Sorry Buddy No More Placards

Mayor Slashes Number Of Parking Placards For City Employees

Finding parking in Manhattan can be like trying to find a needle in a hay stack.

"It’s annoying. Actually I had to pay $20 to find parking ‘cause I thought I was going to get a ticket and it's a $115 ticket. It's not fun at all,” said one driver.

The situation is made worse thanks to the tens of thousands of city employees who enjoy the perks of city-issued placards to park at will, while everyone else circles the block in desperation.

It's gotten so bad in Lower Manhattan, according to a recent study, that there are now three times as many drivers without placards as there are parking spots available.

No more says City Hall, which announced Wednesday it's slashing the number of placards by more than one third.

Heh, welcome to the club of can't find parking. Mass Transit for the win?

Come Walk For MS

Walk For MS:

Every year, Queens residents are among the thousands of New Yorkers who participate in Walk MS, a walk to raise money for the NYC Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. This year’s walk, expected to bring in more than $3.2 million, is scheduled for April 12 in Staten Island and April 13 in Manhattan.

For more information visit www.walkmsnyc.org or call (212) 463-9791.

I have been walking for a couple of years now, it is quite a powerful experience.

Congestion pricing benefiting the poor?

The Metro newspaper ( found inside the lobby of my college) has a little article in it's Voices section that I thought was thorough and competent. Melissa Mark-Viverito suggests that the current plan by Michael Bloomberg and Co. to charge drivers to enter Manhattan would noly affect the upper classes.".. 5 percent of commuters in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx travel to Manhattan by private car. People who drives cars to work also earn 30 percetn more per year than those of us who use mass transit." mrs. Viverito also goes on to explain how the extra income generated from the new tolls, will go towards improving the subway and Bus systems.

If all of the author's facts are true then i can see myself becoming a proponent for congestion pricing rather than my initial reaction to oppose any additional fees placed upon the middle class. the proposed price to enter Manhattan is approximately $8.00 per trip. Figure 5 times per week = $40.00 weekly. My prediction is that the $40.00 extra wont deter anyone of affluence. However, the majority of that upper 5% of people driving into Manhattan may not be able to afford such a toll. The sum of the tolls over a years time is a significant $2080.00.

perhaps if the city would work with the drivers and create an E-Z Pass discounted system or something similar to the system in place fro commuters who use monthly metrocards.

But what about taxi cabs? Wont this $8.00 fee hurt them the most out of everyone? Will it hurt yes, is it going to kill the industry or make rides into the city significantly more expensive? No, I'm sure there will be a loophole or exemption for livery cabs.

Thanks for reading,

Mike
We Light Up Queens