The $2.25 conquest

I’ve been driving to New York City and back for, oh… 10 years or so. First, Audrey headed there after college for the fashion world. She stayed through her engagement to Matthew, her wedding and 2 baby boys. Then, last summer, it was Jane’s turn to head to the big City. If I wanted to see my children and grandchildren, it meant getting in my car and driving down Rt. 95 South. Ah. Driving to NYC.

Ah. Driving to NYC. Not easy. Driving in NYC. Crazy.

But parking in New York City is another topic all together. It’s expensive. It’s frustrating. It’s virtually impossible. Each time I enter the City, I think of every scheme imaginable to beat the parking mania. Parking illegally is out of the question. There are about 10 million parking police people who appear, like magic, from every corner and crevice… and they are heartless. Trust me. Case in point… last summer I drove Janie to the City for a job interview, and after dropping her off, I could not get back to the location we had decided upon meeting. There was a series of NO RIGHT TURN signs that went on for street after street after street. In my frustration to find my way, I stopped my car at an intersection where I saw what I thought was a police officer. Wrong. It was a PARKING POLICE officer with a little pad of tickets and a big ego. As I asked him where I could make a legal turn, he was writing a parking ticket. “What??” I said, “What is this? I stopped my car to ask you a question. I didn’t turn my car off or get out of it.” He laughed at me and told me to show up in court if I wanted to protest it. $200.00. No, that is not a typo.

Parking in a parking garage is anyone’s guess. It may be $45.00. It may be $145.00. It may be anything in-between. Depends upon the small print. I could buy a vacation home with the money I’ve spent on parking garages. I did get a nice break at the parking garage near Audrey’s apartment on 57th. I got to know the guys who worked there… and they loved seeing pregnant Audrey pushing William in his little stroller coming to greet me… so that was nice.

Well, yesterday and today, I managed to get 21 hours of parking for the grand total of $2.25. And this is so exciting and so extraordinary that I’m counting it as one of my 57 in 52.

This is how it happened.

I drove Janie to the City yesterday afternoon. There was still lots of snow on the streets. Janie and I drove around her area for about 10 minutes, but every parking space was taken. I had a feeling… you know, just one more drive around the block… and suddenly I saw this guy get into a Toyota. Ah! But he kept spinning his tires in the snow and basically had no idea how to get his car out of that prime spot one street from Janie’s apartment. I was patient. This was parking war. There were 10 or so cars behind me who couldn’t get by, but I waited patiently for that guy to figure out what to do. Soon, I was parked. And HAPPY. Next, we had to read the signs that told me when I had to move my car. If you’ve driven in NYC, you know all those random signs… the crossed out P with times and days for NO PARKING. Yesterday’s parking no-no sign was NO PARKING 9-10:30 am Tuesdays and Fridays.

OK. I knew I had to move my car Tuesday morning before 9 am.

Janie and I then took a cab downtown to meet Audrey, who was there for Fashion Week. We ate. We walked. We had cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery. Oh, my! We all stayed in Audrey’s hotel and had a wonderful girls’ night in! I loved being with my 2 girls! This morning, we ate a great breakfast… then Janie and I took a cab back uptown. Janie got out where she works and I headed, in the cab, several more blocks to my car. It was 8:35. I got in my car with all intentions of finding a parking garage for the day… because I was driving back home with Audrey later… when my competitive spirit kicked in. Big time. I drove around several blocks looking for spaces on the side of the street where I could park, but no spaces were to be found. None. So I jumped to Plan 2… parking meter. I drove around for 5 minutes or so and found a prime meter spot about 2 minutes from Janie’s apartment. One hour = $1.50. 6 quarters. I dropped those quarters in the meter and made note of the time. It was 8:45 am. I knew I had to move my car within an hour… before the parking police tagged my tire and sent my checkbook into a frenzy.

I cleaned and organized Janie’s apartment. I folded laundry. I got a HUGE splinter while dusting an antique table (that belonged to me at one time). I looked for a pin to go in for the splinter digging, but there were none to be found. I kept cleaning. For one hour. Then I got my car, drove around again looking for a legal spot, but found none again. But I did find another metered spot close to the other one. It was 9:45 am. I dropped in 3 quarters. I figured I would get my car in 30 minutes and then park illegally for 15 minutes, in my car… waiting for 10:30 am. I went back to Janie’s apartment and organized her kitchen cabinets. I then got my car… drove directly to Janie’s street and found a parking spot… right across the street from her apartment. There were several cars all lined up on the left side of the street, all with the same idea. I worried about the parking police, so I kept a vigilant eye on all corners and crevices.

None came. It was 10:30 am.

I parked right there for 3 more hours.

$2.25. For 21 hours of parking in NYC.

I feel vindicated. I feel valiant. I feel victorious. I feel adventurous. (And I don’t even care how much work I had to do to accomplish the impossible.)

Yes. I’m adding this to my list.

(And I did get the splinter out. That is a story all by itself.)

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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6 Comments

  1. 2.16.10
    Poppy said:

    WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!

    I’ve never parked in NYC. Unless you count my butt on a bench in Central Park…

  2. 2.17.10
    Jane said:

    That is QUITE the feat. Does that count as a reward for doing such a great job cleaning my apartment!? 😉 Love you!

  3. 2.17.10
    Nancy said:

    That my friend is quite an accomplishment. I would certainly make it a 57 in 52.

  4. 2.17.10
    Connie said:

    What a story. You are intrepid. I don’t even like to drive in Providence, never mind NYC…or Boston! Forget Providence Place Mall.

    Yes, indeedy, you need to count this as 57 in 52 you wild thing, you!

    (All the way through the second half of your story I was wondering about the splinter. Glad you are okay. But I know from past posts that you are the splinter genie. I look forward to that whole other story).

  5. 2.17.10

    I am exhausted reading what you went through. It sounds just like parking downtown Chicago. Did you protest the $200 ticket?

  6. 2.19.10

    You are awesome. As an individual and as a mom. I love reading your blog posts, and after meeting you the other day, can just envision you going through the motions of all of this. You are a little spitfire! ABSOLUTELY one of your 57 in 52!

    And seriously, $200 for stopping to ask a question – was that even legal?!?

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