UAlbany Collected Over $800,000 in Parking Ticket Payments from 2023 to 2026
by Gavin Hayes | October 26, 2026
Parking citations increased 24% from January through August 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Students reacted to the findings in interviews, while UAlbany’s parking director addressed enforcement and appeals by email.
According to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request, UAlbany collected $809,622.77 in parking-ticket payments from Aug. 1, 2023, through Aug. 31, 2026.
The director of Parking and Mass Transit Services, Jason Jones, said in an email, “The $809,622.77 represents all payments, full or partial, and all methods of payment. It represents collections over the three-year period, not the value of citations issued in any single year.”
UAlbany issued 24% more parking citations from January through August 2026 than in the same period in 2025. The records list 6,426 citation entries from January through August 2026, compared with 5,174 during the same months in 2025.
When asked about the increase, Jones pointed to the university’s new license plate recognition system.
“In June 2025, we implemented a new parking management system using License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology. The system has improved operational efficiency, including identifying parking violations, while providing a more convenient customer experience,” Jones said.
When asked to clarify warnings and voided citations and data recording methods, Jones again pointed to LPR technology, saying, “As part of the new system, we are able to take an even more customer-focused approach. First-time violations may receive warnings, and courtesy voids may be issued when appropriate. We seek to emphasize education and correcting parking behavior through warnings and, when appropriate, voids.”
Reacting to the amount of money collected from parking citations, Bolaji Daniel, a junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering from Staten Island, said, “I was actually shocked. That's a lot of money.”
Sean Robertson, a junior from Newburgh majoring in accounting, felt citation collections could be used to benefit students. “Maybe they could use that money instead of having people pay the $50 for the parking pass; they could maybe use some of that to help students out,” said Robertson.
“I know some schools have free parking, like I think the University of Buffalo has free parking,” said Robertson. University at Buffalo students who pay the transportation fee can register for standard parking permits at no additional cost. According to the university’s Parking and Transportation website, a portion of that fee covers registration.
“Well, for me personally, when I heard $800,000, I thought that was a lot of money, and I'm wondering how that money is being used,” said Shinny Htoo, a sophomore human biology major from Albany. Jones’s email did not address how parking citation collections are allocated.
From August 2023 through August 2026, 62.5% of parking citation appeals were granted.
Jones clarified the figure: “The 62.5% includes both first- and second-level appeals. A ‘granted’ appeal means the citation was fully dismissed. This is in addition to the warnings and voids noted above, which together reflect a fairly flexible approach to citation resolution."
Jerome Eugene Agnas, a junior accounting major from Albany, reacted to the appeal figures.
“If there weren't that many appeals, I think it would have been way more than $800,000,” said Agnas.
Robertson also wondered if confusion could contribute to citations.
“I guess the biggest factor that I would think of is just students not realizing,” said Robertson. “I know for State Quad it can be confusing, because there's not really a clear divide of the two parking lots.”
The records also showed when and where citations were issued. From August 2023 through August 2026, UAlbany’s citation records include 152 distinct location labels; 3,484 citations have no recorded location.
Five recorded location labels accounted for 27.9% of UAlbany’s citation records: Colonial Quad Gold B (2,997), Indigenous Lot (1,550), State Quad Gold (1,309), Indigenous Quad Faculty Staff (1,140) and Visitor Lot 3 (1,069).
About one in five recorded citations (19.7%) were issued during the 9 a.m. hour.
Jones addressed both trends and missing location information.
“Colonial Quad Gold B continues to be a challenging location. Despite outreach, warnings, and waivers, unauthorized resident parking continues. The 9–9:59 a.m. citation activity generally coincides with a busy morning parking period. As for the 3,484 citations with no location listed, we would need to review the underlying data more closely to determine the reason, which would require a more extensive analysis,” said Jones.
Recipients have 14 calendar days from citation issuance to pay or submit a first appeal, if eligible, according to UAlbany’s Parking and Mass Transit Services website. Full appeal instructions, eligibility requirements and information about penalties are available on the university’s parking citations page.
Note: Citation, collection, and appeals data within this article are based on records obtained from the University at Albany in response to a request under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
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