New York City’s alternate side parking rules require drivers to move their vehicles off one side of the street during posted street-cleaning windows so mechanical sweepers can reach the curb. A violation is $65 citywide, the rules are suspended on Sundays and on dozens of holidays each year, and you have 30 days to pay or request a hearing before late penalties start piling on.1NYC311. Alternate Side Parking and Street Cleaning2NYC.gov Department of Finance. Violation Codes, Fines, Rules and Regulations
How the System Works
The Department of Sanitation runs mechanical brooms through city streets on a rotating schedule. During the posted window on your block, no parking is allowed on the scheduled side. Miss the move and you can be ticketed for the entire duration of the restriction, whether the sweeper has already come through, is on its way, or never shows up at all.1NYC311. Alternate Side Parking and Street Cleaning
That catches people out constantly. Watching the sweeper pass does not reopen the spot. The rules apply for the full posted time.
Reading the Signs on Your Block
Every regulated block has a sign showing a large “P” with a broom through it, followed by the specific days and hours parking is banned on that side.3NYC311. Parking Signs and Rules A sign reading “No Parking 11:00 AM–12:30 PM Mon & Thurs” means you clear that side of the street twice a week for 90 minutes.
Windows typically run 90 minutes or three hours, and frequency varies. Some blocks are cleaned once a week, others several times. Reading the actual sign is the only reliable way to know. If you want to check a location before parking, the DOT’s Parking Regulations Map at nycdotsigns.net shows the signage posted on each block.4NYC Department of Transportation. Parking Regulations
Double Parking Is Not a Workaround
A familiar routine: pull across the street, double park, sit in the car until the sweeper passes, then swing back into the spot. It is illegal. City traffic rules prohibit double parking a passenger vehicle at any time, including during street cleaning, and it does not matter whether the driver is behind the wheel.3NYC311. Parking Signs and Rules Enforcement varies in practice, but an agent can write the ticket whether you are in the car or not.
When Alternate Side Parking Is Suspended
ASP is not in effect on Sundays.1NYC311. Alternate Side Parking and Street Cleaning The city also suspends the rules on dozens of holidays and religious observances each year, published annually as a suspension calendar covering days like New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Christmas.5New York City Department of Transportation. Alternate Side Parking Rules 2026 Suspension Calendar
On major legal holidays, the relief goes further. Stopping, standing, and parking rules across the city are relaxed and meters are not in effect. The exception is zones that operate seven days a week, such as “No Standing Anytime” locations.5New York City Department of Transportation. Alternate Side Parking Rules 2026 Suspension Calendar
Snow, severe weather, and other emergencies can also trigger short-notice suspensions.1NYC311. Alternate Side Parking and Street Cleaning Because those decisions are made day-of, you need a way to check quickly:
- @NYCASP on X posts daily updates on whether ASP is in effect.
- Call 311 from within the city, or use the NYC311 website or app.1NYC311. Alternate Side Parking and Street Cleaning
- SweepNYC, run by the Department of Sanitation, tracks the real-time progress of mechanical brooms through your neighborhood.6NYC Department of Sanitation. SweepNYC
Thirty seconds on any of these before leaving your car overnight can save you a $65 ticket.
Fines and What Happens If You Ignore the Ticket
An ASP violation is code 21, and the fine is $65 everywhere in the city, including Manhattan below 96th Street where many other parking fines run higher.2NYC.gov Department of Finance. Violation Codes, Fines, Rules and Regulations That $65 is only the starting point. If you neither pay nor request a hearing within 30 days, late penalties start accruing.7NYC.gov Department of Finance. Dispute a Ticket Online
Around the 100-day mark, the city enters a default judgment for the full amount plus penalties and interest. From there, the debt can be sent to a collection agency or your assets can be seized. Once your unpaid tickets in judgment exceed $350 in total, your vehicle can be booted or towed.8NYC.gov Department of Finance. Tickets in Judgment One ignored ASP ticket alone will not get your car booted; several stacked together will.
How to Dispute an ASP Ticket
You have 30 days from the date on the ticket to request a hearing through the NYC Department of Finance. Requesting a hearing puts the violation on hold and stops late penalties from accruing while your case is pending.7NYC.gov Department of Finance. Dispute a Ticket Online Miss that window and, if you lose the hearing, you owe the late penalties on top of the original $65.
The quickest route is the Department of Finance’s online dispute portal. Only the registered owner or an authorized representative can file. You submit a written defense explaining why the ticket was issued in error and upload supporting evidence. Timestamped photos of the signage, the full block, and where your vehicle was parked carry the most weight.
If the ticket has already gone into judgment, you generally cannot request a hearing once that judgment is more than a year old.7NYC.gov Department of Finance. Dispute a Ticket Online Sitting on a ticket you plan to fight is the most avoidable way to lose the fight.