STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Sunday’s winter storm may be over — at least until the next round possibly strikes this weekend — but a new battle has taken over Staten Island streets, creating parking Armageddon.
Spot-hungry Staten Islanders say the borough is only at the beginning of what could be weeks of parking wars.
Mountains of frozen snow have lined the streets in every Staten Island neighborhood, leaving little room to park cars, adding to the frustrations each vehicle owner has to deal with until temperatures rise in early February.
In dry conditions, Staten Island roads have limited parking.
Add mounds of snow and ice, and many say the borough is being pushed to its limit, especially as commuters return to work and students go back to in‑person classes.
Snow and slush coat streets and sidewalks on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, after about a foot of snow fell over the weekend on Staten Island. Mounds of snow remain in front of a bus stop at Fingerboard Road and Hylan Boulevard in Grasmere.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)What do you think?
In polls on the Advance/SILive.com Instagram page, Islanders were asked: “If you shovel out a spot, should that spot be “yours” until the snow melts?” and “How much time did you spend shoveling your car out of your parking spot following the winter storm?“
Seventy-seven percent of 68 respondents said, “Yes, if you shovel, you get dibs.”
“After spending hours digging it out multiple times due to plows reburying it? That’s my spot for a few days,” said Instagram user @RanolaRealEstate in a comment under a post on Advance/SILive.com’s Instagram page.
Twenty-two people (15%) chose the “No, you don’t own the road,” response.
The “Sort of, for 24 hours that spot is yours” response was least popular, with four people (6%) choosing it.
Instagram user @NickWheelz incredulously questioned the logic behind the question, asking, “Why would you ever think a parking spot on the street is yours?”
When responding to the question of, “How much time did you spend shoveling your car out of your parking spot following the winter storm,” 83 of the 122 readers surveyed said, “Over an hour.”
“Several hours as (the city Department of Sanitation ) kept dumping back all the snow everyone had shoveled and it was a work in vain for everyone out there once Sanitation came around,” Instagram user @JulietMoll said in a comment under a post on the Advance/SILive.com’s page. “We need snow removal, this was and still is insane.”
The responses “31-59 minutes” and “Didn’t even try,” both had the same amount of readers at 17 (14%).
Only five (4%) respondents chose “Up to 30 minutes.”
Snow and slush coat streets and sidewalks at Steuben Street and Hylan Boulevard in Grasmere on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, after about a foot of snow fell over the weekend on Staten Island.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)Parking challenges
Dug-out parking spots are often taken by other drivers, residents say.
“There’s no place to park on a normal street due to mountains of snow turned ice that you can’t get your car over, unless you drive an SUV,” said one Advance/SILive.com reader. “Then there’s the frustration that you can’t claim a spot for yourself, although you put time in and shoveled it out, then someone takes it. Where do you go with your car?”
Staten Islanders looking to park their vehicles Tuesday are facing mounds as high as 4 feet high.
On Monday, Staten Islanders woke up to about a foot of snow, dangerously icy conditions, and widespread travel advisories after the city’s major winter storm Sunday.
Despite plowing efforts focused on primary roads, residential streets remain lined with towering snowbanks, leaving curb lanes unusable and cars entombed under thick plow berms.
Snow, slush and ice continue to pose threats to drivers parking near bus stops and train stations throughout the borough.
Alternate-side parking rules are suspended, but meters are still in effect, adding to the parking crunch.
Snow and slush coat streets and sidewalks at Sand Lane in South Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, after about a foot of snow fell over the weekend on Staten Island.(Advance/SILive.com | Jan Somma-Hammel)
In an email, a Stapleton resident said: “My problem this morning was not parking, but navigating streets on the North Shore where snow mounds on the sides of the road made it very, very difficult for cars heading in opposite directions to get around each other and share the road. I witnessed two or three cars backing up down my block because they couldn’t get around cars coming at them in the other direction.”
He further elaborated that the problem is made even more difficult with school buses on the road.
“One yellow school bus went down my block blaring its horn the whole way this morning,” he said. “I’m guessing to alert cars coming at it from the opposite direction.”
One man at PS 62, The Kathleen Grimm School for Leadership and Sustainability, said he had to park his SUV on top of a snow mound to pick up his child from the school.
“Some parents won’t be able to get their kids today because there is nowhere to park,” the dad said. “It was difficult for me to drive anywhere. It’s ridiculous.”
A woman who had to navigate around snow mounds in front of the school, bumping onto one particularly large mound several times, said there is very little that can be done about them.
“I think cars should be off the street and we should build our neighborhoods with more space to park multiple cars in the driveway of every home,” she said.
An Advance/SILive.com reader called in to describe seeing a large snow mound at a bus stop on Forest Avenue.
“I drove past and there was a guy standing on a 4-foot-high snow mound at the bus stop,” he said.
Residential streets in Tottenville remain lined with towering snowbanks, making parking nearly impossible as schools and workplaces reopen across the borough.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrenceCity law
New York City does not legally recognize “parking dibs,” meaning residents have no right to claim a spot they’ve shoveled out, even though the practice is common, according to the official Department of Sanitation website.
City rules also prohibit shoveling or pushing snow into the street, as outlined by the department.
Property owners are required to clear their sidewalks within four to 14 hours, depending on when snowfall ends, according to the city.
Items used to hold a parking space, such as cones or chairs, can be considered illegal obstructions under NYC Administrative Code §16‑122.
Altogether, the law makes clear that shoveled spots remain public, regardless of who dug them out.
For now, many Islanders say parking has become a “free‑for‑all,” and anyone who manages to dig out should expect their spot to be gone the moment they pull away.