The city Department of Transportation is eliminating 175 parking spots on the Upper West Side, outraging drivers who say it’s the latest salvo in NYC’s war against cars — and the latest effort to block those trying to avoid the $9 congestion-pricing toll.
On Aug. 11, signs declaring three-hour metered parking to be paid through the app ParkNYC popped up on 16 blocks from West 73rd to West 86th streets, transforming many meter-free stretches between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue into pay-to-park territory.
Under the new measures, vehicles are required to pay $5 for the first hour and $8.25 the second hour from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Sunday. Old regs allowed them to park all day and night for free, except for 90 minutes twice a week for street cleaning. The app doesn’t let drivers pay beyond the two-hour maximum.
“I, who live here and pay taxes and it’s my neighborhood, cannot park here now because they put those signs up,’” fumed West 72nd Street resident Abraham Pariente, a 64-year-old painter.
“The system is so stupid. Already people come from New Jersey and Connecticut, from all over . . . and they leave their cars here, so it’s impossible [to find parking].”
Pariente said he often burns two hours circling for a spot – a hunt made more difficult since January, when tunnel-and-bridge commuters began ditching their cars uptown to dodge the new $9 congestion fees that start south of 60th Street.
The DOT’s latest maneuver shows that, even if drivers manage to ‘beat’ congestion pricing, the agency will find another way to milk them of money, Pariente pointed out.
“The city is basically saying, ‘Listen, we don’t want you to use a car in New York City,’” he said.
Neighbor Tommy Truglio agreed: “The city is going about removing cars, they don’t want cars, so it’s straight taxation and nuisance they’re imposing.
“It’s this advanced system of fining and ticketing – that’s all it is. Owning a car in New York City has become an albatross. It’s just dangling around your neck. . . . I have two young kids so we need it – we have strollers and everything – but I’ve found it to be a nightmare,” added Truglio, 36, who lives on West 73rd Street.
On Thursday morning, 26-year-old Sam Johnson was getting into his rental car parked on West 73rd Street when he noticed a $65 ticket slapped on his windshield.
“That seems like a bit of a scam,” Johnson said while eyeballing the new signs, which were first reported by West Side Spirit.
The initiative is part of the DOT’s “Smart Curbs” program, an agency representative told Community Board 7 during an October meeting.
“Car parking is not the best use for our valuable car space,” Emily Jacobi, the Manhattan organizer for the car-hating non-profit Transportation Alternatives, is bizarrely quoted as saying in a DOT press release about the program.
In letters sent to DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez this week, both Community Board 7 and City Councilwoman Gale Brewer blasted the agency for failing to notify the public about the initiative’s start date.
The DOT insisted the scheme will improve access for businesses along the Columbus Avenue corridor and expand curbside space for community needs.
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