{"id":114887,"date":"2026-01-28T11:09:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/114887\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:09:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:09:30","slug":"after-winter-storm-hits-staten-island-parking-armageddon-emerges-on-streets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/114887\/","title":{"rendered":"After winter storm hits Staten Island, parking Armageddon emerges on streets"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Sunday\u2019s winter storm may be over \u2014 at least until the next round possibly strikes this weekend<\/a> \u2014 but a new battle has taken over Staten Island streets, creating parking Armageddon.<\/p>\n

Spot-hungry Staten Islanders say the borough is only at the beginning of what could be weeks of parking wars.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In dry conditions, Staten Island roads have limited parking. <\/p>\n

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\u2011person classes.<\/p>\n

\"SnowSnow 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?<\/p>\n

In polls on the Advance\/SILive.com Instagram page, Islanders were asked: “If you shovel out a spot, should that spot be \u201cyours\u201d until the snow melts?<\/a>” and “How much time did you spend shoveling your car out of your parking spot following the winter storm?<\/a>“<\/p>\n

Seventy-seven percent of 68 respondents said, \u201cYes, if you shovel, you get dibs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter spending hours digging it out multiple times due to plows reburying it? That\u2019s my spot for a few days,\u201d said Instagram user @RanolaRealEstate in a comment under a post on Advance\/SILive.com\u2019s Instagram page.<\/p>\n

Twenty-two people (15%) chose the \u201cNo, you don\u2019t own the road,\u201d response.<\/p>\n

The \u201cSort of, for 24 hours that spot is yours\u201d response was least popular, with four people (6%) choosing it.<\/p>\n

Instagram user @NickWheelz incredulously questioned the logic behind the question, asking, \u201cWhy would you ever think a parking spot on the street is yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

When responding to the question of, \u201cHow much time did you spend shoveling your car out of your parking spot following the winter storm,\u201d 83 of the 122 readers surveyed said, \u201cOver an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral 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,\u201d Instagram user @JulietMoll said in a comment under a post on the Advance\/SILive.com\u2019s page. \u201cWe need snow removal, this was and still is insane.\u201d<\/p>\n

The responses \u201c31-59 minutes\u201d and \u201cDidn\u2019t even try,\u201d both had the same amount of readers at 17 (14%).<\/p>\n

Only five (4%) respondents chose \u201cUp to 30 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SnowSnow 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<\/p>\n

Dug-out parking spots are often taken by other drivers, residents say. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no place to park on a normal street due to mountains of snow turned ice that you can\u2019t get your car over, unless you drive an SUV,\u201d said one Advance\/SILive.com reader. \u201cThen there\u2019s the frustration that you can\u2019t 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?\u201d<\/p>\n

Staten Islanders looking to park their vehicles Tuesday are facing mounds as high as 4 feet high.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Staten Islanders woke up to about a foot of snow, dangerously icy conditions, and widespread travel advisories after the city\u2019s major winter storm Sunday.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Snow, slush and ice continue to pose threats to drivers parking near bus stops and train stations throughout the borough.<\/p>\n

Alternate-side parking rules are suspended, but meters are still in effect, adding to the parking crunch.<\/p>\n

\"SnowSnow 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)<\/p>\n

In an email, a Stapleton resident said: \u201cMy 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\u2019t get around cars coming at them in the other direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further elaborated that the problem is made even more difficult with school buses on the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne yellow school bus went down my block blaring its horn the whole way this morning,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m guessing to alert cars coming at it from the opposite direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome parents won\u2019t be able to get their kids today because there is nowhere to park,\u201d the dad said. \u201cIt was difficult for me to drive anywhere. It\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

An Advance\/SILive.com reader called in to describe seeing a large snow mound at a bus stop on Forest Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI drove past and there was a guy standing on a 4-foot-high snow mound at the bus stop,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"snowResidential 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<\/p>\n

New York City does not legally recognize \u201cparking dibs,\u201d meaning residents have no right to claim a spot they\u2019ve shoveled out, even though the practice is common, according to the official Department of Sanitation website. <\/a><\/p>\n

City rules also prohibit shoveling or pushing snow into the street, as outlined by the department.<\/p>\n

Property owners are required to clear their sidewalks within four to 14 hours, depending on when snowfall ends, according to the city. <\/p>\n

Items used to hold a parking space, such as cones or chairs, can be considered illegal obstructions under NYC Administrative Code \u00a716\u2011122. <\/a><\/p>\n

Altogether, the law makes clear that shoveled spots remain public, regardless of who dug them out.<\/p>\n

For now, many Islanders say parking has become a \u201cfree\u2011for\u2011all,\u201d and anyone who manages to dig out should expect their spot to be gone the moment they pull away.<\/p>\n