Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is open to clearing Borough Hall Plaza of parked cars, and he also wants City Hall to study a car-share system for government agencies in Downtown Brooklyn.
We reported last November that Adams and his staff resumed using the plaza as a parking lot after an $11 million rehab, following the lead of his predecessor, shameless space hog Marty Markowitz.
In a recent letter to Mayor de Blasio, Adams said he is considering an internal survey to determine how Borough Hall employees get to work and looking at using off-site garages instead of the plaza.
He also suggested that city agencies with offices in Downtown Brooklyn may be able to consolidate their fleets. Adams wants to the city to investigate a "municipal car share system" to consolidate the vehicles of the half-dozen or so agencies located downtown. The Department of Buildings, the Department of Education, and DOT are among the agencies with offices in the area.
“The vast majority of these vehicles, when not in use, are occupying parking spaces on Downtown Brooklyn’s overcrowded streets,” Adams wrote.
There could be something to this shared fleet idea. Even if it works out, though, the one thing that really has to happen to bring a semblance of order to Downtown Brooklyn streets is placard reform. Otherwise, any spaces that open up thanks to the car-share system will get pounced on by placard holders.
In the meantime, Adams office says it is exploring how to direct staff members to park in garages instead of the plaza, and offering more incentives to take transit to work.
