 76th Street = 25