Community Board 7 Votes Against Congestion Pricing, Cites Issues with Residential Parking Permits

[Photo courtesy of Anna Lewis]

GL Correspondent Anna Lewis attended last nights CB7 Meeting and filed this report:

Brooklyn Community Board 7 (Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park) rejected Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan at its monthly meeting Wednesday night. It objected primarily to the Mayor’s inclusion of a residential parking permit system within the congestion pricing plan.

The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) developed the residential parking permit system to address community concerns about a lack of on-street parking potentially caused by congestion pricing.

CB7’s objections to the Mayor’s proposal reflected concerns raised at two separate community forums, held in Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park respectively. They included the effects of the plan on public space, such as decreased access to public parks and museums; questions over the boundaries of the permit zones and their impact on park-and-ride activity in neighborhoods; the exemption of New Jersey drivers from congestion pricing; and questions about permit regulation and enforcement.

Another major concern was that Brooklyn would not receive an adequate portion of the revenues raised by congestion pricing.
–Anna Lewis

Taking the B61 Headcount

Is New York City Transit trying to get a sense of ridership on the B61 route, which terminates in Red Hook and is being extended to the new Ikea when it opens on Beard Street, or are they actually trying to gauge ridership in order to make independent service improvements? A reader emails to say:

I hardly ever take the B61 bus because I prefer walking rather than riding with 1000 other people, but I rode both to and from the A train today and there were MTA employees on board counting passengers each way. I’m assuming they’re trying to determine the usage so that when Ikea opens they’ll add more buses. Or at least I’m hoping thats the case. I’m curious if they’ve been on for longer than just today.

Anyone with a sense of this, please be in touch via a comment or email. In the meantime, think of all the people who have no idea what a B61 is who will come to know its unique joys in late summer. Extra points to the first person to bring a Billy Bookcase home to N. 10 Street in Williamsburg on the B61.

Residential Park Permit Plan Details

Mayor Bloomberg and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced a Residential Parking Permit proposal yesterday. They held a press conference in Boerum Hill that ended up taking place at the same time as Gov. Spitzer’s resignation speech. They used it to announce a new residential parking permit plan that will be part of congestion pricing legislation. Measures would be introduced in the City Council and State Legislature. The program would be an “opt in,” meaning that neighborhoods and Community Boards can decide to join and set their own regulations and zone boundaries. Streets Blog quotes the DOT Commissioner as saying: “Community Boards will make the determinations and balance the various interests to form the most reasonable plan.”

The city’s press release said that residents would be able to “petition” for parking zones starting this fall. Community Boards would have to vote to approve a zone and it would have to be okayed by a District’s Council Member and the Borough President.

The goal is to prevent some neighborhoods from becoming parking lots for commuters. Neighborhoods could ban non-resident parking during commute times or limit it to 90 minutes during certain periods. There are full details over at Streets Blog.

GL Analysis
Like congestion pricing itself, there is likely to be a range of intense opinions on the change, both for and against. What is odd is that unlike cities that have long had resident parking programs there doesn’t seem to be any citywide, or even boroughwide, uniformity to the possible outcome. What is immediately interesting–and possibly problematic about the proposal–is that it could leave the city with an insane patchwork of parking regulations that makes today’s confusing thicket of signs and parking ticket crapshoots look like the good old days of order and sanity. The approval process itself will lead to intense lobbying and political jockeying to either secure permits for individual neighborhoods or to try to have a move killed. Frankly, we’re not sure that a neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach is sound, although to some extent individual neighborhoods here and there already have their own de facto parking policies. If resident parking permits are to become policy, it would seem that large zones with uniform regulations (as per the Washington, DC model) are in order, rather than, say, a non-resident parking ban on the Southside of Williamsburg from 7AM-9:30AM and a 90-minute non-resident limit in Park Slope from 6AM-6PM.

[Photo courtesy of Streets Blog]

Other Coverage:

• Parking Permit Plan Mulled [Metro]
• Mayor Proposes Permit Plan [Sun]
• Mayor Offers Permit Parking [NYT]

Mayor to Call This Morning for Residential Parking Permits

The Mayor’s press schedule for today only says that Mayor Bloomberg will be making an announcement at Bergen and Bond Streets this morning at 11:30AM. The announcement, however, is one of interest: The Mayor and DOT Commissioner will announce “residential parking permits as part of congestion pricing.” It is unknown right now which neighborhoods will be included. There has been significant sentiments in some quarters in Brooklyn for a residential permit plan as part of congestion pricing, particularly because residents in some neighborhoods feel their streets will be used for commuter parking. The source that alerted us to the announcements says, “This should be interesting.”

Bklink: Subway Renovations

“More than 30 Brooklyn subway stations could be targeted for badly needed renovations under the proposed capital budget plan released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week. From Bushwick to Bensonhurst, and many neighborhoods in between, dilapidated stations could receive $3.7 billion in repair and refurbishing over the next four years.”–NYDN

Fifth Avenue One-Way Update

On Friday, we posted a reader’s photo and questions about one-way signs that had appeared on Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park. One reader left a comment that some type of construction might be taking place and that the street–which is in wretched condition–was going to be repaved. Yesterday, another reader answered the question with some information on the MTA/New York City Transit website. LizD wrote that “As a regular rider of the B63 I’ve seen notices in the buses that Northbound 5th Ave between 39th st and 20th st will be closed effective March 10, 2008, indefinitely. I’ve heard through the grapevine that it’s for road reconstruction. The Northbound B63 will be re-routed onto 4th Ave. The MTA/NYC Transit web site has the details.” Indeed the website says the B63’s northbound service will be “rerouted due to construction on 5 Av between 20 and 39 Sts. Effective Mon, March 10, 2008 until further notice.” The B63 will run on Fourth Avenue from 39th Street to 20th Street and return to Fifth Ave. Also, we forgot to mention it on Friday, but what’s up with the placement of the Do Not Enter sign sideways?

(Temporary) One-Way Action on Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park?

Is Fifth Avenue going one-way in Sunset Park? We haven’t seen anything about this, but a reader sent us the photo above, which shows a new one-way sign waiting to be uncovered at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street that bears all the signs of some temporary changes. (That’s Green-Wood Cemetery in the background.) He writes:

Today I noticed new “do not enter” (DNE) and “one-way” signs on 5th avenue at 34th street. In the picture, the “3” in “34 St” is obstructed from view by the one-way sign, but you can clearly see greenwood cemetery in the background. The one-way is pointing south-bound and the DNE facing north-bound traffic at 34th st suggesting that south of 34th 5th ave would continue to be two ways. The new pattern is not in effect as of yet–I presume they make changes like this in the dark at night.

I’m not sure how far north this extends or whether this is a temporary thing…I called 311 and was told that in order to verify a street sign or traffic change I would need to submit it in writing. I figured I’d ask you first since you seem to know the ins and outs of our fair and gentle borough so well.

Given the furor last year about one-way changes around Park Slope, we doubt that it’s a permanent change. In fact, Fifth Avenue was left off the one-way list. So, we assume it’s a construction-related issue. Anyone know what’s up?

Bklink: Transportation Junction

Things may be looking up for subway access in parts of Brooklyn as MTA chief Eliott Sander announced that the MTA “is studying plans to rejuvinate the sleeping giant of a rail line that passes near the Junction from points east in Brooklyn and Queens.” The plan would involve converting a freight line for subway in Brooklyn. The first segment would run from Midwood near Brooklyn College to the Brooklyn Junction subway hub in East New York.–Brooklyn Junction

Things Get Crappy at the Bergen Street 2/3 Station

If you are averse to stories about mounds of crap or if you are eating breakfast, lunch or dinner, stop reading and move on to the next item. If, like us, you find such tales of shitty misfortune compelling in a weird sort of way, read on. This comes from the Park Slope Forum on Brooklynian, where it was labeled a “horrifying, gross story.” Here goes:

This morning, I stepped in a huge pile of SH*T on the subway platform at the Bergen Street station. MAN! I was so freaked out. The worst thing is there was no way to clean it off my foot! I left the station and found a puddle but it wasn’t sufficient, trust me.

And I’m pretty sure it was human sh*t! AARRRRGGGH! I’m assuming it was from some homeless dude. The crap pile was right by the garbage bin, and I was stepping up to it to through out my coffee cup. Someone was squatting there defecating, trying to keep out of view obviously.

This reminded me of the discussion we had about peeing in public, and on the subway platform. Trust me, this is much worse!

Some demands for photographic evidence produced this follow up:How about go to the Bergen Street station, and look next to the garbage can on the Manhattan bound platform, and you’ll see all the evidence you need. . . . a pile of crap with a footprint in the middle . . . wasn’t in the mood to whip out my phone and take a pic. It didn’t occur to me someone would want to see that . . . .

Always look down.

New Online Petition to Link the G to Trains at Atlantic Avenue

There’s a new online petition to help push an idea to connect the G Train, which stops in Fort Greene near BAM to trains that stop at Atlantic Avenue. The MTA is promising to study whether such a connection between G and the lines at the Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street subway stations would work, but construction of a pedestrian tunnel could take 5-10 years. The petition pitch says:

Help improve life in Brooklyn and Queens, connect the G train to Atlantic Terminal! The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has promised Councilmember Letitia James this week that it would study what it would take to connect the G line Lafayette Avenue stop with the Atlantic-Pacific station, a move that would simplify commuting for tens of thousands of people. The time is now to tell the MTA that Brooklyn and Queens need this!!!

The petition can be found here.