The Parking Department is responsible for 24-hour and commuter parking spaces assigned by the University Parking Committee to eligible faculty and staff. Students are not eligible for 24-hour parking but are eligible for commuter parking for evening and Saturday classes only.  The Department oversees parking applications, policy enforcement, and billing procedures for seven parking facilities in the Morningside Heights campus area.

Contents

• Introduction
• Eligibility
• Applications
• Location of Parking Facilities at the Morningside Heights Campus
• Parking Rates
• Parking Tax Exemption
• Parking Alternatives
• Parking Policies
• Contact Us

Introduction

The University has a limited supply of parking for eligible faculty and staff in seven facilities in the Morningside Heights area.  The University owns and manages three garages and one outdoor parking lot.  It also has agreements with three additional parking facilities to provide a limited number of spaces for University affiliates. Four facilities are for University residents and three garages are for University commuters who reside outside Manhattan. Departments may request parking for attendees of special events and daily visitors.  Students are only eligible for University parking to attend weekday evening or Saturday classes. During June, July, and August, there is a temporary increase in availability of parking spaces for which full-time faculty and staff may apply and which are subject to the allocation policy described below.

Parking policies are established by the University Parking Committee.  The Parking Department of Columbia University Facilities is responsible for day-to-day operations of Morningside Heights parking facilities and for administering parking policies. The Parking Committee generally meets monthly to review applications and make assignments for 24-hour and commuter parking. 

The demand for the University’s parking facilities greatly exceeds its supply.  Therefore, the Parking Department maintains a wait list for applicants.  Applicants and others who are not eligible for parking may want to review the list of privately owned garages in the area as well as New York City’s street parking regulations.

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Eligibility

Active full-time Columbia faculty members, officers grade 14 and above, and affiliates who are registered with the Office of Disability Services are eligible for University parking.  Members of other Morningside institutions are not eligible for University parking except Barnard faculty living in University housing.   Adjunct Columbia faculty members are eligible for parking on the days they teach.  Current students with a valid Columbia University ID are eligible for evening commuter parking on the days they have classes from 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday and from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday during the fall and spring semesters.

24-hour parking applicants must reside north of West 96th Street and south of West 145th Street, from Central Park West (or its equivalent) to Riverside Drive.  Commuter parking applicants must reside outside the borough of Manhattan. 

Vehicles must be registered to the applicant, his/her spouse or his/her same sex domestic partner as recognized by Human Resources.  Proof of such relationship must be provided with the application.  All information provided for this purpose will be maintained confidentially by the Parking Department solely for confirming compliance with the University’s parking policy and will be released only if required by law.

Daily parking in the Engineering Terrace Garage (ETG) and the International Affairs Building (IAB) garage is available upon departmental request for visitors on University business.  Availability is limited on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. 

Special event and University seminar parking is available by departmental request for weekday evenings, Fridays, and weekends in the ETG and IAB garages.  Approval of the request is subject to availability and the department will be charged for the use of the facilities.

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Applications

Parking applications are available online as well as from the Parking Department.  To obtain an application online, click on the appropriate application form listed below.  You can also request a form by calling us at (212) 854-9455.

Please provide all required information since incomplete applications will not be forwarded to the Parking Committee for review.  Remember to include a copy of your vehicle registration. You will be notified when your application has been approved.

The Parking Committee generally meets on the second Monday of every month.  Applicants assigned parking spaces are notified within two business days.  Applicants not assigned spaces are placed on a wait list until space is available and are considered at the next Parking Committee meeting.
 
Parkers must pay charges via payroll deduction.  A parking deposit is required and is refunded upon vacancy notification.  Adjunct faculty, students, and summer parkers must pay the parking fee in full prior to parking.

Application and Departmental Request Forms

Click on the headings below to access the appropriate form

1. 24-Hour & Commuter Parking Application
2. Summer 24-Hour & Commuter Parking Application
   
3. Commuter Parking for Adjunct Faculty
   • Fall Semester
   • Spring Semester
   • Summer Semester
4. Student Parking for Evenings and Saturdays
5. Summer Commuter Parking Application
   
6. Departmental Paid Parking Fees Authorization Form
   
7. Departmental Daily Parking Request
   
8. Departmental Special Event & Seminar Parking Request Form

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Location of Parking Facilities at the Morningside Heights Campus

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Parking Rates

24-Hour & Commuter Parking Rates

Adjunct Faculty Commuter Parking Rates

The parking fee is paid in full for the semester upon submission of your parking application.  Parking is provided in the IAB garage and the fee is based on the IAB monthly commuter rate in the above chart.  The fall semester consists of four months, the spring semester consists of five months, and the summer semester consists of three months.  Charges are based on the days per week that parking is required.

Student Evening and Saturday Parking Rates

Parking is provided in the Engineering Terrace Garage.  The fee must be paid upon application for the requested semester.  The rate is $104.17 per semester for one day of parking per week.  Each additional day is charged at the same rate.

Daily Parking Rate

The rate for daily parking is $15.00 and is available by departmental request only.

Special Event and Seminar Parking Rates by Departmental Request

Special event parking is $120.00 per hour with a minimum of four hours regardless of the number of parking spaces used.  Seminar parking for up to 30 vehicles is $15.00 per vehicle.  For more than 30 vehicles, the charge is the same as the special event rate.

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Parking Tax Exemption

Parking rates include an 18.375% parking tax comprised of an 8% New York City portion and a 10.375% New York State portion.  Parkers who are Manhattan residents may be eligible for an exemption from the 8% New York City parking tax.  Applications are available online from the NYC Department of Finance, Manhattan Resident Parking Tax Exemption Section.  Upon approval, a Parking Tax Exemption Certificate will be mailed to you by the Department of Finance.  Send the “parking operator's” certificate to the University’s Parking Department. There is no exemption available from the 10.375% New York State parking tax.

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Parking Alternatives

The following list of commercial garages in the Morningside Heights campus area is provided to assist you in your search for private garages within the Morningside Heights campus vicinity. Please note that this list should not be interpreted as a recommendation of these establishments. Garages are listed from south to north.
 

*Monthly commuter parking is available at these two facilities only. 

Parking on New York City Streets

Metered and non-metered parking is available on New York City streets as directed by signs posted by the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT).  You can check NYC DOT’s Web site for regulations regarding alternate side of the street parking.

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Parking Policies

Commuter and 24-Hour Parking Eligibility and Allocation Policy

The University Parking Committee has adopted the following eligibility and allocation policy for the assignment and retention of 24-hour and commuter parking spaces at the Morningside Heights campus.  Columbia University Facilities is responsible for administration of the policy and for implementation of the decisions of the Parking Committee pursuant to the policy.  Decisions of the University Parking Committee may, upon request, be appealed to the Executive Vice President for Columbia University Facilities for final determination.

1. Active full-time Columbia faculty members, professional officers of research as defined by the Faculty Handbook, professional librarians and officers of administration in grades 14 and above on the Morningside Heights campus, or grades 106 and above on the Medical Center campus, are eligible for 24-hour and commuter parking privileges in the University’s Morningside parking facilities.  

2. Officers not otherwise eligible for parking pursuant to this Policy may be eligible for commuter or 24-hour parking if they are registered with the appropriate Disability Services office and recommended for parking as a disability related accommodation by that office in accordance with University policy governing disability related accommodations.
   
   
3. Members of other Morningside institutions are not eligible for University parking, with the exception of certain faculty at Barnard College as described under “Eligibility Policy – 24 Hour Parking.”
   
   
4. Parkers who cease to meet the eligibility requirements described herein will not be allowed to retain their parking space.
   
   
5. Individual faculty/staff parkers may not simultaneously lease both a commuter and a 24-hour parking space on the Morningside Heights campus, except where both spaces are necessary to accommodate an eligible individual with a disability as recommended by the appropriate Disability Services office.
   
   
6. The eligibility policies apply prospectively, effective upon issuance. Current parkers as of the date of issuance who would not qualify under the rules may retain their University parking space(s) assuming all other eligibility criteria are met.
   
   
7. Departments may request parking for attendees of special events, seminars, and daily visitors. Approval of requests is subject to availability and the department will be charged for use of the facilities.
   
   
8. During June, July, and August, there is a temporary increase in availability of parking spaces for which full-time faculty and staff may apply and which will be subject to the allocation policy.

                                           
B.  Eligibility Policy – 24 Hour Parking

1. 24-hour parking applicants’ primary residence must be in reasonable proximity to the Morningside Heights campus. Reasonable proximity is defined as north of West 96th Street to West 145th Street from Central Park West (or its equivalent) to Riverside Drive.
   
   
2. Active full-time Barnard faculty members residing in University housing are eligible for 24-hour parking as long as they remain in University housing. 
   Barnard faculty who do not reside in University housing are not eligible for parking.
   
   
3. Individuals who retire from an active position with the University and continue to live in reasonable proximity to the Morningside Heights campus, as defined above, may retain their 24-hour parking space as retirees.  Retirees who did not previously have a 24-hour parking space are not eligible for 24-hour parking.
   
   
4. Surviving spouses or same sex domestic partners, as recognized by Human Resources, of University officers with 24-hour parking who continue to live in reasonable proximity to the Morningside Heights campus, as defined above, may retain the officer’s space.  Surviving spouses of officers who did not have a 24-hour parking space are not eligible for 24-hour parking.
   
   
5. Eligible parkers are limited to one 24-hour parking space per household.

C.  Eligibility Policy – Commuter Parking

1. Commuter parking applicants must reside outside the borough of Manhattan.
   
   
2. Adjunct Columbia faculty members who reside outside the borough of Manhattan are eligible for commuter parking on the days they teach.
   
   
3. Current students with a valid Columbia University ID who reside outside the borough of Manhattan are eligible for commuter parking from Monday through Friday between 4:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. and on Saturday between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. by application, on a space available basis.
   
   
4. Retired full-time faculty are eligible for commuter parking on the days they teach or if they are engaged in sponsored research.
   
   
5. Car poolers must live in the same general location and commute together to and from the University on a regular basis or based on a teaching schedule.

D.  Allocation Policies

Upon approval by the Parking Committee, faculty members will be assigned parking based on the following guidelines:

1. Eligible faculty of a professorial rank will receive first priority:  (a) by tenure status; (b) by rank including those appointed in a visiting rank and (c) based on special considerations relating to the efforts of deans to recruit and retain the most qualified senior faculty.  Officers of instruction with a non-professorial title, officers of research, professional librarians and administrative officers will receive second priority:  (a) by rank; and (b) based on special considerations relating to the efforts of deans and vice presidents to recruit the most qualified staff, and to the extent spaces are available after faculty have been accommodated.
   
   
2. Assignments to the 560 Riverside Drive Garage, subject to availability, will be made in the following order:  (a) tenured faculty; (b) non-tenured faculty living in 560 Riverside Drive; (c) other eligible non-tenured faculty of a professorial rank; (d) other 560 Riverside Drive residents except students; (e) eligible non-professorial faculty and officers of the library; and (f) all other eligible officers.
   
   
3. Time on the waiting list will not be considered in the initial assignment of parking.
   
   
4. Requests by University faculty and other officers who have been previously approved for 24-hour parking to transfer to a different University 24-hour parking facility shall be approved by the Parking Committee, subject to availability, in the order listed based on the following guidelines:
   1. Tenured faculty in the order of the date of receipt of the transfer request.
   2. Non-tenured faculty who are residents of 560 Riverside Drive seeking to transfer into the parking facility at that location.
   3. Transfer requests from other eligible non-tenured faculty of a professorial rank in order determined by the Parking Committee
      based on the recommendation(s) of deans or vice presidents.
   4. Other eligible parkers who are residents of 560 Riverside Drive seeking to transfer into the parking facility at that location.
   5. Non-professorial faculty and officers of the libraries in order determined by the Parking Committee based on the recommendation(s) of deans or vice presidents.
   6. All other eligible officers in order determined by the Parking Committee based on the recommendation(s) of deans or vice presidents.

E. Other Policies

1. Parkers are required to present proof of a valid, current vehicle registration issued to the employee, his/her spouse, or his/her same sex domestic partner as recognized by Human Resources.  Registrations will be checked for compliance on an annual basis.  All information provided for this purpose will be maintained confidentially by the Parking Department solely for confirming compliance with the University’s Parking Policy.
   
   
2. Parkers are responsible for the monthly fee for their parking space 12 months a year unless they are subletting to another eligible officer who has been approved by Columbia University Facilities.
   
   
3. Parkers on an approved University leave retain their rights to their space. If such parkers vacate their space during their leave, they may begin parking upon notification to the Parking Department upon their return. The University may elect to re-lease the space to another eligible officer selected by the Parking Committee for the period during which the primary tenant is not parking.
   
   
4. Parkers may not sublet their space without approval of the Parking Department of Columbia University Facilities.
   
   
5. Parkers are required to agree to pay all monthly parking charges via payroll deduction, except in the case of a short-term, temporary assignment of a space, in which case the full cost for the agreed period must be paid prior to occupancy.
   
   
6. A deposit is required for each facility in which a space is leased.

 
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Contact Us

Contact us during office hours, Monday through Friday.
Edrys Erisnor - Telephone:  212-854-3069
email: ee171@columbia.edu

Susana Toribio - Telephone:  212-854-9456
email:  st16@columbia.edu

Karen Fry – Telephone: 212-854-9447
email:  kaf4@columbia.edu

Fax: 212-854-5560 or 212-854-2891

Address:

Parking Department
Columbia University Facilities
Columbia University
400 West 119th Street
New York, New York  10027

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