Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
NYCEDC

EDC Chief Seth Pinsky: Minimizing Parking “The Worst Thing We Could Do”

SethPinsky.pngSeth Pinsky, NYCEDC president. Image: NYCEDC.

The NYC Economic Development Corporation's predilection for suburban-style, parking-filled projects earned it last year's Streetsie for worst city agency. Well, now we've got some more insight into what makes EDC tick.

After an event at the New School last night, NYCEDC president Seth Pinsky told Streetsblog why his organization's projects include so many parking spaces. "The worst thing we could do," he said, "is create projects that create a parking need and then not provide that parking."

Predictions about "parking need," however, are consistently flawed. At one of the EDC's own projects, the Gateway Center in the Bronx, far more shoppers take transit than developers predicted, leaving the parking lot underutilized and creating a hostile environment for people who walk. In the words of parking guru Donald Shoup, "In trying to foretell the demand for parking, urban planners resemble the Wizard of Oz, deceived by his own tricks."

According to Pinsky, EDC takes its figures for parking demand straight from the legally-mandated environmental review process. So, some of the problem here is embedded in that process, which has prompted calls to revise local environmental review laws [PDF]. 

But more and more, EDC simply appears to be falling behind the times on planning policy. Just this week, the Health Department, City Planning, DDC, DOT, and the Office of Management and Budget released Active Design Guidelines advising planners to "design car parking so as to reduce unnecessary automobile travel, particularly when walking, bicycling, and public transit are convenient alternatives."

We have, supposedly, progressed beyond the era when city government equated traffic with economic activity. But while the rest of the city is trying to reduce the number of cars on the street and play to New York's inherent strengths as a walkable metropolis, EDC still seems intent on inducing more traffic and giving autos even more space than they need.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Council Transportation Chair Asks DOT To Rip Up a Bike Lane

The same Queens pol who berates the DOT for failing to build enough bike lanes wants one torn out of her district.

March 24, 2025

Monday’s Headlines: Subway ‘Shithole’ (Yes, That’s What He Said) Edition

U.S. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy visited a sinkhole in New Jersey, but nonetheless cursed out our subway system. Plus other news.

March 24, 2025

Albany Running Out of Options to Close MTA Funding Gap: Watchdog

Tighten the belt and give up the frills, the Citizens Budget Commission warned.

March 21, 2025

Advocates Demand New Jersey Agencies Cough Up Congestion Pricing Data

NJT and the Port Authority need to cough up some actually useful post-congestion pricing travel data, advocates on both sides of the Hudson River said.

March 21, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Fake Deadline Extended Edition

It's the first day of spring and, if you're U.S. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, it was supposed to be the last day of congestion pricing. But it's not. Plus other news.

March 21, 2025
See all posts