This Week's Attitude
Free Parking Permits Are Perks City Can't Afford
By Neil S. Friedman

Mayor Bloomberg's bold traffic congestion proposal appears headed for the scrap heap of good intentions with less than half the requisite number of City Council members supporting it, according to a recent informal poll. (Local Council members Lew Fidler, Charles Barron and Mike Nelson oppose it; Darlene Mealy did not respond to the unofficial tally.) The plan was practically doomed from the get-go when it received an onslaught of criticism from many state legislators, who must approve it.

A congestion pricing snub will not only prolong Manhattan's weekday traffic nightmare, but, more significantly, will cost the city $350 million in federal aid for mass transit if it fails to pass by March 31.

But regardless of that outcome, the mayor must still vigorously pursue his pledge to eliminate the inordinate number of free parking permits, which, in most cases, are nothing more than gratuitous perks for city employees.

As Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler recently told The New York Times, "Permits are necessary to conduct government business, but it's gotten out of hand."

Amen to that!

The Daily News figured out that if all the free parking permits out there were laid end-to-end, they would stretch for 27 miles!

According to the latest estimate, there are currently about twice the number of free parking permits the mayor projected when he announced a 20 percent cutback a few months ago. With the amount now exceeding 142,000 - the bulk is in the hands of teachers and police officers - Skyler said an additional reduction of placards could be expected. Likewise, let's hope the mayor's office equitably trims the reported 500 permits his office is granted.

There are, obviously, instances when some civil servants require free parking when they're conducting city business. But those permits should be used sparingly and with painstaking oversight. If city employees had to use municipal or private parking facilities and allowed to seek reimbursement from the city, the costs to taxpayers would be astronomical. Do you know the prices for parking at many Manhattan garages? The last time I did, it cost me almost $20 for less than an hour!

Street parking can be a maddening experience in communities where cars are parked bumper-to-bumper or where alternate-side-of-the-street parking (ASP) is in effect for a few hours on select days. As a recent letter to this newspaper indicated, when space is lacking on the street some homeowners resort to parking in their driveways, with vehicles illegally jutting out onto the sidewalk, which impairs pedestrian safety.

Many public schools teachers with Department of Education-issued permits (there's reportedly more than 60,000 of them) park in designated areas near schools or sometimes on available school grounds. It is impractical, not to mention time consuming, for teachers to be more concerned about finding a valid parking space near their school than the day's lessons, but that's a perk that perhaps needs to be reevaluated in the next round of UFT contract talks.

Following the mayor's announcement in January about the upcoming cuts for parking permits, the NYPD announced it immediately began to eliminate the permits it issues, which, at last count, exceeded 50,000.

But as the mayor proceeds with his eco-friendly PlanNYC to improve the environment here in 25 years, which would contribute to an estimated 30 percent reduction in global warming, city workers should be strongly urged to use public transportation to conduct local business when it's suitable. Without the convenience of a placard, using a private car would not be as tempting if a driver has to search for a spot or pay out of his/her own pocket for parking fees. Using mass transit is less appealing but it would allow privileged civil servants to experience what it's like for other workers who take a subway or bus to a business meeting.

One solution might be to offer a specific number of permits to each agency, which would distribute them to staffers only when an agency head or deputy deems it justifiable. The permit would have to be turned in as soon as possible after the official business is concluded. That would not only cut down on the number of free parking permits, but also establish a record of accountability when and where they are being used - or abused.

As the mayor is concerned with parking permit reduction, one Queens' politician must have his head in the sand, albeit with good intentions. Corona Councilman Hiram Monserrate last week suggested that hybrid vehicles be allowed to park for free at street meters and in municipal lots. Since there are probably only a small number of environmentally friendly vehicles currently owned by city residents, it is unlikely city revenue would suffer if the proposal ever came to fruition. Nevertheless, while the city is trying to limit free parking, it's premature for such a suggestion and not much of an incentive for drivers to eagerly switch from gas-guzzlers to hybrids.

Its time undeserving civil servants get a taste what it's been like for the rest of us citizens who spend extended periods seeking a parking spot on a packed Manhattan or outer borough street.

The only way undeserving, bellyaching civil servants should get that benefit, which the city can no longer tolerate, after their old permits are confiscated is when they land on the Monopoly board game square in that reads FREE PARKING.

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