I’ve noticed that there are a lot of parking zones in NYC which are designated for “NYP” only. So what’s to stop me from starting the Weekly Lucwarm News; getting NYP plates; and parking for free?!?
Nothing, provided you can prove to the issuers of the plates that you deserve them.
By the way, I’m not trying to be deliberately unhelpful. I’m from upstate, not the city, so the parking issue has never come up, but I have gotten access to a number of places using a home-made press pass I printed with my computer. At the time, I freelanced selling articles to a small independent paper, and had no official press pass or anything, although I did have a legitimate need to get where I was going if I wanted to write the story. I was a teenage girl with a 3x5 index card with my name, title, the name of the paper and the word PRESS printed on it by an injket printer, and I was able to get into the pit and other restricted-access places at the local race track. Whether or not such a thing works for you really depends on who you have to deal with, so YMMV.
I think in the case of restricted parking in NYC you might have to put a little more effort in than I did.
NYP plates are issued by the NYS DMV; you need to give them proof of your status as a member of the press.