Queens, NY - Do not go
 

I was stunned when I read that Lonely Planet ranked Queens, NY as not just *a* top tourist location, but *the* top location. See: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/north-am...in-the-us-2015

This is utter nonsense. Never go to Queens as a tourist.

One reason why: Queens businesses collude with towing companies to extort money from tourists. It's not just one or two businesses. It's Queens as a whole.

I got ripped off by Dunkin' Donuts, 219-20 Northern Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361. On December 17 I drove my family from Washington DC to Queens as part of our visit to New York. When I got there we decided to get ice cream so we googled a Dunkin Donuts / Baskin Robbins (DD/BR) in Queens. When we arrived I parked my car at the DD/BR parking lot but first I walked to a Korean tea shop next door before buying ice cream at DD/BR. When I came back to DD/BK I found my car had been towed. I had to pay $200 cash to get it back.

When I asked passers-by about this practice they confirmed it: Many Queens businesses collude with towing companies to make a few extra bucks by ransoming cars from tourists. It's like stealing cars, but it's protected by law. It's the perfect crime!

Apparently businesses justify the practice by citing the oh-heavens-my-how-terrible parking problem. But we did not see this business practice in NYC, which I think has a tougher parking problem than Queens. NYC has parking structures. Tourists pay a hefty but fair price for parking. No big deal. Un-metered spots are hard to come by in NYC but if you get one you don't get towed. At least I didn't.

In NYC I saw the Empire State Building. I paid $17 for parking for one hour, which I agreed to in advance. In Queens I saw a Korean Tea House and a Dunkin Donuts and I paid $200 for parking which was not agreed to in advance.

Hmm. Which place is better for tourists?

If you go to Queens, don't park there. Better yet, don't go there in the first place.

George Corser
Saginaw, Michigan

I'm not sure which is sillier --

the idea that Queens is the number 1 tourist attraction or the idea that because you left your car in a designated business parking lot unattended for long enough to have it towed away while you went to another attraction, you consider that charging $200 for parking.

"When we arrived I parked my car at the DD/BR parking lot but first I walked to a Korean tea shop next door before buying ice cream at DD/BR. "

Sorry, no sympathy from me!

How was DD/BR to know that you what was in your plans? They had every right to have your car towed. This is common practice in most of the US...there was probably a sign posting the use of their lot was for DD/BR only.

Oh, by the way, I'm assuming the lot had no signs that said it was for parking for customers only or a warning of being fined or towed, right?

Please Don't Feed The Trolls.

Either that's a very fast tow company or you're a very slow tea drinker.

The OP won't see your posts -- he registered to post his rant and probably won't be able to find his way bak to read anything.

George: If there is <i>any</i> chance you do come back, you were wrong . . . and towing is equal opportunity. Anyone who parks in a marked/signed lot and goes somewhere else . . . will be towed.

This entire post is nonsense.

Queens is NOT the top tourist spot in NYC.

Is is a huge,primarily residential county with a very high population density, a lot of cars and not nearly enough parking spaces. Therefore the parking lots of businesses are almost always marked For Customers Only and you will be towed if not a customer.

The OP obviously parked long-term in the lot without being a customer (probably while having lunch nearby) and his car was towed. If he had to pay $200 to get his car back he got a good deal.

If you park in the street cleaning zones in Manhattan during the cleaning hours they will tow your car and it will cost in excess of $1000 to get it back, between the parking ticket, the tow fee and the cost to retrieve from the city impound lot.

NYC is NOT a place to ignore parking rules.

This guy is right. I judge all places I visit by the parking available at the Dunkin' Donuts. Sometimes my standard is how ketchup packs I get at McDonald's. But the DD standard is also good.

Interesting topic...

When I put that address into google maps the only thing next door is something called "Bistro New York", which doesn't sound like a Korean tea shop. There is a Korean place (BCD Tofu House) about half a block down and across the street though....

I find it hard to believe you went 'next door' and couldn't see a tow truck arrive or notice it towing away your car. I find it more likely that you went to BCD Tofu House - and if DD/BR employees notice someone park in their lot and then walk away of course they are going to call a towing company.

Flags are flying at half mast in Queens today as residents are mourning the fact that gpcorser won't be returning to their neighborhood. Their lives were dependent upon bilking him out of $200 every time he visited.

Getting back to Lonely Planet. That is why lists are so stupid. There will always be those who must claim a new standard, just to be hip. I stopped my subscription to Time Out New York after about 15 years because every issue could have been titled, "How to get drunk and laid in Brooklyn." I guess the action is moving a little east

You can get a ticket in Saginaw for parking in your front yard.

Every NYC Trip I ever take includes that very same Dunkin/baskin... They give extra sprinkles...

gary, but not the Korean Tea House?

Patrick... I can't afford the parking ...

oh, didn't realize you only do the cheap tours. LOL

garyt22, lol.

I have seen exactly this type of case adjudicated on The People's Court (don't knock it 'till you've tried it!) a few times. Towing companies, which are given permission to police the parking in a privately owned lot by the lot's owner, make their money from towing cars away. So you'd better believe they're watching that lot like hawks! They place signs prominently in the lot advising people that they will be towed away unless they patronize the business that owns the lot.

The only time the judge ruled against the towing company is when a plaintiff was able to prove that no such signs were in place. The other plaintiffs all had the same excuse as our OP, but it just won't fly.

I prefer glazed and raised to cake donuts, agnostic on sprinkles.

And oh yeah, don't go to Queens, lol.

Well, maybe not the top tourist place but yesterday's Times had a two page listing/review of Korean restaurants which someone might like to sample.