Flushing #1 Municipal Parking Field

Parking lot is no longer controlled by the city, so that makes it easier to find parking. No reserved spots that can get you tickets or towed. Downside — exit points out of the lot are crowded and difficult to leave, bus traffic really messes up the flow.

Worst parking lot ever. The parking lot is full but no one comes to change the sign outside. When we left without finding a place to park, a staff there charged us for 3 dollars. Idc about the 3 dollars but it makes no sense. They can just fool ppl around like this huh?!

Run by an idiot manager.
If you pay cash and need change, you have to get the change at the office. This is what happened to me. The ticket doesn’t tell you where the office is. I called the number on the ticket and the person who picked up (idiot manager) told me no one was in the office and come back another day to get it. I don’t live close so I told her I’m not leaving until I get my change of $ 7. It is not worth wasting gas for me to go home and come back for $ 7. So she said to go to the office and wait for her.
I went there and waited 25 minutes. Meanwhile, my ticket time was still running, putting me at risk of getting a violation. Someone finally comes and says the manager (idiot on phone) isn’t there and to come back. I told her that’s not possible. The manager finally comes and tells me they can’t give me my money now because they don’t have the money in the office. She was insistent that I come back another day. This is the same idiot who I talked to on the phone who told me to wait at the office. Here I am 25 minutes into the wait which they told me to do, only to find out the office doesn’t have the money there.
She was insistent (along with an idiot woman behind me also trying to get change) that they were doing their best. The idiot manager then said I should be thankful they give change because some lots don’t give change. EXCUSE ME? So you’re saying you can STEAL my money and I should be thankful you’re giving it back? What kind of bullshit is this? If you were not able to give change that day, then you should post a sign that there’s no change available for the day. She said she was doing her best. I said your best sucks, and you’re not doing your job correctly.
If you don’t have to park here, avoid it. Rude, inefficient, idiots run this place.

No more cheap parking :(Just an FYI, I saw about 3 people coming by to check tickets within 15 mins of me sitting in the car. They’re serious. Gotta be careful!

I have nothing good to say. I’m actually really disappointed and upset about the change. No more $ 1 parking and no more free parking after 10pm. Yes it’s cheaper than the city but this is no longer the #1 municipal.

****Beware of the parking attendants when parking and leaving your parking spot, apparently there are no grace period like street parking and they’re probably looking for every possible reason to issue you a fine****
Rude parking attendant accused me of not paying for parking, right after I decided to throw out some garbage from my car and decided to give my ticket away to this old man that was about to pay for the meter when my ticket wasn’t expiring until maybe 50 minutes later. I got into my car and started the engine, this is the exact time that she approached me and immediately said «you need to pay to park here» I told her I’m actually leaving and that I did pay five dollars for three hours parking time. She of course asked me for proof, which at this point it’s in the car of another person. Didn’t want to go into details about me giving my ticket away, so I told her I just threw it out maybe a minute ago. She gave me this face which clearly told me that she thought I was lying, which really upset me, because I’m not the type to try to not pay for things. And again she repeated to me «you need to pay to park here» and again I told her I did pay, just so happens I don’t have my receipt anymore, and again «I’m just letting you know YOU NEED TO PAY TO PARK HERE!!» Calmly I told her, «I did pay, I was being nice and I actually gave my ticket away right before I got back into my car, if you want you can look at that ticket and it’ll say it expires at 6:01pm» Again, she gave me that look that said, «yeah sure that’s what happened… like I’m stupid enough to believe your lies right now» After maybe two minutes of this back and forth, I decided it’s not even worth my time, and if she really wanted proof that I did pay, I had no problems going to the office with her to look at some surveillance videos.
I pulled into my spot right behind the meter machine located between the two entrances on 138^th street around 2:55pm, gathered my stuff, got out of my car, at the same time the car next to me was preparing to leave, and I started walking towards the meter to pay, at the same time another lady was approaching the meter machine, I let her go first, she was having trouble with the machine and finally realized it is time to put in her credit card to pay, and the time was 2:58pm and she paid an hour so machine said her time will end at 3:58pm. She seems to still be having trouble understanding this whole machine ordeal. Finally she got her receipt and walked away. I waited for the machine to go back to the starting point and punched in that I wanted to park for three hours (I really only needed maybe an hour and a half to two hours, but I like to be safe) Put in five one dollar bills into the machine, got my receipt, put it into the car, and was on my way. Fast forward, got back to my car to find this jerk that didn’t know how to park all in my parking space and was already upset about how close he was to me. Saw a man parking and I grabbed my ticket and when he approached the machine I handed him the ticket and he thanked me (my good deed of the day. i guess) then threw out a cup that was sitting in my car, quickly snapped a picture of the car that was parked so close to me that I was barely able to open my door. Got back into my car and started the engine, and the parking attendant approached me and accused me of not paying! After maybe what seemed to be two minutes and I gave up explaining to her and told her «doesn’t matter, I’m leaving» and backed out of the spot and drove away. There lady! Is that enough proof for you???
I understand to park in the parking lot I would need to pay, maybe your staff should be train to understand what the other person is trying to explain to them as well and not accuse people of not paying, also to not give out those sh** faces to paying customers, when they just got into their car and preparing to drive or when they just pulled into a parking spot and is preparing to get out of their car. Even when parking at the meters owned by the city there’s a grace period for you to go to the meter and pay. I really wonder what would have happened if shut off the engine and was paying at the meter when this lady approached my car. Was she going to issue me a fine because she assumes that I didn’t pay?

What the front? *Expletives deleted*
The change has driven up the price of parking everywhere in downtown Flushing and, sadly, also increased competition for the NYC meter parking spaces in the entire area. There is now even more incentive to avoid this area. I guess this gives other areas with smaller Asian Communities a chance to grow, but at what cost???
I hope Flushing does not become Manhattan’s Chinatown… Flushing should continuously improve. I avoid Manhattan partially because of expensive parking. Flushing may be next.

Don’t pay with cash if you don’t have exact change. The machines don’t give change.

Ever since the city gave up control of Flushing #1 Municipal Parking Lot, things have been different. The good? Parking is now available at all hours during the day and even late at night. The bad? It’s no longer free after 10pm. The terrible? All rates are up. Way up.
The lot is now owned by Standard Parking, the folks who are responsible for all of those «Central Parking» lots that many folks see in Manhattan. Considering the astronomical rates that are charged in the city, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the rate explosion is happening in Flushing.
The days of a quarter every 15 minutes is over. It’s now $ 3 an hour. Or $ 4 for 2 hours. Throw in $ 15 and you’ll get 8 hours and $ 16 is good enough for a cool 24 hours. The longer one stays, the less one pays … at least figuratively. The takeover was officially in January, so it wasn’t exactly yesterday.
All these changes signal a new era in Flushing. Later this year, construction will begin for residential and commercial space, an underground parking lot, and a massive YMCA /​Amphitheater. The parking lot regulation is just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s just hope they don’t sink the Titanic that is Flushing.

The good olé Flushing Municipal parking lot. This parking lot currently undergoing a $ 850 million commercial and residential development. I’ll start with the good, the bad, and then the ugly
The Good
— It’s the biggest municipal parking lot you can find in Flushing.
— Location is in the heart of Flushing.
— I was displeased with the $ 4.00 parking at first but if you think about it, would you rather circle around Flushing blocks and look for a meter or free parking spot and risk getting a parking ticket? I’d rather just pay the $ 4 bucks to be safe.
— Conveniently located right next to Main Street Radiology and Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. This is a huge plus especially if you need to bring elderly people for their checkup.
The Bad
— Upper level parking is $ 4.00 for 2 to 4 hours. Still stinks if you’re here for less than an hour and unable to find a spot on the lower level.
— People don’t know how to park. They’ll park in spaces that aren’t even suppose to be spaces.
— The stairs to the upper level and even the lower level parking area could use some better lighting.
— Could use a Elevator for the handicap.
The Ugly
— On the weekend or just about any other day, you’ll probably end up fighting for a parking space with some angry Chinese guy.
— Trying navigate or exit this parking lot can sometimes be a real hassle. You guys already know the stereotype with Asian drivers.
— When the new development is under way, finding a parking spot in the heart of Flushing will become severely scarce.
Verdict — Good location, the price is what it is, and you have a better chance of finding a spot here compared to the other smaller municipal lots located around Flushing.

I guess NYC either sold or lease to Central Parking. The other day, I got a ticket, it took grainy pictures of my license plate and the ticket itself. And at the «Violation Type», it only state «Violation». Hmm, is this valid? Too broad. And what if I don’t pay it? I don’t think they are linked to DMV. Would you pay the ticket?

This is a very busy and often completely packed lot. The main street area needs more cost friendly parking. The city seems to want less motor vehicles on the street which is good for the evironment but bad for business as people who live outside Née York wanting to shop will go away as it is less car friendly.
I now try to avoid coming into the city at all cost and only do so when visiting family, which is less and less. It is easier for them to visit me and bring me produce. I know, I am spoiled but have my sanity as I don’t have to fight traffic as well as paying almost $ 30.00 in tolls for a round trip visit.

This municipal parking field has changed to a private parking lot. Parking times goes up by increments of 1 hour starting at 1 hour for $ 3, 2 hrs for $ 4, etc.
If you DO come here to park, DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT/​DEBIT CARD. more than 3 times now, I was charged more than twice each time I parked here. One time I was charged $ 12 for 2 hours!
TRY TO AVOID IT.

Closed down… well still open technically but no longer a municipal lot. They are building a huge building there soon, and it is no longer DOT controlled. They are not charging MUCH higher rates to park there.

Ahhhhh so scary! Just thinking of this place upsets my stomach. Try to imagine visiting a packed mall the week before Christmas and attempting to find parking. It’s like that BUT ALL YEAR ROUND! I usually do eventually find parking but it is definitely a difficult task. You see at least 20 other cars all looking for parking at the same time and it’s so stressful. I have found my own secrets to find parking within 10 minutes (which is a good amount of time at this place). I will not post my secrets for the entire world to see but I can privately send my secrets to you (if really need to know). But if you ever need parking in Flushing, this is the place to go… unfortunately, it’s also the place for everyone else to park as well…

This parking lot is pretty big and conveniently located. I came here at around 9am on a Sunday for dim sum and found parking right away. As others have said, you have to make sure you park in the areas marked Green Area. Avoid the Red Area, which appears to be the parking area underneath the second level.
I parked on the second level right in front of a Green Area sign. It cost $ 0.25 per 15 minutes (so $ 1 per hour). Sundays are free. Get there early!

Very serviceable (and affordable) parking lot for those who want to spend time in Flushing. I never had a problem getting a space here or figuring out the signage like others have, so maybe I’m the lucky one. Hey, you also get the bonus of the guy selling dirty water dogs on the south side of the lot if you need a snack.

Zero stars if I could give it such.
I parked here late at night when the signs were barely visible in the parking lot. When you first pull into the lot, there’s a red area, a green area, and a restricted DOT Permit Only area. Well the signs in this lot are so confusing that it takes a PhD. in order to decipher them. If you see a red sign here that says «No standing… Permit Only», avoid like the plague unless you want to be like me and end up with a nice parking ticket. There are parking meters all over the place, including right next to the permit only spots. It doesn’t help that they tell you parking is $ 1/​hour when really you shouldn’t be on the first floor to begin with. More than 50% of the spots are for monthly permit holders. They should make it very clear that it’s for people with a monthly parking permit, not one purchased at the pay station!
Yes I was scammed by the wonderful city of New York. One would be better off paying $ 32 to a parking lot over a NYCDOT parking ticket. I learned my lesson the hard way and let this be a warning if you park in this lot. I have attached a picture of the deceiving signs.

So it has come down to this. This right here… is what my Unilocal reviews have come down to. Right here. A parking lot.
If you come on a Sunday because you’ve been invited out to Dimsum and you need to find parking… ho ho ho.
1) Give up first floor entirely because its more competition. Go straight up the ramp to the upper deck.
2) Now you’re on the upper deck. Move to the center of any empty row. By common etiquette, you get dibs on any nearby space once they free up.
3) Just to reinforce 2), you should activate that turn signal as soon as you FEEL the spot is about to open up. Signal first, think later.
Now, there will be times when there are sons of bitches who follow people to their cars to take their spot. Beep their asses and show them what for. Then take the spot because its yours. It does get kind of tricky when the follower made a deal with the exiting driver for the spot… I’ll leave that up to your street smarts.
Definitely don’t take shit from people who send their moms out to run to an empty spot to secure it. I once backed my car into my rightful spot with the poor mom still standing there. The dude knew it was either gonna be the spot or his mother. And he chose wisely.
Read the signs carefully. Some spots are restricted and some have special time limits. You want the green/​blue areas so you don’t get fined the f* up. Street parking is *never* guaranteed but you’re welcome to try your luck around Bowne street. You can also find free 3 hour-​limit parking at BJ’s parking lot at college point blvd. Most of the time it will be worth the extra walking distance. You’re welcome.

If you shop or dine in the downtown Flushing area, you most likely parked at one of the 4 parking fields around the Roosevelt Ave & Main St transit hub at one time or another. If you drive into the madhouse that is Main St, it is probably as a last resort because of the insane amount of buses, cars & people all vying to get ahead of one another. There are places to park for free if you’re willing to look and walk a little bit, but I’m not giving up any of my secret spots.
I’ll pull into one of the municipal lots if I can’t find street parking. The municipal parking lots are a convenience for drivers and a big money maker for the city. For the price, it’s not too bad at 25 cents for 15 minutes for up to 3 hours or 16 hours depending on which lot and they use muni meters that accept credit card. Just be careful that your receipt is on your dash and you get back to your car before your time has expired. The lots are feverishly patrolled by ticket agents that will not give you an extra second. This is where the other part of the city’s money making comes in because you have to pay all the way up to 10pm. It used to be crazy before the machines took credit cards because I’d bring rolls of quarters with me and people are waiting in lines to feed the meters. The draw is the convenience to the countless number of restaurants, markets & shops within a 3 block radius and the lots can get full on the weekends.
The #1 field is the largest lot and has a partial second level. Be careful not to park at the marked spaces on the north side on the ground level because those spaces are reserved for official vehicles only.