NYC Bike/Scooter Parking - Sportbike Addicts

DSH · 08-12-2008, 06:01 PM

Looking for some clarity on parking motorcycles/scooters on the sidewalk in NYC. Many commercial garages in NYC wont accept motorcycles for "insurance reasons"; they don't want to be held liable for any damage to the bike if they have to move it around. The general consensus seems to be, if you can opt to not park your bike on the street you're supposed to do it. I've recently seen a growing number of motorcycles and scooters parked on the sidewalks of NYC.

My first question, Is it legal to park the bike on the sidewalk? I've noticed that the bikes parked on sidewalks of New York don't have any license plates on them; the license plate mount is covered with one side of Velcro tape. Is this a clever way of avoiding a ticket; park your bike on the sidewalk, take the license plate with you, save some coin on street parking? What's to stop the NYPD from towing your bike and claiming it as an "abandoned vehicle"?

I've heard that if you cover your bike, the NYPD cannot lift the cover to find the license plate without a search warrant. Sounds kind of bogus to me, can someone confirm/debunk the theory?

I've heard also that it's possible to relocate the VIN on your bike/scooter to some other, more discreet location on the bike. This way a meter-maid won't be able to complete a form for your ticket. Sounds sketchy, would it leave the NYPD to think they're standing in front of a stolen vehicle w/ no VIN and then tow it away?

lastly, if left w/ only they option to park in the street, is it legal and free to park btwn cars that are in metered spots?

CORNBREAD · 08-13-2008, 12:08 AM

I work in the heart of NYC (midtown). I guess it depends where in NYC you want to park. I don't see many bikes where I work but when I go grab a drink or a bite to eat downtown I always see all types of bikes parked on the sidewalk. Just be careful of the traffic enforcement agents.

NYCSTRIPES · 08-13-2008, 01:57 AM

For 20 years its been my belief that I would rather take a parking ticket for parking on the sidewalk than have some idiot hit my bike with a car for parking legally in the street.

I also dont generally take a bike where I cant keep an eye on it.

But to answer your question, no its not legal to park a motor vehicle on the sidewalk even if its a motorcycle.
Ken

ronin_01r1 · 08-13-2008, 08:29 AM

definitely not legal to park on the sidewalk. scooters are more likely to get away with this tho - seems they don't have to follow any motor vehicle laws, lol. they can ride around like they're on bicycles and no one seems to give a crap...esp if the rider is a girl. and i've NEVER seen a scooter ticketed while parked in a bicycle rack.

re: velcro - i heard some do it bc they've had their plates stolen. some have said to avoid a ticket.

definitely not legal to park between metered vehicles. i wouldn't do it for the mere risk of some idiot hitting the bike on the way in or out.

re: the cover or hiding the VIN, or not having a plate - if there's any issue where they want to give a ticket and can't identify the vehicle, can't they just put a boot on it? i think they'd just tow it anyway.

personally, i only park on city streets if i can keep an eye on it, or in places like New Hope where there are many, many bikes. otherwise, i'm with Ken, I park on the sidewalk and take my chances with a parking ticket over idiot drivers who can't tell how far their bumper is.

DSH · 08-15-2008, 08:18 PM

Agree w/ you guys that taking a $50-100 hit to the wallet in tickets is much preferred to coming back to a bike that's been knocked over by a car. I'll fill you in on any color I get in the future on the subject.

Just yesterday I saw a shiny Vespa parked on the sidewalk near my office on 57th street sporting a nice bright orange parking ticket. I guess the chick that owned it was ugly...