Highways & Parkways
BROKE DOWN ON A NYC HIGHWAY OR PARKWAY?Who Clears Each Road, Where You Can Stop, And Where We Meet You
Nineteen roads, from the BQE to the Southern State, with the one thing each of them has in common: stopping on them is rarely the plan. Stranded now? Call (718) 600-1581 and tell the dispatcher which road and which direction.
Why We Meet You At The Exit, Not On The Shoulder
On NYC's limited-access highways and parkways, a disabled vehicle on the roadway or shoulder is handled under NYPD's highway tow programs, and a second vehicle stopping behind you is often unsafe or not permitted. So for most highway calls we meet you at the first exit, service road or ramp the dispatcher names. Parkways also ban commercial vehicles, which keeps service trucks off the parkway itself.
What that means for you: get off the road at the next exit if the car will move, hazards on, and call. If it will not move, call us anyway and we will tell you who clears that road and where we can take over, before you wait. Jump starts, lockouts and tire changes happen at the meeting point; it is usually a few hundred feet from where you stopped.
Every Highway And Parkway We Cover, And Where The Call Is Handled
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278)
Runs: From the Gowanus at the Battery Tunnel approach, through Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Greenpoint, over the Kosciuszko Bridge into Queens to the Grand Central Parkway.
Stopping: Almost no usable shoulder on the Brooklyn section; the cantilevered stretch under Brooklyn Heights has none.
Where we usually meet you: Nearest exit's service road, Atlantic Ave, Tillary St, Metropolitan Ave or the Queens Blvd ramps.
Long Island Expressway (I-495)
Runs: From the Queens-Midtown Tunnel through Long Island City, Maspeth, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Fresh Meadows and Bayside into Nassau.
Stopping: Shoulders exist on most of the Queens section but traffic is fast; stay out of the car.
Where we usually meet you: The parallel service roads (Horace Harding Expwy) at the next exit.
Borough pages: Queens · Nassau County
FDR Drive
Runs: The East Side from the Battery to the Harlem River Drive at 125th St.
Stopping: No trucks, very few shoulders, pull-offs only near the 23rd St and 96th St areas.
Where we usually meet you: The next exit onto the avenue grid, usually South St, 34th St, 61st St, 96th St or 116th St.
Borough pages: Manhattan
Belt Parkway
Runs: Around the southern shore from the Gowanus at Bay Ridge past Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Canarsie and JFK to the Cross Island Parkway.
Stopping: Narrow shoulders and no commercial vehicles allowed on the parkway.
Where we usually meet you: Exit service roads: Bay Pkwy, Knapp St, Flatbush Ave, Rockaway Pkwy or Cross Bay Blvd.
Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95)
Runs: From the George Washington Bridge across the whole borough to the Bruckner and the Throgs Neck approach.
Stopping: Sunken sections through Tremont and Morris Heights have no shoulder at all.
Where we usually meet you: Jerome Ave, Webster Ave, Boston Rd or White Plains Rd ramps.
Borough pages: The Bronx
Van Wyck Expressway (I-678)
Runs: From JFK north through Jamaica, Briarwood and Kew Gardens to the Whitestone Bridge.
Stopping: Shoulders are intermittent and the Kew Gardens interchange is constant stop-and-go.
Where we usually meet you: Queens Blvd, Hillside Ave, Jamaica Ave or the Rockaway Blvd ramps near the airport.
Borough pages: Queens
Major Deegan Expressway (I-87)
Runs: Along the Harlem River from the RFK Bridge past Yankee Stadium to the Westchester line.
Stopping: Shoulders near the stadium are used for merging; elsewhere they are narrow.
Where we usually meet you: 161st St, Fordham Rd, 230th St or the Van Cortlandt Park exits.
Borough pages: The Bronx
Grand Central Parkway
Runs: From the RFK Bridge past LaGuardia, Flushing Meadows and Kew Gardens to the Nassau line.
Stopping: Parkway rules: no commercial vehicles, little shoulder near LaGuardia.
Where we usually meet you: Astoria Blvd, 31st St, Northern Blvd, Jewel Ave or Union Tpke.
Borough pages: Queens
Jackie Robinson Parkway
Runs: From Bushwick through the cemeteries to Kew Gardens.
Stopping: Tight curves, no shoulder for most of its length.
Where we usually meet you: Pennsylvania Ave, Cypress Hills St, Forest Park Dr or Metropolitan Ave.
Staten Island Expressway (I-278)
Runs: From the Goethals Bridge across the island to the Verrazzano.
Stopping: Shoulders exist but bridge approaches are no-stopping zones.
Where we usually meet you: Victory Blvd, Clove Rd, Hylan Blvd or Richmond Ave ramps.
Borough pages: Staten Island
Henry Hudson Parkway (NY 9A / West Side Highway)
Runs: The West Side from 72nd St through Riverside Park, Inwood and over the Henry Hudson Bridge into Riverdale.
Stopping: Parkway north of 72nd; the surface West Side Highway south of it is a city street with pull-offs.
Where we usually meet you: 79th St, 96th St, 125th St, Dyckman St or 232nd St.
Bruckner Expressway (I-278 / I-95)
Runs: From the RFK Bridge through Mott Haven, Hunts Point and Soundview to the Cross Bronx and New England Thruway.
Stopping: Elevated sections have no shoulder.
Where we usually meet you: Bruckner Blvd, the service road that runs under and beside it.
Borough pages: The Bronx
Hutchinson River Parkway
Runs: From the Whitestone Bridge north through Pelham Bay to Westchester.
Stopping: Parkway rules; low bridges keep trucks off entirely.
Where we usually meet you: Pelham Pkwy, Bartow Ave or Boston Post Rd.
Borough pages: The Bronx
Bronx River Parkway
Runs: From the Bruckner north along the river past the Zoo and Botanical Garden to Westchester.
Stopping: Narrow, old parkway, no shoulder.
Where we usually meet you: Fordham Rd, Gun Hill Rd or E 233rd St.
Borough pages: The Bronx
Clearview Expressway (I-295)
Runs: From the Throgs Neck Bridge south through Bayside to Hillside Ave.
Stopping: Full shoulders on most of it, bridge approach excluded.
Where we usually meet you: Northern Blvd, 73rd Ave or Hillside Ave.
Borough pages: Queens
Cross Island Parkway
Runs: From the Whitestone Bridge around the eastern edge of Queens to the Belt at JFK.
Stopping: Parkway rules; Alley Pond section has no shoulder.
Where we usually meet you: Northern Blvd, Union Tpke or Hempstead Ave.
Borough pages: Queens
Prospect & Gowanus Expressways (NY 27 / I-278)
Runs: The Prospect from Ocean Pkwy to the Gowanus; the Gowanus elevated over Third Ave from Red Hook to Bay Ridge.
Stopping: Elevated Gowanus has no shoulder; the Prospect is trenched.
Where we usually meet you: Third Ave underneath, Hamilton Ave, 38th St or 65th St.
Borough pages: Brooklyn
Harlem River Drive
Runs: From the FDR at 125th St along the river to the George Washington Bridge approach.
Stopping: No trucks, no shoulder.
Where we usually meet you: 125th St, 135th St, 155th St or Dyckman St.
Borough pages: Manhattan
Southern State & Northern State Parkways
Runs: The two Long Island parkways from the Queens line east across Nassau.
Stopping: Parkway rules, no commercial vehicles, low bridges.
Where we usually meet you: The next exit's cross street, usually a county road with room to pull off.
Borough pages: Nassau County
Also see the bridges and tunnels, straight answers to common questions, and every area we serve.