Have you ever been towed despite being parked legally?

union street · January 2010

My car was towed today. But I'm pretty certain that it was parked legally. If you consider yourself a Brownstone Brooklyn parking expert, I'd appreciate your insight on this.

I parked the car on Union Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues. Here's a Google StreetView of my spot:

http://bit.ly/7Zu8Fa

My car was parked right in front of the small silver car in the photo above. My car was not even remotely blocking the driveway of the oil delivery company in front of it. I was careful to note their yellow curb paint. Nor was I blocking the driveway of the parking lot behind me. I was the only vehicle in the space between the two driveways, so I had plenty of room.

I have not yet made it down to the Navy Yard to read the summons but I'm assuming that one of these businesses called the NYPD and asked them to tow me. I'm betting that it was the oil company that did it.

Has anyone else ever been towed from this spot on Union Street? Does this oil delivery company really have the right to tow people who are simply parked in front of their wall? I can't believe I now have to go down to the Navy Yard and pay $250.

Time for ZipCar.

brooklynpotter · January 2010

all i'm seeing is yellow paint.

modsquad · January 2010

Zoom in on the parking signs. The one by the silver car indicates he is just legal (actually slightly illegal). Go down to the corner and read the other sign. "No parking Anytime" Sorry

union street · January 2010

Right you are Modsquad. Argh. How did I miss that?

But why is that a tow? Why not just a ticket?

BrooklynPotter: I saw the old yellow paint there. Yellow paint doesn't necessarily mean anything. It just means those oil company guys, at some point, tried to annex some parking space for themselves, most likely.

Also note how, even in the Google StreetView shot, there are two cars parked on the sidewalk. I probably should have parked there instead. NYPD seems not to mind that.

toadette · January 2010

Union Street wrote: But why is that a tow? Why not just a ticket?

I think for the vast majority of offenses - if you can be ticketed you can also be towed. They usually won't (unless you live near the tow pound and are an easy score - this happened to me all the time when I lived in BK Heights), but they frequently can. The ticketing officer won't necessarily go out of their way to request the tow (unless you're blocking a hydrant or parked in an arguably dangerous way), but if the tow crew happens upon your ticketed car and they feel like picking you up...they can.

Orr maybe I've been watching too much Parking Wars and this is only true in PA. My memory is all skewed. Reality tv indeed. Good show, though!

brooklynpotter · January 2010

union street, do you have outstanding tickets?

whynot_31 · January 2010

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember learning at some point learning that most paking offenses in NYC are "towable offenses".

...the only reason more cars aren't towed is a shortage of tow trucks.

The definitely try to tow you when you have outstanding tickets, but they CAN tow you basically whenever they have a bored tow truck driver nearby and you park wrong.

unrepentant fenian · January 2010

All five boroughs of NYC are a tow away zone. If you can be ticketed for it, you can be towed for it (excluding inspection and registration stickers). Meter maids don't request tow trucks. Violation tow works on a roving patrol. They pull up, write the ticket, usually give you 5 minutes, if you don't show - they tow. Also, if you block a driveway you will typically not be towed by the city. Once the city tickets your car the driveway owner can call any licensed tow company to tow you at your expense. Last time someone blocked my driveway I called a company in the Bronx to come tow them out of Bay Ridge. Come to think of it, I'm lucky that guy didn't burn my house down.

mantic · January 2010

from my understanding tptb want all tickets towed now but the tow truck drivers are balking at the additional workload and not cooping

unrepentant fenian · January 2010

What the hell is TPTB? Where did you hear this? Do you have any idea how many tickets are issued everyday? Where would the city put all those cars, ;et alone get enough tow trucks.

brooklynpotter · January 2010

i have seen the NYC tow trucks trolling down my street, driver at the wheel, helper looking into cars with flashlights to check VINs, i guess, and see if anything is expired/overdue/etc./

the tow trucks have plenty to do, and i would imagine the more they bring in the more they get promoted, etc.

unrepentant fenian · January 2010

Meter maids aren't exactly over achievers, brooklynpotter. They aren't exactly human for that matter. In fact they are the lowest form of life we aren't allowed to use traps and pesticide to slaughter. These animals fuck people over for a living, of course so do our politicians who tax us into fleeing this city. And make no mistake about, parking violations are a randomly administered tax.

brooklynpotter · January 2010

they're not over acheivers? think again. last year in the NYT there was a whole article about how much $$ they could make for the city in xx amount of time, and that one of them is so fast he brings in even more than anyone else. they profiled him.

and, frankly, they likely get paid more than many of us, and are in a union.

unrepentant fenian · January 2010

They're not performing brain surgery, they're towing cars. I stand by assessment of them as mouth breathers who should all die in a fire.

stacey · January 2010

modsquad wrote: Zoom in on the parking signs. The one by the silver car indicates he is just legal (actually slightly illegal). Go down to the corner and read the other sign. "No parking Anytime" Sorry

Actually this can be fought and possibly won, depending on where the front bumper of OP's car was. If you see the silver pole, there is a parking sign where the arrow indicates ---> (there is no end sign to the No Parking so how would the OP know there is a No Parking zone). If you look further down to the right the next sign indicates the parking arrowing indicating <---- which means that as long as the OP was not blocking the driveways, he was not parked illegally.

I had the same ticket once and was towed. I took pictures, went down to fight it, and won. They dismissed the ticket and my tow fee was refunded.

roadify · January 2010

Park Slope has a completely free parking service called Roadify. It works through text messaging, where people leaving their spots text GIVE and the location they're leaving from to an online database, and people looking for spots text GET and are given open locations around the area. It's free, easy, and builds the spirit of giving within the community. With systems like this, there's no way your car can get towed. What do you have to lose by at least giving it a try? www.roadify.com

whatchuwant · January 2010

brooklynpotter wrote: they're not over acheivers? think again. last year in the NYT there was a whole article about how much $$ they could make for the city in xx amount of time, and that one of them is so fast he brings in even more than anyone else. they profiled him.

and, frankly, they likely get paid more than many of us, and are in a union.

My husband's ex-wife is/was trying to become a meter maid (she's perfect for the job- a total asshole). They don't make shit (especially in the beginning), they work for the city, so I'm not sure about that union thing.

Sorry to digress...carry on.

Have you ever been towed despite being parked legally?

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