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NYC’s alternate side parking dance is on hiatus, leaving crusty cars all over town
By
Liam Quigley
Published Feb 13, 2026
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Liam Quigley / Gothamist
By
Liam Quigley
Published Feb 13, 2026
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Mounds of snow have become a signature for New York City car owners who rely on street parking for vehicle storage.
Alternate side parking has been suspended across the five boroughs for three weeks since nearly a foot of snow buried the city on Jan. 25, which was followed by a deep freeze that kept it from melting. Drivers who have used their cars since the storm have been forced to dig them out. But a glaring number of vehicles across the five boroughs remain entombed in ice.
A prime example was apparent on Chambers Street last week, where a car routinely violates the city’s parking laws with impunity — even when alternate side parking is not on hold. The Hyundai Sonata has federal license plates and is stationed near a pair of military recruiting stations. On Wednesday, it was still surrounded by piles of snow, an indication its owners hadn’t moved it since the storm. Piles of litter accumulated around the vehicle.
A sailor at the nearby Navy recruiting station said the car belonged to the U.S. Army recruiting office located a block away from the car. Soldiers there referred questions about the vehicle to the Army press office, which did not immediately return a request for comment.
“ They should fix it. They should clean it and take it, you know?” said Inderjeet Singh, who owns a shop near the car.
The car was moved a day after Gothamist inquired to military press officials about its status.
But it’s hardly the only automobile that’s remained undisturbed on the streets since New York City turned into a frozen wasteland.
City sanitation officials said the suspension of alternate side parking gives garbage crews time to remove the hardened snow piles and focus on melting snow at designated zones around the city — with melters liquifying some 400 million pounds of snow since the system was activated in the days after the storm.
Former city traffic commissioner and transportation analyst Sam Schwartz said the parking trend highlighted by the snow reveals that Mayor Zohran Mamdani has a unique opportunity to cull the city’s fleet of official vehicles.
“I think Mamdani really should review whether the people who haven't moved their city vehicles in weeks. Obviously they're getting around some other way,” he said.
Advocacy group Transportation Alternatives and other street safety activists have seized on the opportunity to highlight the city’s use of curb space for parking, showing vehicles caked in ice that haven’t moved for weeks and pitch parking policy reform.
“After the snow finished falling in New York City, millions began work to clear the roads and sidewalks — but much of the curb space in all five boroughs remains blocked because clearly untouched cars are welcome to free storage on some of the most valuable land in the world,” spokesperson Alexa Sledge wrote in a statement. “The snow, ice, trash and debris that surrounds these vehicles are unsightly at best and dangerous at worst.”
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sanitation
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Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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