The city's nascent effort to convert 70 curbside spots on the Upper West Side from free to metered parking is on hold after drivers threw a fit over the new fees — and the local Council member declared war on the very idea of charging drivers to park their private property on publicly-owned streets.
New street signs for three-hour metered parking must come down immediately per the orders of First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro. In an email to Council Member Gale Brewer, which City Hall shared with Streetsblog, Mastro echoed claims from Brewer and the local community board that DOT failed to effectively notify the public of the parking changes.
"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 to Brewer. "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 request, 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."
Mastro's intervention was first reported Tuesday morning by West Side Rag.
Less than 30 percent of Upper West Side households own car, according to U.S. Census data mapped by Transportation Alternatives and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The "Smart Curbs" initiative was created to address widespread double parking by delivery vehicles — specifically by shifting metered spots for private cars to side streets to make room for dedicated commercial delivery zones. DOT conducted months of outreach about the changes — going so far as to scale back the number of parking spots impacted.
DOT first presented the plan to Manhattan Community Board 7 more than a year ago, in June 2024. Last October the agency said implementation would happen in 2025. New street signs for three-hour metered parking finally went up in recent weeks on Columbus Avenue between W. 73rd and W. 86th streets.
Beyond the 80 planned metered spots, the project would create new dedicated delivery "microhubs" and loading zones for the neighborhood. The plan left well over 1,600 free curbside parking spots for drivers in the area.
Mastro's intervention — one of several he's made to pause or halt DOT initiatives — comes after predictably hysterical coverage of the changes in news outlets including the New York Post. Last week, Brewer wrote to DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez to express "outrage" on behalf of the tiny-but-powerful sliver of her constituents who drive.
"Residents who have a car are already subject to the congestion pricing fee a few blocks away, high garage prices and now this new parking regulation," Brewer wrote. "I believe that this latest policy contributes to chasing families out of New York City."
The pol also complained that DOT did not give specific dates for the project's implementation until sending an email to CB 7 in the late afternoon of Aug. 11 saying regulations would kick in the next day. (Brewer in fact highlighted the forthcoming changes — and the lack of an implementation date — in her June constituent newsletter.)
In an interview with Streetsblog on Tuesday, Brewer made clear that her gripe is not purely about process and communication. DOT should avoid "priced parking" altogether, the longtime pol said.
"I would like to look at other aspects of smart curbs, but not priced parking," Brewer said in an interview. "I have hundreds if not thousands of people complaining."
Some advocates and experts, including the late Prof. Donald Shoup, pushed DOT to go further: Even with its relatively low car ownership rates, the Upper West Side will never have enough parking spots to satisfy demand. The very existence of free on-street parking misleads drivers to expect a spot in a neighborhood with very few of them. That leads to more drivers double parking or circling the block endlessly for a place to park.
Advocates blasted Brewer, Mastro and the mayor for letting the neighborhood's loud minority of drivers dictate transportation policy for everyone else.
"It’s just really disheartening and frankly outrageous that we’re still letting a tiny minority of the community dictate how our streets are used," said Carl Mahaney director of StreetopiaUWS, which shares a parent organization with Streetsblog.
"If it’s free, they’re not moving, but if it’s metered, that’s going to allow turnover and give the small number of people who drive to the businesses access to that."
"The message is we are entitled to that space for free and everybody else who wants it, is you're out of luck," Mahaney added.
DOT referred a request for comment to City Hall, which did not provide comment.
