Mayor Eric Adams has shelved the city’s controversial move to eliminate dozens of free parking spaces on the Upper West Side — after The Post revealed the situation and locals’ outrage over it.
The city Department of Transportation recently began requiring drivers to pay to park in 70 previously free spots on 16 blocks from West 73rd to West 86th streets in the tony Manhattan neighborhood.
Under the measure, vehicles parked along the targeted stretches of Central Park West and Columbus Avenue were required to pay $5 for the first hour and $8.25 if they stayed the allotted second hour from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Sunday.
The old rules allowed them to park all day and night for free, except for the 90 minutes that cars had to be moved twice a week for street cleaning.
First Deputy Mayor Mastro, in a letter sent Tuesday to local Councilwoman Gale Brewer, said the DOT will now “roll back” the plan after the backlash.
“We agree that the agency could have done more to inform and include the public in the specifics and timing of the program’s implementation,” Mastro wrote. “This is especially so since so many use cars in this UWS neighborhood and affordability is a concern for all New Yorkers.
“We have therefore decided, as you requested, that we will have DOT roll back this parking plan and restore the status quo ante until such time as DOT has had the opportunity to solicit more public input on the specifics of the plan to be implemented and to give more public notice before implementation of whatever specific plan is ultimately adopted,” the deputy mayor said.
It will take two days to change the signs to show free parking has been restored, Mastro said. He said a “grace period” is in effect so that motorists are not issued fines for non-compliance during that time.
“We thank you for contacting us and look forward to working with you to effectuate a plan whose rationale is understood and appreciated by all,” Mastro added to the councilwoman.
The DOT insisted the switch had been to improve access for businesses along the Columbus Avenue corridor and expand curbside space for community needs.
But Brewer, who said she and her constituents were blindsided by the loss of parking spaces, applauded City Hall for reversing course.
“We’re very pleased and thankful for the mayor and Mastro’s intervention,” Brewer said.
Her office was inundated with angry calls and emails, she said.
“It was so bad that my staff didn’t want to pick up the phones,” she quipped.
Brewer said she was baffled by the move to install more metered parking on the Upper West Side because none of the merchants lobbied her for it.
“I have not heard from one person who supported it,” she said.
Read the full article here
