Friday, May 29, 2015

LIC parking garage space crunch


From CBS:

More than 100 people spent hours waiting on line Wednesday morning, for a special permit in a multi-level parking garage in Queens.

And as CBS2’s Alice Gainer reported, the people in the queue said they have to do it every month now due to a policy change.

The drivers at the Court Square Municipal Parking Garage in Long Island City were stuck going through a long wait as they tried to secure their monthly parking passes.

For some, the nearly three-hour wait paid off with a coveted $200 permit.

But others waited in vain. A man said those in charge at the garage cut off the line and refused to issue anymore permits after a certain point.

The old policy for securing a monthly spot was much easier, according to Jim Rohan. And it didn’t involve first-come, first-serve lines.

“I’ve parked here for seven and a half years, Rohan said. “I signed up. I had a monthly spot every month. I’d pay my 200 bucks, and I was renewed for another month.”

Making matters worse the loss of space, drivers said.

According to the website for the city Department of Transportation, the Long Island City garage has 703 spaces, about 320 of which are reserved for permit holders. But now, they are only giving out 211 monthly permit passes because the DOT is using the spots for other purposes such as construction equipment storage.


I guess the city would rather have these folks drive into Manhattan. Who needs parking?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL! Too many hipsters demanding parking spots?
Sorry, this ain't' Kansas. No wide open spaces in New York.
Get on line like the rest of us natives.

Unknown said...

I have no sympathy for anyone who feels they deserve the luxury of driving in NYC unless they have a disability or other legitimate reason to drive. If you don't want to take public transportation, you deserve what you get. Plenty of trains near Court Square.

Queens Crapper said...

Do you people not realize that this is a municipal parking garage, and that people are parking here to board the trains?

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, the lack of parking is unreal here in LIC. I am a LIC native and I have been forced to park at the municipal lot because of over development. How can developers build 200+ units and then only have 25 spots? The city allows this crap. Then what happens is the tenants of these buildings then store their cars for weeks and months on end in all non-paying spots.

The other problem is the city gives permits to movie and tv shoots. They take up blocks at time on any given day with one or two days notice. These companies do not bring jobs or $$ to the area either - something the city says. They use their own catering and works. No benefit for the local businesses, etc.

The DOT lot is the only affordable option and now they reduced the amount of monthly permits and instead of providing it to local residents (homeowners who don't have parking lots at the bottom of the tower).

Anonymous said...

I will be putting my LIC parking pass on EBay
Minimum bid $400

Anonymous said...

You would think there would be 2 lines,one line for
Friends of Bill DiBlasio
And one for
Tax paying Slubs!!

Anonymous said...

LIC has no shortage of parking. It only has a shortage of free or cheap parking. If you want to get to the subway, take a bus like everyone else.

Queens Crapper said...

This is neither free nor cheap parking.

Anonymous said...

Hey remember that huge DOT parking garage at Queens Plaza that used to provide ample, relatively cheap paid parking?

Oh yeah that's right, the city replaced it with a huge glass tower.

To the derp that says no one needs to drive in LIC - go F yourself. I drive every weekend because I love driving and I hate you. I also need it so I can go food shopping because LIC has two supermarkets and they are both overpriced and suck. The cost of my car is made up for in food alone!

Anonymous said...

Cheap/Below market rate. Whatever you want to call it. With so many worse off it's inexcusable for the city to waste resources on subsidizing parking in transit centers like LIC.

Anonymous said...

Cars are bad for the environment, no one needs a car,
What we need are more transit village's Where hippies,hipsters,thugs and bankrupt unemployed over educated kids with Obama Hope posters can all live in peace and everyone makes $15 dollar's no matter if you flip burgers or are a brain surgeon Now that would be Utopianism

Anonymous said...

Agreed, Crappy. It's a long walk from Queens West to the subway.
LOL! You savvy hipsters should have looked into that before you bought into the scam.

Anonymous said...

Walk upon the waters of the East River to get to Manhattan faster. Yuppies think they have supreme powers.
Or part the waters like Moses did. Don't wait for public transportation. Buy a yacht. Learn to swim. Kyack to Nyack.

Anonymous said...

Ever try to find a parking spot at borough hall? This is a piece of cake compared to that.

Anonymous said...

Then why didn't they leave their cars home or board the trains further east? Why? Because they can't afford parking in Manhattan. They are cheap, but spoiled, and insist on using their cars.
Oops, they cannot park in Flushing anymore. Muni lot #1 was closed and is being developed . Soon another muni lot will be closed too.

Anonymous said...

I knew somebody who traveled from Hicksville by car to Flushing.
He did not want to pay the LIRR fare, so he parked in municipal lot one and took the number seven train to the city.
I suspect this is the case with a lot of persistent car drivers who want the best of both worlds when driving to LIC.
Convenience and frugality often do not mix.
Take the adventurous route. Ride the Queens subways to work like the rest of us working stiffs.m