Friday, March 5, 2010

Woodhaven feeling the parking pinch

From the Daily News:

Woodhaven has many qualities of a small town: People know their neighbors, have lived in their homes for decades and can tell you exactly where to shop.

When it comes to parking, however, the 1-square-mile neighborhood has some big-city problems.

Shoppers, merchants and residents jockey for spots along Jamaica Ave. and its side streets. Even residential blocks aren't immune from chronic parking shortages, worsened by outdated rules and patchwork enforcement that also plague other areas highlighted in the Queens Parking Crunch series.

More and more, homeowners are turning their front yards into parking spaces. The curb cuts they create take away even more spots on the crowded streets.

Some residents say part of the problem stems from a surge in the number of illegal conversions. Homes originally built for one or two families now house even more.

Others say the neighborhood is flooded with cars that have out-of-state license plates and can clog up spots for weeks at a time.

12 comments:

Georges said...

ome residents say part of the problem stems from a surge in the number of illegal conversions. Homes originally built for one or two families now house even more.

This trend, illegal conversions of 1 & 2 family house treads it way throughout Queens, Brooklyn & the Bronx is like a virus and wiping out quality of life in these places. It spawns so many different problems that is sometimes criminal, sometimes deadly - house fires, ruins infrastructure sewer overloads, overload of unsanitary garbage and rising costs to dwindling taxpayers. Did I forget overburdened schools, hospitals, parks, transportation.................

Snake Plissskin said...

Oh, no, illegal conversions cannot be the problem.

Everytime we read something from our experts, Columbia, NYC, Hunter, and Crappy's fav, Pratt, they say only one thing.

There is a need to shoehorn even more people in the community with 'planned development'

(infrastructure costs? we do-en need no stinkin infrastucture costs)

To pull along the clueless with this 'cult of development' they mutter something about 'affordable housing.'

The problem starts there, in the preservation community.

This mess can be solved very easily: Zero Population Growth.

Once the city resources are caught up with the people that live here, and only then, can we START to talk about more development.

You want Afforadable Housing? Cut the taxes supporting the tweeeded 'sanctuary city' bullshit.

All Sanctuary City does is create infinite demand by having desperate people flood into communities and pushing up rents.

The rental market becoems warped, starting at the bottom and working its way up.

Anonymous said...

Bloomberg's affordable housing policy = encouraging illegal conversions in the outer buroughs.

Gotta feel for Mark Gallagher. He's the quintesential Queens entrepeneur, toughing it out and even expanding in NYC's unfriendly small business climate. We need more like him around these parts.

Anonymous said...

Hey..why not let TDC (Total Design Concepts or is it Taiwan Development Company) solve your problems by privatizing public parking like they're about to do at Flushing's Muni lot #1.

Just work it out with Wellington.

Auntie Invasion said...

He looks like an illegal immigrant. if he can't find parking in NYC, let him go home where there are plenty of parking spaces.

Queens Crapper said...

You think you are making some kind of point everytime you write like that. The only thing you are pointing out is what an ass you are.

Anonymous said...

Thank the DOB for not cracking down on the illegal conversions. We as citizens also need to turn these landlords, who create death traps, in. When we see out of state plates on cars continually parked on our streets, we need to turn these people in. If we don't take the time to contact our local representatives and all other authorities, then we have no right to complain.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, you posted a pic of the one person who deserves the tickets. By the way, I hope they gave him a ticket for snow covering the rear tailights on his VW van. This guy is not the most ethical guy in Woodhaven or Queens for that matter.

Anonymous said...

Have lived in Queens my whole life and have never known Jamaica Avenue to run through Woodside....

Queens Crapper said...

Not sure you are reading the same article that the rest of us are.

Anonymous said...

oops! read that as WoodSIDE, not Woodhaven. must. read. more. carefully. sorry!

Anonymous said...

I've contacted our "local representatives" about the illegal conversions and out of state license plates parked on our streets. NO ONE CARES. These illegal conversions are going on all over S. Ozone Park and the cars that park (some of them stay parked for months at a time) and nothing gets done about that either. There is no one to complain to because no one cares -- as long as it doens't happen in THEIR neck of the woods!