I may get ticketed in my own driveway

[toon5150]

What is the name of your state? New York

I have a very short driveway and have 2 vehicles. The end of my driveway has a building that used to be a garage but when I bought the place it was converted to a storage area with just a regular people door (no overhead door). My driveway is wide enough to park on the side of the building but there is a drop off right where the building begins. My old work van was a E350 econoline that had an extended rear end that I could hang over the drop off so the vehicle wouldn't block the side walk (I put in a board so I wouldn't drive off the drop off). I recently had to get a new van (2004 GMC Savana). It is the same length as my old vehicle but it has a longer wheel base so when I park the front end of the vehicle overhangs the sidewalk to about the middle of sidewalk. I haven't received any tickets yet but I'm worried I might. There is a no parking sign right in front of my house so I can't park on the street. How much of the sidewalk do you have to block to get a ticket or is it a judgement call? I don't want to ask the town because they may decide to start ticketing me.

 

[You Are Guilty]

You can be ticketed for ANY encroachment onto the public sidewalk. So, theoretically, even a half-inch would be justification to write you up. Of course, there is some judgment required, so you'd probably be ok with just a few inches. If you block a significant portion of the sidewalk, i.e. people have to really walk around the bumper, expect a ticket.