Oyster Bay, NY Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Town Code § 233-62 targets the last registered owner of an abandoned vehicle, not whoever last drove it: leaving a car on a public road, highway or other public place in the Town of Oyster Bay is a violation carrying a fine of $250 to $1,000 and/or up to 15 days' imprisonment. The code gives the owner one specific defense: proof that they filed an auto theft report with the appropriate police department before the charge was brought, which points to the vehicle being stolen rather than dumped.

The Nassau County Police Department is expressly authorized to enforce this subsection, since the Town of Oyster Bay has no police force of its own. During a snowstorm, flood, fire or other public emergency, the Town's Highway Department gains concurrent enforcement power alongside Nassau County Police to pull abandoned vehicles off public roads; anything removed under that emergency authority is impounded and stored at a Highway Department-designated location until the owner or operator claims it. Release is not free: before the Town or County will hand a vehicle back, the owner must pay the full cost of impounding and storing it, plus whatever towing and removal expense was incurred getting it off the road.

That charge attaches to the vehicle as a lien and must be satisfied before the Highway Department or Nassau County Police will release custody, on top of any fine already owed under Subsection (a).