New York, NY – Parking-meter feeders are getting less bang for their quarter.
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At 47,000 meters around town, 30 minutes for 25 cents is being reduced to 20 minutes at the same price.
It’s part of Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to raise an additional $16.8 million annually to help close the city’s $4 billion budget gap.
The move has business owners fuming.
“It’s bad timing, it’s a bad economy, and we’re trying to survive,” said Mathew Xenakis, owner of Park Place Florist and Greenery in Woodhaven, Queens.
Since the new meters were installed, Xenakis said he’s heard complaints from customers and fellow store owners.
“If you go to a store and get ticketed faster than before, you don’t want to go back,” he explained.
The changeover — the first for the lowest-rate meters since 1995 — began on Feb. 16 and is already done for all 17,842 meters in Queens, and is under way on 7,138 in The Bronx, Department of Transportation numbers show.
Next will be 18,042 change-gobblers in Brooklyn, followed in June by 1,733 on Staten Island.
By late June, the remaining 2,744 lowest-rate meters in Manhattan will be converted, almost all above 96th Street.
Higher meter rates have long prevailed below 96th, especially at muni-meters that accept DOT pre-paid debit cards as well as quarters.
Drivers are upset that the overhaul is being done with little notice, leaving them with expired-meter violations.
“It’s expensive in this situation, with people not having work. Thanks, Mayor Bloomberg,” said tongue-in-cheek Queens construction worker Mariusz Zuba.
“Everybody is broke — the city should take away some meters to give people a break,” added Brooklyn mechanic John Zarro.
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens) said the change will bring even more of an “onslaught of parking tickets.”
“In Queens, people woke up one morning and found that parking meters increased in the cover of night,” he said.
Some community-board activists, however, welcome the change and are pushing for even higher rates.
“The more cars we get to turn over, the more we get shoppers running quick errands into the stores,” said Ian Dutton of Community Board 2 in Greenwich Village.
The board is testing peak-time parking rates — around early afternoon — for $2 an hour, and non-peak rates at $1 an hour, Dutton said.
“The whole point of having meters near businesses is to move cars along and get turnover. Even with rates the way they are, a parking spot is still the cheapest real estate you can get in Manhattan,” he said.
This is good news! higher meter rates means less illegal parking, less driving around for spaces, more business for businesses.
oy bashefer who knows what coms next ??????????
Does this additional $16.8 million include the fines that will come along with it?
Why don’t they install meters as they have in other cities where you can insert nickles and dimes when all you do is buy a newspaper or a piece of kugel?
depands for who . most of the people are already fed up with the raguler meters as whell from the tickets
It’s a bargain. Try using a parking meter in Chicago where it is now $3 an hour and in some areas, $6.
just wait, the next thing will be to extend meter times, to raise revenue by 7.8 million dollars.
the all point of it is only the money of tickets . trying all ways people should get tickets . cause people don’t put in because they not allways have querters with them so if they whill change to nickels dimes people whill get lass tickets & that not what the city wants
Ever hear the term “one arm bandit”? Well, this parking meter will become the “no arm bandit.”
Just keep on voting for Bloomberg the only one.
They just cannot keep their hands out of our pockets! I am SO sick of this it’s not even funny!
Do as I did, I moved to sunny florida no parking tickets no brownies,just chill & become an erlicher yid, forget about the rat race and the rest of the stupidty, ask anyone who spent any time in North Miami Beach…see ya soon.
next it will be 1 dollar for 3 seconds…. by the time your 3 seconds are over you will already have a parking ticket.
What happened the parking garages are not making enough money????????
It’s those motorists again. Bloomie thinks we are just cash cows. What we have trouble understanding is that he will soon begin campaigning that he did not raise taxes, while he has simply increased his revenues by punishing us drivers of cars. Shame on you. I hope every driving voter remembers you in the next election.
please don’t give them ideas for the comment of 1 doller for 3 secends cause you could never know with our meayr
Dear mr. Bloomberg, I understand your point but why dont you make it for minimum 50 cents which means min. 40 minutes? I mean to ask whats your “GVIL”
Bloomberg on the loose……Have no fear, after the election it will go higher.
Some people will use any excuse in the book to justify Bloomberg, always looking where it’s worse rather than where it’s better. Say no to Bloomber at the voting booth.
The purpose of the shortening of the meter time is not to generate more meter money, but to generate more ticket money. I have long said that the money put into those meters barely cover for the expense of having those meters, if at all. It is the tickets which is the real profit and shortening meter time will lengthen the catch time.
Bloomie — You’re nuts!! If restaurants have not gone out of business yet — then you are going to help them.– Congrats!! What kind of mayor are you???