NYC resident parking passes floated in City Council but locals say theyll be paying one way or the other
No one gets a free pass.Upper Manhattan residents and workers claiming that parking is harder to come by after the controversial rollout of congestion pricing may finally have some relief on the way — although it’s still likely to cost them.A bill introduced by uptown Council Member Carmen De La Rosa would require the city Department of Transportation to create a paid residential parking permit pilot program between 60th Street and Inwood in Manhattan, according to language in the legislation, which was first introduced last March.Roughly 80% of parking spaces would be reserved for locals under the legislation.“Have you noticed since congestion pricing started that there are more and more cars coming from outside of the city parking on our local streets,” Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said in a video posted to X on Thursday, “and they’re taking up valuable curbside space for free? It’s not fair and it’s getting worse.”But some locals expressed hesitation, as a placard wouldn’t even guarantee a parking space — despite requiring a fee to obtain one.“I think [parking permits] is something good for the residents because in Upper Manhattan it is very, very, very, very hard to find parking,” said Rudy Almonte, a retired police officer who used to work in the area.“If it’s anywhere from $20 to $50 a month, and they’ll assure me I’m going to get parking … I think it would be worth it,” Almonte said.“It is hard to find parking, but there’s no guarantee [for a spot] even though I’m paying.”“If you guarantee [a spot], more people would be interested, I think,” said Owen McFarlane, a hospital worker in Washington Heights.
“But if it’s not [guaranteed], what’s the point? Then again, I can see why residents would want it to just be them [parking] where they live.”McFarlane, who both drives and takes the bus from Teaneck, N.J., noted that several of his coworkers have experienced more trouble parking since conges...