November 21, 2019

Is N.Y.C. Ready for a Ban on Free Street Parking?

By Andrea Salcedo

Metro Reporter

It’s Thursday.

Weather: This crisp fall day will be mostly sunny, with a high around 50.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving).

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Mariana Vincenti for The New York Times

If you have ever tried to park in New York City, you probably know that finding an empty space can be a tedious task.

Don’t park by the hydrant. Beware of the loading zone. Move for street cleaning. Delivery trucks, ride-share vehicles and designated bike and bus lanes eat up even more space.

[Could New York City eliminate free street parking?]

A transportation committee in Manhattan has floated the idea of banning free street parking — igniting an angry debate and showing how parking spaces are becoming a battleground in the city’s fight for room on crowded streets.

Here’s what you need to know.

The details

Although the city has the final say, the committee, which is part of the Upper West Side community board, passed a resolution asking officials to “consider more productive and equitable uses of curbside space,” such as implementing residential parking permits or parking permits “capable of surge pricing.”

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Howard Yaruss, the committee’s chairman, said traffic in the 50-block stretch of the Upper West Side was “terrible” and expected to get worse.

The committee’s recent resolution is more lenient than one in May that asked the city to “discontinue” free parking on the street. Still, my colleague James Barron wrote, “some drivers said the committee’s approach reflected a broader campaign to malign people who use cars.”

The context

In the past 10 years, the city has installed dozens of miles of bus and bike lanes, thus reducing the number of parking spaces.

New York now has three million on-street parking spaces, by some estimates. That’s about one for every three people. More than 95 percent of these are free.

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Although the city has fewer spaces, there are more cars. More than 1.9 million cars were registered in New York City in 2017, the most recent available data. That’s about 200,000 more than in 2011.

The reaction

Many car owners told Mr. Barron that they feel unfairly targeted, arguing that they drive out of necessity. Physical limitations can make it difficult to use trains or buses, and some jobs are not easily reached by public transit, they said.

“Driving down any avenue, the traffic lanes have been diminished because of the bicycle lanes, and the parking areas have been diminished because of the bike rentals,” said Milton Ingerman, a retired physician who parks on the street on the Upper West Side. “It’s punishing drivers.”

The City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, has said it is time to “reorient and reprioritize how we shared street space.” Mr. Johnson has pushed for a $1.7 billion plan to create 250 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of protected bus lanes over the next five years, which would eliminate even more parking spaces.

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The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

A second New Yorker has died from a vaping-related illness, officials said. [New York Post]

What’s disrupting your subway service? In 11 cases this year, a raccoon, according to internal incident reports. [The City]

M14 buses on 14th Street now have front-facing cameras to record drivers on the car-free road. [Gothamist]

Coming up today

Learn about the history of figs and get tips about growing fig trees at the National Lighthouse Museum in Staten Island. 6 p.m. [$10]

Lawrence Lessig discusses his new book, “They Don’t Represent Us: Reclaiming Our Democracy,” at the New York University School of Law in Manhattan. 6 p.m. [Free with R.S.V.P.]

On its final day, see “We Are Queensbridge,” the F-Stop Project’s outdoor exhibition of photographs by local residents that stretches from the 21st Street-Queensbridge subway station through Queensbridge Park in Queens. Open until 5 p.m. [Free]

— Alex Traub

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.

And finally: Murder Cat and Soda Can Raccoon

Do you remember Pizza Rat?

Sometimes, city dwellers cheer for animals we might otherwise abhor, according to Dave Taft, a writer who, along with the photographer Lucia Buricelli, recently introduced us to creatures that hustle to survive in New York.

Take Murder Cat, the green-eyed feline found behind a car tire, dangling a catch.

Lucia Buricelli

Or Soda Can Raccoon, who was caught trying to take a sip of Coca-Cola.

Lucia Buricelli

See all of the urban wildlife that Mr. Taft and Ms. Buricelli encountered here.

It’s Thursday — don’t feed the wildlife.

Metropolitan Diary: ‘How’s the egg salad?’

Dear Diary:

“How’s the egg salad?” I said to the man who had asked to share my tiny table at Murray’s Bagels.

He was obviously enjoying it, while reading a photocopied manuscript. He was the corduroy type: middle-aged, wearing glasses and sporting a bit of beard.

His assessment of the egg salad — “needs pepper” — and his musings on possible variations led to a conversation about what he was reading.

It turned out to be an assignment he had given to a class he was teaching. The class was to meet in a couple of hours and he was reviewing the material beforehand.

I laughed and asked what he thought of the book he had assigned, an analysis of the elements of fiction.

“Here’s one paragraph I particularly like,” he said before reading it aloud. It began with a misguided metaphor and ended with a pompous word jumble.

“That is the worst nonsense,” I said, hoping it would come across as a bit of good-natured provocation.

He took it well, telling me he was a published novelist and had won some acclaim.

I noted his name, finished my coffee and left for an appointment I had nearby.

I Googled him when I got home. He wasn’t lying.

— Ellen Azorin

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