Park in Manhattan? You Might as Well Burn Your Money.

Why Manhattan Parking Sucks

Ah, Manhattan parking—the ultimate test of patience and financial pain tolerance. Driving through the city is already a nightmare, but the real battle starts when you actually have to park. Finding street parking in New York City? Good luck.

Between the sheer lack of spots, confusing regulations, and random “No Parking” signs that seem to appear out of nowhere, it’s basically a scavenger hunt where the prize is a hefty ticket. So what’s the alternative? Paying an absolutely absurd amount to park in a garage that still somehow feels sketchy. Either way, you’re getting robbed—by the city or by a parking lot owner.

Manhattan parking garages are basically legal extortion. A single spot can cost $46 an hour (yes, you read that right), and somehow, people still pay because what else are you supposed to do?

Raking in Parking Tickets

Some drivers even prefer to gamble on a parking ticket because, in many cases, it actually costs less than garage parking. So now you’ve got a city where people are literally running the numbers on whether they should break the law or not, which is just… peak NYC.

And speaking of tickets, the city is absolutely raking it in. In 2024 alone, they handed out 16 million parking tickets, pulling in over $1 billion in fines. That’s up from 2022, which means parking isn’t just a problem—it’s a growing industry. At this point, the city makes so much off fines that they have zero incentive to actually fix the issue. If anything, they’re probably hoping it gets worse.

So what do you do? A lot of people are just saying “screw it” and taking public transit instead. MTA ridership is climbing again after the pandemic slump, and honestly, given the price of parking, dealing with the subway rats is the better option.

If you don’t want to deal with that either, there’s always Uber or Lyft, which explains why ridesharing is exploding. Uber alone went from (7.63 billion rides in 2022) to over (10 billion in 2024). Turns out, when parking costs more than your actual car, people will just stop driving.

How to Find Cheap Parking

Of course, apps have entered the chat with a few solutions. Apps like Quarter, SpotHero, and Neighbor let people rent out their unused driveways, garages, or whatever random space they have.

It’s basically Airbnb for parking, and it’s a game changer if you’re sick of getting scammed by garages. Space owners make money, drivers get a more reasonable deal, and everyone wins—except the parking garage mafia and the city’s fine collectors.

Neighborhood Parking Marketplace

At the end of the day, parking in Manhattan is a broken system. It’s expensive, it’s stressful, and unless you’re willing to shell out a ridiculous amount of money or play parking violation roulette, you’re probably better off ditching your car entirely. Either way, it’s a mess, and it’s only getting worse.

If you're interested in cheap parking, check out the Quarter App. Rent long term or short term parking through your neighbor, not the greedy garage owner.