Most residents of Manhattan Island, where there is no free space not only for garages but even for shops, park their cars right in the open air. Plus one: the spot is free. The downsides are everything else, and above all, the spot still has to be found. And, once found, you have to follow the rules.
Which ones? In New York, parking is allowed on a certain side of the street on certain days: on Mondays and Wednesdays – on the right side, on Tuesdays and Fridays – on the left side, and Thursday is a free day, as are Saturday and Sunday. On a free day, if all the spots on the required side are taken, you can park on the opposite side. But – only from 7 PM to 8 AM the next day, and after that you have to move your car anywhere, otherwise you will have to pay a fine of $50. Even if you are only a minute late moving from the wrong side.
Such a schedule is not an arbitrary act by the authorities, but measures designed to ensure street cleaning. Street sweepers start work exactly at 8 AM. And a police patrol checks compliance with parking rules, and if necessary, leaves a fine ticket on the windshield. There is no negotiating with the police.
True, in Manhattan there are also mitigating circumstances for parking. These are weather conditions. For example, your car has been covered with snow overnight, and you, even with the best will in the world, cannot move it to clear the road for the sweepers. After all, American drivers, unlike ours, are not even aware of such a useful device for clearing snow from a car as an ordinary shovel. During a snowfall, the city government meets car owners halfway and declares such days suspended, that is, 'on hold.' Then you can park anywhere without fear of a fine. Announcements are made on all TV channels and radio, so you don't have to worry about missing them.
True, city authorities and drivers do not always live in an atmosphere of mutual understanding. Last winter, there was a case when, despite record precipitation, the day was not declared free. Drivers, accustomed to the formula 'Snowfall = free parking,' decided to unanimously ignore the received fine tickets. And then they were granted an amnesty post factum, which was announced on television the same day. The next day, the snow again broke all records, and car owners, encouraged by their victory the day before, decided that weather conditions again gave them the right to break the rules. Alas – each one had to enrich the city treasury by $50.
Of course, it is not only the draconian schedule that prevents street parking from being considered a suitable way of life for a car. According to statistics, one in forty cars is stolen every day (or rather, every night). And most importantly, finding a parking spot is not at all easy, especially after 6 PM, when all of New York is doing the same. Sometimes the search can take a whole hour, and that is not the best rest after a hard working day, so sooner or later all these details lead to the idea of a garage.
Perhaps the happiest drivers in Manhattan are those who have their own garage in their own house. All private houses in Manhattan were built long ago, at least at the beginning of the century, so the garages there are converted stables, but they even have garage ventilation provided. True, they can fit at most two cars. And this is truly considered the ultimate luxury.
By the way, since the 1950s, the Land Mark law has been in effect in America, according to which historical (i.e., old) buildings cannot be reconstructed. And only those homeowners who managed to do this before the law was adopted have garages. Therefore, even with the greatest desire, it is impossible to turn a restaurant or shop located on the ground floor into a garage.
And garages on the ground floor of a building (including an ordinary multi-story building), where spots are rented to 'outsiders' who wish, bring a good income. Parking prices can range from $250 to $700 per month depending on the area. There are overnight rates (from $12 to $25 plus taxes). Residents of the building get a discount and can pay only 70% of the rate, but you cannot buy the spot as property.
Open guarded parking lots are cheaper. True, there are not many of them in Manhattan: land is expensive, and it is much more profitable to build a residential building or shopping center on it than to rent it out to restless car owners. By the way, there is a parking lot in New York that the owner of the land plot was simply forced to build: he bought the plot for a multi-story building, but the authorities opposed his intention, stating that the new building would block the most beautiful sunset in New York. So the landowner is now defending his right to build in bureaucratic corridors, while profitably using the idle land as parking.
A car owner can rent a spot in a parking lot in different ways: buy for a whole month for $180-250 or park the car only overnight for $16. The last option is designed specifically for those who were unlucky to find a spot on the street near home this evening. For those who pick up the car before 8:00 AM, the fee is even less – about $11. This rate is called early bird, that is, 'early bird.' Finally, you can park the car for an hour – for about $9.
And in general, you can own a car with pleasure only if you live outside the city. There, Americans have the opportunity to build garages that match the status of the car as a true family member. The size of garages speaks to the scale of the country's motorization: if earlier standard garages were designed for two cars, now only three-car garages are built. Every American knows how multifunctional a garage can be (for example, to store a million different things), but if your imagination is not too rich, you can order plans for modern garages by mail from numerous architectural firms.
Probably the most popular model today is the mather house, that is, a guest house: 3 cars below and a room with a bathroom on the second floor. For artistic natures, quite a few projects with studios have been developed. Fitness enthusiasts set up a pool in the room adjacent to the garage, and some – a spacious kennel for their beloved dog. Loudspeaker communication with the house is a common thing: if the head of the family is tinkering with the engine or something else, his hands are busy. So, as they say, – hello, garage!