The notion that New York City housing construction shouldn't be weighed down by mandatory parking minimums got a combative response from some City Council members at a hearing today. Streetsblog will have a thorough round-up of who said what tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here's a quick detour to Park Slope for a related story about how parking rules everything around us.
At issue is the redevelopment of a 36,000-square-foot Key Food and adjacent parking lot by Fifth Avenue in north Park Slope. The store sells groceries at affordable prices and is an emblem of the organizing that helped turn around the neighborhood in the 1970s and 80s. Replacing it is a big deal.
In addition to about 400 locals, Council Member Brad Lander, Borough President Eric Adams, and Public Advocate Tish James were on hand for the meeting last night where developer Avery Hall Investments presented its plan, DNAinfo reports. The project would consist of 165 apartments, ground floor retail, a car-free "piazza" between two new buildings -- and 182 underground parking spots (the site currently has about 100 surface spaces).
Lander says the developer doesn't want to apply for a waiver to the parking requirements, but some negotiated deal along these lines could be in the cards.
It's a story that illustrates a terrible tradeoff happening all the time all over the city. In New York, it's harder to acquire the necessities of life -- food, shelter -- because the law compels construction of something most New Yorkers don't need at all -- car storage.
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.
New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.