City and State Disability Parking Permits Are Not the Same

Do not treat every disability parking permit as the same tool. NYC DOT describes the NYC Parking Permit for People with Disabilities as an on-street permit for people with permanent disabilities that seriously impair mobility.

DOT says the city permit can allow parking at metered spaces without charge and at certain No Parking spaces. NYC 311 separately describes the New York State permit as a blue or red hangtag for reserved accessible spaces in off-street lots such as shopping malls, valid throughout the United States and Canada.

For Staten Island drivers who use both strip-mall lots and dense city curbs, that distinction matters. Before parking, check whether the trip calls for the city on-street permit, the state hangtag, or both sets of rules.

Before applying or parking, write down whether the need is for a city on-street space or a reserved accessible space in an off-street lot. Keep the NYC permit application and the state hangtag information separate, and carry the permit that matches the place where the vehicle will be parked.