Ok yeah yeah, people shouldn't drive in the city, "BLOOMBERG DOESN'T CARE ABOUT POOR PPL", better parking will make air pollution go down, etc etc, whatever - won't you get arrested for using your "mobile device", while driving, in this city? I have multiple friends who've spent time in the tombs for fucking around with their cell phones while driving. No one is getting it, he's just trying to throw everyone in jail, one way or another, because he hates New Yorkers.
Why the F is he encouraging more parking in the city?
There are too many damn cars in this city now and parking garages taking up every available space.
Why not turn potential garages into homeless shelters? Why not do something to get cars OUT of the city and homeless people into shelters?
Remember congestion? Remember the greenhouse effect? I grew up in the Bronx without a car. I don't have a car now. You don't freaking need a car if you live in NYC.
If a car can't find a spot, what's it doing? It's driving around LOOKING for a spot. What Bloomberg describes gets cars off the road and utilizes existing parking capacity more effectively. That creates LESS need for garages and roads, because it would increase the efficiency of New York's existing parking areas.
I do not understand how you could possibly be against this unless your hatred of this guy has flat-out blacked out your mind. Are you insane, or am I?
@Unsolicited Advice: It's a matter of not having cars. Putting a car in a parking space does not necessarily get it off the road. Many people in NY are NOT moving their cars because they have a sweet space. Giving more spaces will put MORE cars on the road, not less.
One disincentive to coming into the city (for bridge and tunnel people) used to be "no place to park." Now there is garage after garage after garage. So no issue about driving in.
One disincentive for city dwellers to own a car is the $$ it takes to garage one and/or alternate street parking. Take that away and guess what? More cars
Another disincentive for city dwellers with cars is that if they find a sweet space, they are not moving it (same as when I have guests from out of town, they find a good space and stay there all weekend).
Making parking easier puts MORE cars on the streets, not less.
@BxgrlJeri: Ok so stop thinking about yourself and your own unfortunate situation of having grown up in the bronx for a minute and realize that there may be other people with other priorities and needs who also live in NYC.
The parking situation in this city is pathetic. And it's good for our economy and environment to make parking easier.
And why not open MORE garages so that there are more entry level jobs available for the poor, as well as giving drivers more options for parking?
Oh and the greenhouse effect was a myth. Notice how nobody talks about it anymore? It's all 'climate change' and 'carbon' now. In ten years it'll be something else.
@Unsolicited Advice: I dont understand why people dont see through this. I live in NYC, and ticketing is a major source of revenue. If you can monitor empty spots for people to park in, you can also monitor spots that are full and if they are over their time limits.
NYC will be able to issue tickets via mail for parking fines just like they do for people who run red lights with the 3000 or so cameras around the city.
@Thomas Paladino: it would be better for our economy and traffic circulation if people who still think they need to drive into manhattan paid for their parking, rather than feel entitled to get it for free.
Ok, so he comes out with a parking plan, and that means he doesn't care about poverty. Whatever.
As for driving and public transit, you can hate Bloomberg all you want, but he came out with what is without doubt the most ambitious and intelligent set of proposals you'll find anywhere ([www.nyc.gov]). It's not really his fault that a lot of what he wanted to do required state action, and the state hasn't, well, acted.
Breaking news: people drive! And driving around looking for parking can be a significant contributor to congestion and air pollution. So making it more efficient is a good thing. (And, yes, it does play well politically in some neighborhoods.)
Stop your complaining and thank your lucky stars that a man who travels in a chauffeured SUV and private airplanes is thinking about the little people. Mike cares, get it?
"Oh, right, it remains America's poorest urban county with more than a quarter of the population living below the poverty line. And that is not counting the homeless!"
People who drive in NYC should NOT be rewarded. Hey Mayor Mike--there are more mass transit commuters than there are drivers, so get cracking on some real solutions that will make us happy.
@misslinda: In his defense (and I'm not a fan and will not be voting for him), he did try to push through congestion pricing, which would've meant significantly fewer cars and solved the public transit funding crisis. It's not his fault it didn't go through- it's the fucking chuckleheads in Albany.
Oh, fuck him and his no more alternate side parking in freaking Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. What, people in Bushwick, Bed Stuy and Flatbush don't have vehicles? I guess it only matters if the hipsters find a way to rename it Upper West End Bushwick Place or East Derbyshire Bedford Stuyenburg or the Hamlet at Flatbush Pier. Pfffttt!
You know, Brooklyn drivers shouldn't complain about alt side parking. You only have to move your cars once a week. In Manhattan, it's 4 times a week, which is really a pain. Especially since Law & Order filming takes up half the blocks.
And how do you propose you make housing affordable? I'm genuinely amused by this idea that property values and rents should decrease. What, so the city can become more congested?
Well, if that isn't the most un-self-aware use of "entitlement" ever. If you can't afford Manhattan, move. New York City wasn't built so you could have a quaint little apartment wherever you want.
@Unsolicited Advice: It's not a matter of a "quaint little apartment". It's a matter of affordable housing so people don't end up on the street- and, in less extreme cases, so people can actually sustain being middle class in this city. You know, the middle and lower classes? The people who staff this city and sustain its businesses and give it life? You want to be surrounded by rich people? Move to Katonah, jackass.
I don't want to be surrounded by any people, so I live in the suburbs. I'm completely class agnostic here, and the fact is that house prices are what they are unless you introduce subsidies. I'm not sure how responsible that is when the city is already quite full - New York City has immense congestion problems and shouldn't be incentivizing more immigration. There are plenty of other cities and economies, people, and you aren't owed a spot in town just because you find it a sexy place to live.
Or how about people in New York who don't already drive continue not to use/own cars? I would kill for that public transit system. As it is, my bus trip is 50 minutes, and if I drove, I'd be to work in 10.
@katekate is squared: Apparently, finding parking (while in the comfort of your car) via your phone gets more votes than knowing when the next bus or subway car is due to arrive at your stop.
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
There are too many damn cars in this city now and parking garages taking up every available space.
Why not turn potential garages into homeless shelters? Why not do something to get cars OUT of the city and homeless people into shelters?
Remember congestion? Remember the greenhouse effect? I grew up in the Bronx without a car. I don't have a car now. You don't freaking need a car if you live in NYC.
Simply put, I hate this guy.
09/30/09
If a car can't find a spot, what's it doing? It's driving around LOOKING for a spot. What Bloomberg describes gets cars off the road and utilizes existing parking capacity more effectively. That creates LESS need for garages and roads, because it would increase the efficiency of New York's existing parking areas.
I do not understand how you could possibly be against this unless your hatred of this guy has flat-out blacked out your mind. Are you insane, or am I?
09/30/09
One disincentive to coming into the city (for bridge and tunnel people) used to be "no place to park." Now there is garage after garage after garage. So no issue about driving in.
One disincentive for city dwellers to own a car is the $$ it takes to garage one and/or alternate street parking. Take that away and guess what? More cars
Another disincentive for city dwellers with cars is that if they find a sweet space, they are not moving it (same as when I have guests from out of town, they find a good space and stay there all weekend).
Making parking easier puts MORE cars on the streets, not less.
09/30/09
The parking situation in this city is pathetic. And it's good for our economy and environment to make parking easier.
And why not open MORE garages so that there are more entry level jobs available for the poor, as well as giving drivers more options for parking?
Oh and the greenhouse effect was a myth. Notice how nobody talks about it anymore? It's all 'climate change' and 'carbon' now. In ten years it'll be something else.
09/30/09
NYC will be able to issue tickets via mail for parking fines just like they do for people who run red lights with the 3000 or so cameras around the city.
Its about revenue, not convenience.
09/30/09
Absent some sort of socioeconomic research on the demand/supply response cycle, I'm inclined to say that we'll have to agree to disagree.
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
As for driving and public transit, you can hate Bloomberg all you want, but he came out with what is without doubt the most ambitious and intelligent set of proposals you'll find anywhere ([www.nyc.gov]). It's not really his fault that a lot of what he wanted to do required state action, and the state hasn't, well, acted.
Breaking news: people drive! And driving around looking for parking can be a significant contributor to congestion and air pollution. So making it more efficient is a good thing. (And, yes, it does play well politically in some neighborhoods.)
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
Not so much in Riverdale. It's a big borough.
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
Unless you're counting streets higher than, ohh, 130th, when were the poorsâ„¢ ever able to afford Manhattan in the last 50 years?
Also, what's with all the school-produced propaganda on the wall behind Bloomberg?
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
09/30/09
Affordable housing, not easier parking.
09/30/09
And how do you propose you make housing affordable? I'm genuinely amused by this idea that property values and rents should decrease. What, so the city can become more congested?
09/30/09
09/30/09
I'll give you an apple.
09/30/09
09/30/09
Well, if that isn't the most un-self-aware use of "entitlement" ever. If you can't afford Manhattan, move. New York City wasn't built so you could have a quaint little apartment wherever you want.
09/30/09
09/30/09
I don't want to be surrounded by any people, so I live in the suburbs. I'm completely class agnostic here, and the fact is that house prices are what they are unless you introduce subsidies. I'm not sure how responsible that is when the city is already quite full - New York City has immense congestion problems and shouldn't be incentivizing more immigration. There are plenty of other cities and economies, people, and you aren't owed a spot in town just because you find it a sexy place to live.
09/30/09
09/30/09
(I have a car and I still think this sucks.)
09/30/09
I hate everyone.
09/30/09