For immediate release

We're number one!

A new study by Colliers International, a commercial real estate consulting firm found that Midtown and Downtown Manhattan are the two most expensive parts of the United States to park your car in a parking garage.

The average monthly cost to park in a garage in Midtown Manhattan is $491.80; Lower Manhattan comes in slightly under that at $444.40. Compare this to the national average, which is only $148.30. The runner-ups to Manhattan in this undesirable category are Boston at $425, San Francisco at $350 Philadelphia at $317.50 and Chicago at $289. NYC also has the highest daily national parking average. Some parking garages in Midtown Manhattan charge as much as $76 for 24 hours of parking, while West Palm Beach, is at the other end of the spectrum: $8.

What to do next - an example of "beating" the system

So what are we, who live in or near the most parking-challenged City in the nation, to do? Knowledge is power. It's often possible to avoid paying for a parking garage at all by knowing where (and equally important, when) it's free and legal to park on the street. Of course, when it comes to monthly parking, this doesn't usually apply, but knowledge can still save you lots of money. Author Erik Feder gives this prime example:

"Recently, I had to be in Times Square at 5:30pm on a Friday night to give a presentation about my parking books to the NYC Hotel Concierge Association. I knew that street parking wouldn't work at that time (6pm would've worked, 5:30pm - no way) so I researched parking garages in that area. I ended up parking in a garage that was a ten-minute walk from Times Square for 5 hours - from 5pm-10pm. It cost me $7."

Copyright 2006 Rhythmo Productions

Erik Feder

Erik Feder wrote "The Feder Guide to Where to Park Your Car in Manhattan (and Where Not to Park It!)" after spending years searching for and occasionally finding parking spaces in Manhattan. For nearly two decades he was employed as a video editor and drummer, working and performing all over Manhattan. During this time, Erik was the unfortunate recipient of his share of parking tickets and also had his car towed four times! One of these towing incidences happened even though he had parked correctly; after fighting for four months, Erik received a check from the Department of Transportation for the money he had paid to get his car out of the pound. Little did he know at that time that about 15 years later, he would write a book that explained (among other things) how to fight being towed and ticketed in error. As a result of the extensive research required to compile this book, Erik has become a "Parking Expert" and is proud to say that he has not received a ticket or been towed since the commencement of that research.

The Feder Guide was entirely conceived, researched, compiled and edited by Erik; he also designed the cover and created the website. Erik was born and raised in New Jersey and went to Rutgers University in Newark where he has a Bachelor's Degree with a double major in Music (percussion performance) and video production. As a video editor in Manhattan, Erik worked for MTV, HBO, Showtime, Montel Williams and Maury Povich, among others. He later received a Master's Degree in Land Management and Land Tenure (focus on natural resource management) from the Technical University of Munich in Germany. Erik now lives with his wife Manuela Sander, in Long Beach, Long Island. Manuela received her degree in Tourism and Marketing management in Munich and designed the marketing plan for The Feder Guide