Thursday, September 29, 2011

It'll cost ya more to park in LIC


From the Daily News:

Businesses in Queens are slamming the city for driving up parking rates in a move that critics say will force some motorists to pay nearly a thousand more dollars a year to get to work.

Merchants along Skillman Ave. in Long Island City said they were infuriated last week when they saw individual meters replaced with muni-meters - with rates more than doubled.

"I could not believe it. It's disgraceful," said David Hananel, 62, who first noticed the hike last Tuesday - a jump from $3.75 to $8 maximum for 12 hours.

"They're driving people out of the city," said Hananel, who commutes from Long Beach, L.I., to his job at Printing Resource of NY/NJ on 32nd Place.

Rates are being adjusted throughout the city as part of a larger plan, according to a city Department of Transportation spokeswoman who said the shift to muni-meters began in Queens this summer.

Similar changes are taking place this week in Rego Park, Kew Gardens, Middle Village and Forest Hills.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great,lets kill more small businesses.........

Anonymous said...

I go see my sick relative in Mt Sinai Hospital and the signs indicate paying the muni meters ($2 hr) up to 10pm at night? Now this is a hospital and the middle income public housing area? I don't see this on Park Ave - they don't charge there!

Anonymous said...

Good! Parking is too cheap (and therefore scarce) pretty much everywhere. But this article sucked.

Anonymous said...

"Merchants along Skillman Ave. in Long Island City"

What merchants? There is a school and some old factories and police depot along that area of Skillman....

And the increases do suck!

Anonymous said...

How could this not have been anticipated? Raise the meter prices until no one parks there.

Rick said...

Most of the long-term meters in LIC are near the LIRR. (Meters near merchants are 1-2 hours to ensure shopper turnover.) Every morning cars stream in from LI seeking free (or nearly free) parking in LIC so they can hop a subway into Manhattan. They've been getting a great deal for years. If they're so concerned about the money - park in LI and take the LIRR. But this isn't about that - it's about an unwillingness to give up their car. So, that's the trade off: car vs. $.

Anonymous said...

Most of the workers that drive in to work in LIC are lugging equipment and tools with them and taking the LIRR is not feasible for them.

Rick said...

I live in LIC and see them every morning and quite honestly have rarely seen anyone lugging anything.

Anonymous said...

No one lives on Skillman Avenue. No one who lives in LIC walks down Skillman Avenue to hop a train. So how do you see them every morning? And how do you miss all the contracting trucks on the road there?

Rick said...

I didn't say I lived on Skillman. I live in Hunters Point (nearer to the long-term meters at Borden & Vernon) but am around both areas a lot, and the overwhelming majority of parkers I see are guys dressed nicely (suits and otherwise). I can only tell you waht I see and suggest that $8 is not a lot to pay for a full day of parking if it means that much to be able to drive.

Unknown said...

WOW and I was bitching because the meters in Glendale went from $.25 for 20min to .25 for 10min.

Anonymous said...

Over on skillman, you have a lot of small businesses (not retail) that somehow still exist within NYC. City keeps jacking up the prices and all those jobs are going to go elsewhere. But that's what the mayor wants I'm sure - turn the whole area into high rise condo scum dwellings.