Personal parking problems in New York City may be ticket to prosperity

Parking in Manhattan can be a nightmare. Unless you find a rare space at a meter on the street, you'll spend a fortune on garage fees - or risk a parking ticket, or worse, a tow.

Erik Feder has amassed his share of NYC tickets, fought a few, even got reimbursed once, with a check accompanied

By December 2005, he'd published uptown and downtown editions of "The Feder Guide to Where to Park Your Car in Manhattan," which listed complete parking rules and parking garages for every Manhattan street, as well as maps and tips to beat parking tickets. The company now offers an online service where customers can enter a city street and quickly learn of relevant parking rules and commercial garages. The guides are also available as e-books.

Though he's combed the city block by block, annotating every parking rule and compiling them in his guides, Feder still struggles to reach certain decision-makers when trying to sell his product. But there's no denying his market; people clearly need help understanding the city's parking regulations.

New York City generates enormous revenues from parking tickets and towing fees. In 2005, the city announced it collected $563 million in parking fines; the number approaches $1 billion when towing fees are added, said Louis Camporeale, founder of Brooklyn- based The Parking Pal, which publishes the "New York City Motorist Survival Guide."

In business since 1994, Camporeale claims to be the industry pioneer. New competition such as Feder points to the public's growing aggravation about parking, he said, and the situation will only worsen as developers continue constructing apartment buildings that bring an influx of residents, many with cars. Camporeale plans to add to his product offerings this year to meet new demand.

Feder said he invested about $100,000 and untold hours into his company, and has sold nearly 10,000 books. He has no employees, except for family members who pitch in. A video editor by trade, Feder applied his graphic arts skills to the book's layout and cover; his wife, Manuela, wrote her Master's thesis on marketing the book. They used a public relations service to blast media outlets with e-mails, and Feder follows up from there.

Available through the company Web site, the guides are also sold at online bookstores and at some brick-and-mortar shops. Barnes & Noble, which originally declined to stock the title, changed its mind after customers requested it, Feder said.

Feder is still pining for one particular audience: delivery companies, which accrue hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines annually. These corporate decision-makers typically are located out of state, though, and pinpointing the one person in each company who handles New York tickets remains problematic, he said.

"We're hoping that as we add cities and have a broader reach, it will get easier," Feder added.

He's already completed research for a Boston guide, which Feder plans to release in the coming months. He'll then target San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles, he said.