Brooklyn, NY – A proposed law may give only residents who live in certain neighborhoods the right to park there.
But there’s a catch.
Our neighborhood is not a parking lot. That’s the cry of several lawmakers who have introduced legislation to allow residential permit parking.
“Driving around looking for a parking space is a New York tradition as old as corned beef, but if we can do something to improve it we should and this will,” said State Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-Brooklyn.
It’s another way of saying if you live here you can park here. If you don’t, you’re plumb out of luck. Residents would buy permits for a nominal fee — say $25 to $100 a year.
The downtown Brooklyn communities, because they are the gateway to Manhattan, have become a hub for people coming into our neighborhoods parking their cars and then taking mass transit,” said Assemblywoman Joan Millman, D-Brooklyn.
But it’s not just Brooklyn. Any neighborhood that wants to keep its parking for its residents can have such a program. Leslie Lewis said he’s beside himself because it’s difficult to park near his Boerum Hill home.
“I’m not looking for some guaranteed parking space painted in the street, but I am looking for just a proper chance at it without a commuter taking it away,” Lewis said.
But there’s an “alternate side of the street” to this parking story.
“Oh no, I don’t think that’s fair,” said Monica Wilson of Jamaica. “These are public streets and the entire public should be able to park on them.”
“It really shouldn’t be because it’s a business area, right,” added Gloria Katz of Mill Basin.
Other cities that have the residential parking permit program in effect are Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Hoboken, N.J.
Councilman David Yassky is sponsoring a home rule message to get the state Legislature to approve the measure.
(Source: WCBSTV)
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11 Responses
Here is what you do:
Put parking meters around with a two hour max.
Give stickers to the locals exempting them from having to feed the meters.
This allows the locals to park, as well as those who travel in to do business in these neighborhoods while weeding out the “Park & Rides”
That is also true of large institutions,such as Maimonides Hospital, where the staff people, from the Bronx,fromQueens,from Manhattan,and from Long Island hog all the parking places,so that local residents are deprived of their local parking speces.
Without saying it this is another way for the city to raise money by in essence TAXING the locals for a parking place. Granted the Bill of Rights doesnt guarantee us parking places but this is over the top.
Yes, there are other cities with permits as they mention and I have been to many of them and YES it is a pain to find parking even if you are not a commuter.
Just thinking out loud here…
If they want to make “good” to the locals they should issue 2 or 3 FREE decals per resident so they could have them for themselves as well as for any guests they may have. There should be rules attached that they cannot be sold etc., so that it wont turn into a business.
I do see the problem: I used to live in a Boston neighborhood that had problems with non-residents making it almost impossible for the people who lived there to park. Sometimes I had no choice but to “double park” to rapidly unload my groceries, which embarrassingly, completely blocked the narrow street, or to otherwise make multiple long trips.
BUT… we visit friends in Brooklyn several times a year for Shabbas, three day Yom Tovs or occasionally weekdays to shop for some things that it is hard to get living out of town, stuff that we can’t grab before or after a Shabbas type trip.
Also simchas (and we do carpool for that)!
Public transportation is not workable in these situations.
I don’t have any simple answers. I remember our struggles to park when we visited our friends the two years they happened to live one block from Maimonides Hospital.
I just hope the parking space wars will not make it impossible for us to visit, and also to give our business to frum store owners.
“I thought you would it with warm water (basic overcrowding) now I see you don’t get it even with scalding waters (super overcrowding)” – Braisa Masichte Brochos.
I will spell it out for you New Yorkers:
the obvious answer is GET OUT OF THAT ROTTEN PLACE!!!!
There are so many normal places to live in the world, why are you chossing the one with the least amount of green and most asphalt, etc ,etc etc,
Meshugoim.
From a thank the Ribbono SHel Olam, former and never to live there ever again New Yorker.
Doesn’t it seems oddthat you all run away during the summer from burial park/no bushes/crowded Heights etc. to the catskills? WHy not live in such type places a full year round?
Noch amol meshugoim.
Maybe downtown Brooklyn has to maintain some commuter parking lots that’s all.If only residents can park, where will guests, and shoppers park? I say get out od Brooklyn!
It works very well in Los Angeles.
I spend *hours* driving around my neighborhood to find parking each week.
we have this system in Miami, and it works very well!!!
I’m sure all homeowners who live near a subway line will love the idea.
PS besides for the passes for YOUR car, you can also purchase guest passes for all your yom tov guests
#5, why are you so full of hate? If you don’t like Brooklyn, don’t live here but to call names is juvenile. Some people like to live where they don’t need a car to get a container of milk and where there is a great public transit.
we also have this system in Montreal, parking spots for residence only, and on most streets that do have it, also have several parking for non residence. and its only fare that residence should have were to park,and it works wery well
if the officials agree that there is a problem with parking spaces maybe its time to adopt a new policy on how to give out parking tickets and not send out 100s of traffic police every day so unprofessionally ticketing anything that has 4 wheels .And how about lowering the cost of a ticket, or having the fighting of the ticket much more smoother not to have to spend a half a day in 3 different lines at DMV finding out in front of the clerk that you didn’t bring the proper paper work for the case……