This Monday, several City Council Members and a number of neighborhood groups are holding a forum for Brooklynites to chew on the idea of residential parking permits. The town hall-style meeting will focus on whether the permits, which would probably cost a small annual fee, could help alleviate curbside parking problems and traffic in Downtown. Council Members David Yassky, Letitia James and Bill de Blasio have organized the event, which is expected to draw several hundred residents, and DOT comish Janette Sadik-Khan is scheduled to attend. Councilman de Blasio sees the forum as the first step in developing parking strategies for all of Brooklyn. “Lack of a coherent parking strategy has been an ongoing problem in Brooklyn, de Blasio told us. I think this forum represents a step in the right direction, and I look forward to extending this conversation to communities throughout the borough. Regardless of the fate of congestion pricing—which would almost certainly increase competition for spots—Downtown’s population is expected to swell in coming years, thus exacerbating the already great demand for curbside parking spaces. Councilman Yassky said it is long past time for New York to consider adopting the permits, especially in Downtown. Other big cities have used this strategy successfully to reduce traffic and ease parking difficulties, he said. Four years ago, when the Bloomberg Administration was seeking approval for new development around Metrotech, Deputy Mayor Doctoroff promised—in writing—that the administration would try residential parking permits in the surrounding neighborhoods. The administration needs to make good on this promise.
The forum will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 4th, at the St. Francis College auditorium on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights.
Congestion Pricing and Resident Permit Parking [Brownstoner]
Photo by mike lowe.