I work in Midtown, and my Boss was gracious enough to allow me to use the freight elevator and park in our building, until the building manager found out and halted that.

So, yesterday I removed the plate & parked it in the W. 30's on the sidewalk. No one bothered it, and it was fine when I left work last evening.

But after reading a few posts this morning, it seems like this isn't safe anymore?

Anyone have Suggestions???

Thanks!

No one can answer that question definitively, Cricket.

Since it is not legal to park on the sidewalk, there's always a risk involved. It may be possible to get a ticket even without your plate, and you could be towed.

But that might never happen to you either. It usually depends on the whims of the traffic cops in that area, and whether or not complaints are made about where you've parked.

There are also crackdowns occasionally.

But as we all know, parking legally in the street is not without it's own set of risks (damage, theft).

So, do what you're comfortable doing, with full knowledge of the risks involved!



P.S. Neil recently wrote an Op/Ed piece for the Times on scooter parking in NYC that's definitely worth a read.

I've been parking my Scarabeo on the sidewalk in the 40's for 3 months. No problems. There are plenty of cops in this area (big tourist area) and they never give it a second look. Even when I'm locking it up. I've been advised by another scooterist to park it away from other scooters, by itself and out of the pedestrian flow of traffic.
Good Luck.
You should look into getting it de-restricted. It'll do 40+ mph.

If I Park on the sidewalk & remove the plate. I try to always lock it to something, for fear of towing.
Could you imagine if they did tow your bike with no plate.
I came to pick up my bike sir/mad'm.
What's your plate #?
Well I pulled my plate.

Alan

You get the idea

sw19 wrote:I've been parking my Scarabeo on the sidewalk in the 40's for 3 months. No problems. There are plenty of cops in this area (big tourist area) and they never give it a second look. Even when I'm locking it up. I've been advised by another scooterist to park it away from other scooters, by itself and out of the pedestrian flow of traffic.
Good Luck.
You should look into getting it de-restricted. It'll do 40+ mph.

Is your Scarabeo Black? I remember a few months ago in the 40's gazing at one parked off of Broadway.

I was told that because it's a Ditech 2003, that it may not have a restriction at all.

I don't know where I could take it to have it checked, because of the Aprilia problem?????

In August, the NYPD of Midtown South issued a warning to a group of scooterists parking on the sidewalk around Grand Central that they will be towed. Warning came a few days in advance of a crackdown via a leaflet left on their seats. Thus began a period of crackdown in midtown that is TBD if it has passed.

So, park in midtown illegally at your own risk, Cricket.

There's been banter about whether traffic police are scanning VIN #s to issue tickets to plateless scooters, and whether they'd go so far as to saw your chain and tow if locked to a sign post on the sidewalk. No def answers, more food for thought...

Does anyone know if Jan found out she was scanned (she got a ticket without a plate)?

Hey! A thread about sidewalk parking. Yeah.

In general, you park exactly where you'd park in the rest of the city: Wherever you can.

For all the usual reasons:

- Park on the sidewalk.
- Pull your plate.
- Obscure your VIN.
- Lock your column.
- Chain your bike to something unmovable, unbreakable, and un-lif-off-able (i.e. not to a tree, a street sign, or a parking metre).
- Cover your bike.
- Lock your cover to your bike.
- Park well out of the way of pedestrian traffic.
- Look for sidewalk scaffolding as an ideal spot.
- Avoid narrow sidewalks where your bike is likely to be an obstruction.
- Do not park at security-conscious, patroled, prestigious, or persnickety addresses.
- Avoid parking along hi-profile, major avenues; prefer side streets.
- If asked to move elsewhere, do so.
- Show gratitude if allowed to stay.

Somewhat Fatigued Cheers to all you Newbies.


Still wating to hear from Jan. She doesn't post here, so we'll have to get a report the next time she heads Monkeyward.

_________________
FREE TO BE GIRLIE

annuit_coeptis wrote:Hey! A thread about sidewalk parking. Yeah.

Just say it already, your making me crazy.

Fabulous_Fabieo wrote:Just say it already, your making me crazy.

Antici...



...pation

Not certain what I'll do next week... when I ride in again...

I drove my Beetle today.

Ech- it's a pain if I can't park it in front of my Office on the Sidewalk.

Just discovered these two articles on this subject. Very helpful information:

HOW TO PARK YOUR MOTORCYCLE ON THE STREET, IN NY

It’s a strange feeling, the first time you leave your bike unattended on the streets of New York. Someone could just go sit on it and start messing around. A car could knock it over while parking. Anyone could come over and steal it. But the remarkable thing is…you CAN park on the streets, and it CAN be safe! Of course there are real “dangers” to worry about, but there are some simple things you can do to minimize the chances of it. First let’s talk about WHERE you can park in NYC…

http://citybiker.wordpress.com/2007/04/ ... eet-in-ny/

and

MOTORCYCLE PARKING IN NYC

No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus, however there may be good places to park a bike in NYC.

http://www.panix.com/~bergman/bike_park_nyc.shtml

Brouhaha wrote:Just discovered these two articles on this subject. Very helpful information:

HOW TO PARK YOUR MOTORCYCLE ON THE STREET, IN NY

It’s a strange feeling, the first time you leave your bike unattended on the streets of New York. Someone could just go sit on it and start messing around. A car could knock it over while parking. Anyone could come over and steal it. But the remarkable thing is…you CAN park on the streets, and it CAN be safe! Of course there are real “dangers” to worry about, but there are some simple things you can do to minimize the chances of it. First let’s talk about WHERE you can park in NYC…

http://citybiker.wordpress.com/2007/04/ ... eet-in-ny/

and

MOTORCYCLE PARKING IN NYC

No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus, however there may be good places to park a bike in NYC.

http://www.panix.com/~bergman/bike_park_nyc.shtml

According to the 2nd site:
Times Square
Broadway/7th Ave and 46th Street. I frequently park on the traffic island just north of the 45~44th Street intersection of Broaway and 7th. There are a lot of pigeons--so use a cover. Lock the cover on to prevent the homeless from stealing it. Sometimes there will be a swep of tickets, and I've ocassionaly found a loosened mirror when I return to the bike.

Not so sure about this recommendation.

um. this is in response to 5000scooter cc. but i don't know how to reply to an old post. and you guys probably don't need this info at this point.....but, what the heck. so i did park on the sidewalk in midtown. and i pulled my plate. and i came out of my office at lunch to see the vespa (it's only 1 month old). and it wasn't there. just gone. asked the parking garage attendant across the street if he saw anything. nope. called impound to see if it was there. got a nasty "we don't have any vespas" from some cranky-ass female functionary. so i called the cops and reported it stolen. cops show up and i have to admit that: 1) i was in a commercial zone, 2) i was on the sidewalk, and 3) i pulled my plate. so....i got chastised. and it was really going to be hard to trace. luckily, when they called impound, the woman was nice to them and said they had a lot of vespas. and......i went to the restaurant in front of which i had parked and one of the guys there (who barely spoke english but spoke enough) indicated that a truck had come and scooped up the scooters. so.......the cops gave me a ride to impound to get my vespa. all in all, it was a very surreal experience. i now park legally about 10 blocks north of midtown. it's further from me so i can't check on it at lunch, but whatever happens to it happens. at least it won't get towed now.

moral of the story: you never know. it's all a risk.

michelle