New Rochelle, NY Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Chapter 309, Article I opens with the City Council's findings at § 309-1: abandoned, junked, discarded, dismantled, and unregistered vehicles are declared detrimental to public health, welfare, and safety, an attractive nuisance to children, a threat to neighboring property values, and a fire hazard. Section 309-2 defines the covered vehicles broadly, catching anything incapable of moving under its own power on public streets, vehicles whose owner cannot be identified, and any vehicle without current license plates, regardless of whether it is otherwise drivable. Section 309-3 then bars any owner, lessee, or occupant from storing or depositing such a vehicle on private land anywhere in the City, though the article expressly does not stop someone from keeping an unlicensed car or motorcycle inside a private garage.

Section 309-4 carves out one exemption: properties lawfully used for vehicle repair, reconditioning, or remodeling under the City's Zoning Ordinance are not covered, so a licensed auto shop's outdoor storage does not trigger the ban. A companion article, §§ 309-6 and 309-7, handles derelict vehicles and worthless property left in the streets rather than on private land: the Department of Public Works Commissioner may declare street-found derelict property worthless and dispose of it at DPW disposal points or through a private contractor, though that article does not apply to vehicles the Police Department has already reported to DPW as worthless or abandoned.