Thursday, January 15, 2009

Calling BS on DIY 'NO PARKING' Signs

no parking

Amid the chaos that's followed the DOT's on-street parking purge of Kent Avenue, the remaining curb real-estate on the Northside has become more precious than Obama inauguration tickets. During our frequent 40-minute morning odysseys, orbiting the neighborhood looking for a legitimate space, we've had ample time to contemplate the mysteries and complexities of New York City parking regulations:
- Does an ancient curb-cut for a former garage entrance turned retail storefront still count? Especially when the business in question keeps "NO PARKING" signs posted on their facade?

- What about a decades-old trace of yellow paint, on a curb that otherwise seems perfectly legit? Will I return to a $45 invoice stuck under my wiper blade?
And today's question - perhaps the most frustrating question if you live and park in Williamsburg:
- Does that malicious "NO PARKING - CONSTRUCTION ZONE - TOW AWAY" sign - done up in red and black Crayola Scentation markers by a contractor's seven year old daughter - actually hold water with Parking Enforcement?
Given that the Northside is littered with dozens of semi-active construction sites, and nearly all of them have some sort of homemade NO PARKING signs dangling from their gaping-holed, broken-plywood perimeter fences...the answer to that question is kind of a big deal.

We surfed around the Internets for far too long last weekend, looking for an answer - and wound up mostly confused, but generally convinced that the answer is NO...those signs are pure BS; a product of developers' and contractors' wishful thinking - combined with a general fear and ignorance on the part of residents who can't afford to take a chance on having their rides ticketed and/or towed to the city's shiny-new Navy Yard impound facility.

Back in November, Queens Crap - a great blog focused on development issues in (go figure) Queens - asked the same question, and came back with the answer YES - you DO have to abide by the temporary signs. Their source however was the venerable Fox 5 News, so we watched the embedded clip with a healthy serving of skepticism.

In the the Fox 5 Investigates report, the correspondent says they contacted the DOT, and concludes
"it turns out that construction crews are allowed to create their own signs, as long as they look official, if they have permits for the project".
To which we call BS on Fox 5 on two fronts:

1. "As long as they look official"...what? Who decides what looks official?! The gaping legal holes in that statement are bigger than the gaps in most construction fences around here.

2. "If they have permits for the project." Any construction project big and ballsy enough to post fake NO PARKING signs had better have permits! We'll betcha anything the DOT meant "if the developer has pulled permits that approve temporary parking restrictions". Otherwise, any schmo with a permit to renovate a bathroom could play 'make your own parking' in front of their building, for the duration of their permit. It just doesn't add up.

We did a deep dive into the online netherworld of NYC traffic rules, DOB building permits, New York State Vehicle and Traffic laws, finding lots of barely-relevant information, along with lots of unrelated but interesting stuff (Did you know that all of NYC was designated a Tow Away Zone under the State’s Vehicle and Traffic Law in 1959? What's that? Oh, you don't care.).

Our online paper trail having gone cold, we did what we should have done in the first place: we asked a friendly neighborhood Parking Enforcement officer whether he would ticket a car in violation of one of the handmade signs (and trust us, these guys WILL ticket anything they legitimately can). He stopped writing a summons and brought us over to a real NO PARKING sign, pointing out the "DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION" printed at the bottom, saying "I can only ticket against signs that are issued by the DOT".

Monday morning we called the NYPD Press Office, and they agreed with the officer on the street: "They (contractors) have to get a permit specifically allowing a temporary change in parking rules. They can't just make up their own sign," adding that they "think if a car is towed because of construction needs, its just relocated" i.e. not tagged and impounded. But they suggested we double-check with the city's DOT "just to be sure". Good news for residents, but not exactly the notorized 'get out of jail free' card we were hoping for. So we called the DOT.

We spoke to Assistant Press Secretary Craig Chin, who invited us to send him photos of the signs in question - and to entertain us while we waited - directed us to NYC DOT's searchable database of active street construction permits. Forty eight hours later, we had a definitive answer:
"You can search online and the only valid permits to restrict parking will have the code 221 on it. The only legal sign you provided would be this picture,"
referring to the photo below, showing a very official-looking metal, DOT-issued 'No Parking - Temporary Construction Regulation' sign screwed to the fence of the development at Kent Avenue and North 3rd:

image001

We searched the DOT's database for the entire Community Board One area, and as of January 15th, found only eighteen valid type 221 permits in the neighborhood. We've created a little map showing blocks where there's at least one valid permit...we suggest you hit the database before parking in front of a questionable sign (select your borough and community district, then select General Permit Type 02, and Specific Permit Type 0221...its the very last choice in the pulldown menu; you can drill down by street and block, or see all the permits for your district).

CB 1 valid parking permits Jan 15 09

So there you have it, Northsiders. A veritable parking oasis around dozens of active (and stalled) construction sites, for your parking pleasure...at least until the contractors run out and get valid permits and signage.

Finally, Imnotsayin's caveat emptor:

PARK AT YOUR OWN RISK. This is only our nonprofessional, semi-informed assessment based on unofficial communications with three city employees. NYC parking regulations span multiple departments across at least two city agencies plus the state's V & T laws. Being improperly ticketed (and towed!) by overzealous Parking Enforcement officers happens all the time. So go ahead and search the database, and if there's no current class 221 permits for the DIY No Parking zone on your block - go for it! But don't block active driveways and crosswalks, stay 15 feet from the hydrants, and if you get tagged anyway, please DON'T CALL US!

NYCDOT Active Street Construction Permit database search [NYCDOT]

Gallery of Shady Parking Signs [Flickr]

30 Comments:

At 5:49 PM, Blogger Megan said...

Nice work. Glad someone finally got to the bottom of this B.S. in Billyburg.

 
At 7:09 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

very thorough investigation. thanks for sharing!

 
At 7:30 PM, Blogger FinalShaft said...

Great post...although I still avoid parking near construction sites for fear of getting my car trashed by pissed off workers.

Typically, they put those signs up so they will have a spot waiting for them in the morning or because that's where they plan on parking the concrete truck. Either way your car risks getting trashed.

 
At 8:48 PM, Blogger BestViewInBrooklyn said...

Excellent, excellent work. I'm posting the link to spread the information.

 
At 9:10 PM, Blogger Vanessa said...

they prob won't out and out trash your car, at leas not intentionally. they often block off in order to make room for deliveries of materials, which usually requires big trucks unloading big things (concrete, lumber, sheetrock, iron.) you don't want your car parked in the middle of that!

they will, however, MOVE your car themselves. they will push that damn thing out of the way, either with 6 guys or 2 guys and a truck!

I've seen it happen. They were pouring a concrete sidewalk, put up unofficial no parking signs and 1 car decided to park there. Now, they had a truck full of concrete and an entire crew. These people get paid for their time and material whether they complete the job or not. No way were they going to reschedule for 1 car. About 5 guys pushed it to a diff space across the street!

 
At 11:08 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

I've recently had this issue where I live near Broadway/Myrtle. These people went as far as to paint the curbs themselves and also paint no parking on the actual sidewalk. I called 311 to ask if this was legal, and it's not. They took down the location and promised that within a week the police, the DOT and someone from the Department of Buildings would be there to levy seperate fines. They also said I could park with impunity. No cop would write a ticket for it.

 
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At 11:42 PM, Blogger Test Blog said...

I love this! I have always wondered about it, but thought i was just being paranoid...great research! I am posting a link to your article at www.animalsatthezoo.com
great work!

 
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At 10:42 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

About 5 guys pushed it to a diff space across the street!
--------------------------------------
They also said I could park with impunity. No cop would write a ticket for it.

 
At 10:43 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

They took down the location and promised that within a week the police
--------------------------------------
They also said I could park with impunity. No cop would write a ticket for it.

 
At 11:05 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No way were they going to reschedule for 1 car.
--------------------------------------
Either way your car risks getting trashed.

 
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At 9:42 PM, Blogger Nike shox said...

've seen it happen. They were pouring a concrete sidewalk, put up unofficial no parking signs and 1 car decided to park there. Nike shox

 
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I am really impressed with your post here. With the installation of parking permits tags and stickers, we can make the drivers to follow traffic rules and regulations faithfully. These types of tags are very useful to control traffic in busy areas.

 
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