Gouging drivers won’t cure NYC’s parking woes
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Brooklyn: I’m writing regarding a bill proposed by City Councilman Lincoln Restler that would increase NYC’s alternate-side parking fines from $65 to $100 after the first offense and allow the city to tow vehicles after the third violation. Restler believes that the current fines are too cheap and are no longer a deterrent to those drivers who, in the face of astronomical parking garage rates, often choose to accept a parking summons as a cost of living in the city.
I believe that the underlying problem here is vanishing public parking spaces. The extension of the COVID-era dining shed allowance, the expansion of the Citi Bike program, new bus lanes and street planning have eliminated thousands of them.
Many of our city’s car owners live in the outer boroughs, particularly in neighborhoods underserved by public transportation. In 2020, the city standardized ASP fines citywide, resulting in an increase from $45 to $65 for drivers outside of Manhattan. Restler’s proposal would amount to a 122% fine increase for these motorists in just four years.
I think it’s fair to say that even those of us who are diligent about moving our cars twice a week still get a few tickets per year. The bill would further penalize a pool of NYC motorists who the city essentially looks at as a piggy bank. Parking tickets are already the second-largest source of city revenue, right behind city taxes. I appreciate Councilman Restler’s efforts to tackle this problem, but he has proposed a solution that is all stick and no carrot. Derek Wiesehahn