Residential Permit Program Study Planned for Brooklyn Neighborhoods

The days of drivers endlessly circling the block looking for a parking space may be numbered in neighborhoods surrounding downtown Brooklyn.

Next month, the Department of Transportation will launch a feasibility study in Brooklyn for establishing the city's first residential parking permit program, an initiative that could become a model for other high-density parking areas throughout the boroughs.

"A lot of people will be looking at this study and its results to see if it is viable as a program for the city," executive director of the Downtown Brooklyn Council, Michael Burke, said. The council is working with the DOT and Economic Development Corporation on the $75,000 study for the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Brooklyn Heights, and Boerum Hill. The study will be conducted from April through the fall, officials said.

Downtown Brooklyn is already the city's third largest business district, a major transportation hub, and attracts more than 100,000 workers each day - 36% of whom drive to work - said David Woloch, deputy commissioner of external affairs for the DOT.

Under the permit system, residents of a defined neighborhood would get a windshield decal that allows them to park on specific streets near their homes. Nonresident drivers who park in those areas would be ticketed or towed.

The study will determine parking density and patterns in the neighborhoods, and the number of cars owned by residents compared to car-ownership statistics from other parts of the city or state, Mr. Burke said.

Main thoroughfares, such as Atlantic Avenue and those flanking downtown Brooklyn's core district, will not be included in the study. Rather, the study plans to focus strictly on streets considered residential.

Council Member David Yassky first introduced the proposed residential parking permit system three years ago after residents complained about the lack of parking available near their homes.

"We'd see people from outer boroughs and other states circling our blocks every day taking our spots," the president of the Boerum Hill Association, Susan Wolf, said. "It has been so successful in other cities. There is no reason we shouldn't have it in New York."

In fact, New York lags far behind other American cities in considering the permit option. Boston and Philadelphia started their programs more than 20 years ago to alleviate similar problems: people who drive in from other neighborhoods or states to access the central business districts or other transportation.

Downtown Brooklyn's major transportation hub near MetroTech and the Civic Center area attracts impatient commuters who drive into the area, park in the surrounding neighborhoods, and either walk to their jobs or to the subways to continue their commutes.

Mr. Woloch says the city has studied the issue before, twice in the 1990s, and concluded that the program would be most successful in low-density areas near major "trip generator" areas that attract motorists, such as hospitals and railways. They found the program was less successful in neighborhoods such as the East Village, where residents had wanted to see the permit system implemented.

"The problem in New York is you have such great density, much more than other cities, particularly compared to curb space," Mr. Woloch said. Initial analyses of Brooklyn Heights showed that the number of residents' cars outweigh the number of available parking spaces at a ratio of 4-to-1. "Even with the permits, residents might still have a problem finding parking," he said.

The DOT anticipates that the area's high density may be an issue - the three neighborhoods boast a combined population of 55,000 residents

- Mr. Burke said he believes it will be a worthwhile study given the future impact of the downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan, which will create more than 4.5 million square feet of commercial space and at least 1,000 units of housing around the downtown core.

"A good impact of the plan is that it really gave us a chance to focus on the issues affecting downtown Brooklyn, such as parking and traffic," Mr. Burke said.

Among other complaints from Brooklyn residents have been the increasing number of government employee cars parked in the area. City and state employees often use special parking permits that give them access to otherwise restricted parking in the neighborhoods.

"They allow them to have permits to park on our streets when there are plenty of public parking lots. They just don't want to pay for them," Ms. Wolf said.

In 2002, the mayor attempted to address this problem by cutting the number of government parking permits by 30% citywide, but Brooklyn residents still find themselves competing with officials for parking.

A recent study conducted by the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association and Mr. Yassky's office found that one out of every three cars parked in the neighborhoods near downtown Brooklyn had government placards.

In addition, the study found that one third of those placards were fake, expired, or photocopied versions.