Surprise! Parking Tickets Up in Heights

By on June 19, 2007 10:25 am in News

New York Daily News: Parking Tickets on the Rise: The most recent statistics on NYPD activity, compiled under the CompStat program, show that the number of parking tickets written citywide is down 2.6%. But several Brooklyn precincts, encompassing Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO, reported an increase in summonses, much to the dismay of some motorists.

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  • anonymous

    This comes as no surprise to anyone who needs to have a car in the Heights. The ticket cops are relentless.
    But wait, there’s more to come. If the mayor gets his entry fee to Manhattan passed, residents of nearby neibs, like the Heights, will need to pay an additional fee to get a sticker to park in their own neighborhood. No word yet on how much the sticker will cost, how big the ticket will be if you don’t have one, or how often you will need to renew it.
    But wait, there’s more!
    under a plan championed by our very own BHA, no stickers will be given to anyone who registers their car out of state, or who just rents a car occassionally.
    But wait, there’s more!
    if you work in the Heights, you can’t get a sticker, if you visit someone in the heights, you can’t get a sticker. If you are caught on our public streets without a sticker the first fine will be a “warning” of $100, second tickets will be $400. THis being sponsored by the people at the BHA who are supposed to be watching out for our welfare.
    Incredible.
    Write to the BHA and let them know what you think before they require a sticker to walk on the sidewalk or sit on a bench at the promenade.

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    Actually, that sticker idea sounds pretty good. I don’t think residents should pay a fee for it, though, so I would put that in my letter to the BHA.

  • epc

    I think that if you live or work in the neighborhood then you should be able to get a parking permit. But if you don’t live here and don’t work here, then boo-hoo, pay to park at one of the garages or one of the meter spaces. Or even better: don’t drive here. I wonder how many of the cars parking for free on city streets are registered in the city? Should the students at the college dorms get to park for free? Why should city and Heights residents keep getting stuck with the tab for suburbanites who are too lazy to take the train or bus?

  • bdm

    I think the sticker idea sounds about right (except the fee part). If they allowed workers stickers everyone from the courthouses would get one and it would be worse then ever and I dont see why if you are a resident of the Heights you shouldnt have your car registered here ( I know it can be cheaper but I do believe its actually technically illegal to not register at your primary residence). The fact is priority should be given to Heights residents and this seems the fairest way to insure that.

  • epc

    It’s very popular for people with second homes or access to legitimate non-city address to register their car outside the city to dodge higher insurance rates in the city. Perversely this has the effect of driving insurance rates higher in the city because so many “visiting” cars get broken into or stolen.

  • anonymous

    People have complicated lives, they need cars. Not everyone is a retired old codger.

  • JL

    Agree with bdm. Only documented BH residents with the paperwork to prove it (license, registration, and insurance papers all with BH address) should get the permits (I can handle a nominal “paperwork” fee of $20/year). I would envision a “commercial” permit for those working in the area, but the cost must be substantial (at least a few hundred dollars or more). Visitor permits good for up to a week at a time would also be allright, with a maximum of 3-4 permits/year/person. Revenue would go back to BH in some form (city parking garage, working meters, and clear signage). Daily visitors to use meters or park in a garage (BHA should do something to make sure we don’t run out of garages). My thoughts come from spending 3 years in Hoboken where similar problems abound (small area, many residents, narrow roadways, many outsiders parking to get cheaper access to Manhattan). The above worked pretty well over there, of course, it wasn’t perfect, but it could have been much worse.

  • http://adsformyself.blogspot.com Tim N.

    No fee for stickers for residents. Small fee if you work in the nabe, but priority s/b to folks who live here. Tourists can take the subway or take a hike.

    For years Yassky has been trying to get this passed, but Iris Weinstall (she of Park Slope) said that priority had to be given to “visitors to our neighborhoods.” Now that she has been shown the door, you’ve got a shot at this. And with congestion pricing (which on the whole is a good idea), we’re going to need it.

    The only problem is that tickets in BH raise a lot of money for the city, with the sticker proposal that revenue would go down, so maybe the city wouldn’t go for it, since they get so much cast out of us now.

    Frankly, I think the BHA proposal is watching out for us.

  • nabeguy

    I support any initiative that keeps more cars out of the area but Heights residents should not be financially penalized for living in a high-tax-bracket neighborhood. Most of those who park on the street do so because of the limited (and expensive) garage options. Combined with the frequent ticket blitzes, the proposed sticker fee amounts to little more than another hidden tax on the middle class.

  • nabe-r

    what’s wack about the sticker scheme is that you pay your money and you still will not be able to find a place to park on the street. There are too many people and too few streets. not to mention all the cops and fire fighters and court employees and other “special permit” types that are not going to be affected by this. It pisses me off that I have to pay to park on my street but a court clerk from Huntington doesn’t.
    Why don’t they open the parking lot down by Furman street and make that, or a part of that, neib-only parking? that would contain the over-flow and it would be a positive instead of punitive thing to do.
    We need more parking, not more tickets. More tickets are just going to make people angrier.

  • JamieP

    Bring on the stickers!!! They’re talking $20-60 annually. I’m THERE~

  • epc

    One person’s tax is another person’s subsidy. We could really return the neighborhood to its landmark roots and just ban all onstreet parking.

    Oh hell, in a few years they’ll be clamoring for the return of carriage houses as we revert back to buggies.

  • nabe-r

    Buggies? the PETA crowd would get together with the anti-car crazies and we would be left with pogo sticks. Deliver me from do-gooders who want to do good at other people’s expense!

  • http://brooklynheightsblog.com Qfwfq

    I don’t think anyone is arguing for buggies and pogo sticks, just some common sense policy.

  • time bandit

    Hey Folks
    I take the parking issue to heart, the problem isn’t in the amount of parking but how it is abused by these special permit types, Brooklyn Heights is a residential area for the most part so there is absolutly no reason why the court clerks, fire department, police….etc shoould be parking more than one block away from their venue. Permits are granted in quotes, which are developed from how many parking spaces are avaible versus how many people need permits in relation to the amount of permits available. So what does this mean……………that people who are no related to the courts or offical buildings are bringing their permits and going about their business, or copies are being made…etc.
    the solution lays only in heavy fines against the permit abusers, it lays in developing on street parking designate only to Height’s Residents with a sticker system which works very well in other cities and in developing some system to relate the amount of cars to residents and aquire a number of spots which are designated only for residence and a largly smaller number of spots for commuters and such.

    Cars are a critical part of our society and there is no reason why a resident of the area shouldn’t be able to own a vehicle and park it on the street or at least at a reasonable rate.

    DOWN WITH PERMITS !!!!!

  • why am i here?

    I have to say that this is why the sububs make sense, people do not like each other there either, but at least everybody has their own driveway, where they can park their car or cars, and not need the permission of the busy-bodies, or your hundred-year-old-neighbors, or the sadistic meter cops.
    It is clear to me as a heights resident that if the car thieves don’t get me, the cops will, and if the cops don’t get me, he film crews will, and if I manage to survive, the BHA will be there with a big club to swat me on the head and say, you’re not really rich enough to live here sweetie are you?