Claiming "Dibs" on Parking Spots? Not Cool in NYC

An example of "dibs" in action (via KScully).

As the snow finally began to melt away over the weekend we asked you, our gentle readers, to weigh in on the issue of "dibs." Y'know, when a driver digs their car out of the snow and then "claims" it with a chair, a sign, or some other object that is not a car? Popular in some other cities, we were curious how other New Yorkers felt on the matter. Our informal poll is still going here but the results are already pretty clear.

This probably won't surprise most of you, but here in New York drivers really have no right to expect to keep a spot they dug out: 52% of the more than 900 people who responded to our poll say that any free spot is fair game. Another quarter of respondents feel that a person who dug out a spot can lay claim to it... for a day. And only 12% respect the rules of the dib. The remainder, for those of you counting out there, aren't so much car people ("Parking? You mean like the last stop on the train?").

So there you have it folks. Come the next big storm you can feel free to try and claim dibs on a spot you dug out... just don't expect your fellow New Yorkers to respect it!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Garth Johnston in News on January 3, 2011 11:34 AM

Comments [rss]

weissguy29

"Boston Fights Winter Parking Tradition
Residents Given 48 Hours to Remove Markers From Shoveled-Out
Spots

By Jonathan Finer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 1, 2005; Page A02"

This was the last serious attempt to end this practice in Boston. While the 48 hour rule is still the law in Boston, the city has become lax about it's enforcement.

nolastname

Funny, a friend just got back from Fla. She did not share your opinion.

Oak_Tree

Ahhhh, it's great here in FL.

robingee

But OH THE HUMIDITY.

ohgodkillmenow

I moved into a complex which gives me an assigned parking spot, so I don't have to care how you animals predate, kill, and eat one another. :)

Guest

ok, now i must accept that some of us haven't evolved fully yet from being ridiculously territorial.

*sigh* give me a day or two. good thing i bought a bottle of wine earlier.

Guest

People actually believe that a trash can in the spot will save it for them?

Weird.

robingee

yeah they do in NJ. I took a photo of about 20 orange cans all up and down the street. These are people who have driveways anyway! I would move the cans and park. No one said anything, but you can always feign ignorance. How am I to know why your can is in the street?

(heh. your can)

Bob Moses

In Southie (boston) it certainly does. You do not mess with another persons parking spot there, you will get your tires slashed or maybe a visit from Frenchie and Sully.

Guest

Yeah I'd suppose the same sort of local respect/intimidation could exist in Bay Ridge.

JonClaw

I will throw your garbage cans back at you. No such thing as dibs in NYC.

Guest

can't believe we are even arguing about this. it's public space, so unless you have paid for this particular spot of the public space, it's not yours and it doesn't matter what the fuck you do to try in vain to make it yours.

i mean... ARE YA FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?

nicemarmot

Sorry, no. Unless your ass paid for that parking, you don't get to claim it as yours. Shoveling does not infer ownership, especially when you live in a city where people will drive around and around forever looking for a spot. It would be one thing if we paid for a city parking permit.

Not that I have a car here anymore. I sold that thing. The insurance was just too much to take.

mistermarkdavis

I feel like if you spent 3 hours shoveling out your car and tidying up the spot in front of your house the way many of my neighbors did you can call dibs.

if you live in a more densely populated area dibs can be a dick move.

Michelle Tang

YES! Totally agree - this was the case on my block. I was one of a few people who shoveled and got their car out and went out for a couple of hours. When I came back, someone throwing a house party had all of their loser friends take up the block's free spots. Where's the justice!?!

Mordicai

Hey, wouldn't it be great if free parking was abolished?

Guest

Dibs only make sense in cities (i.e., Boston) where residents pay extra for the right to on the street and are assigned to certain blocks and areas related to a permit resident's address.

ijustsaid

I've been a resident of a few random cities and dibs on street parking is ridiculous, always.

aloveston

No dibs. We're not 8 year-olds fighting over the front seat.

etypical

It works when it works. I tried 'holding' a spot once and the asshat/guy bumped me in the leg with his car. Flipside; another time I tried to park and an old lady was standing in a spot. Was I going to hit her? No, so she won.