No Parking signs dot New York streets, reminding drivers of street sweeping rules.
PHOTO: Sean Leahy

By Sean Leahy

Mark Chackerian was a wide-eyed newcomer when he arrived with his car at his first New York apartment in 1996.

“I had just moved to New York,” he said. “I had gotten a couple of tickets, and I was mad at how expensive they were.”

Like many new (and old) residents of New York, Chackerian was unfamiliar with the city’s alternate side parking restrictions. A Web developer in the still-growing Internet field, he decided to start a Web site to help New York residents and visitors head off potential alternate side problems.

His Web site — OrchardSt.com — was the first to publish the city’s calendar of the 35 alternate side parking holidays. Today users can download the calendar to PDAs and other portable devices from the site, and can read Chackerian’s list of helpful hints for New York drivers.

“Nobody’s doing this,” he said of his motivation for publishing the calendar on the Web. “This ought to be done, so I’ll do it. I was offended the city was such a hard place for newcomers to navigate.”

The city’s Department of Transportation has since started its own site that lists the parking holidays and regulations. City officials actually approached Chackerian for advice on their Web site. “They’re not as Internet-savvy as I am,” he coyly acknowledged. The city’s 311 information service also dispenses information about alternate side parking holidays and snow-related suspensions.

Another site, ParkingPal.com, offers advice and guides to residents and visitors about all things parking in New York.  It includes useful tips for visitors — like not parking within 15 feet of a hydrant.

Chackerian said he’s happy to be able to help drivers who might be as clueless about parking regulations as he was when he first arrived. He said the easiest way to avoid tickets in New York is to pay attention to the signs. And his advice to out-of-towners looking for free, legal parking: “The further away you are from Midtown Manhattan, the better off you are.”
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NYC parking officials often place this sticker on windows of cars that violate street cleaning rules.
IMAGE: Sean Leahy

View the NYC alternate side parking rules and calendar.

Other Parking Resources: OrchardSt.com
Chackerian's website

ParkingPal.com
Information and tips on parking in NYC.