RPP Forum Wrap-up

The Residential Parking Permits forum last night was a good opportunity for a give and take between DOT and the community. Jane McGroarty, Joanne Simons and Michael Cairl did a great job of presenting matters from the community perspective.

David Yassky, Letitia James and Bill deBlasio all had some good points to make about the need for residential permit parking. Bill de had an interesting proposal for extending the RPP out to neighborhoods along the transit lines to protect against "park and ride" behavior.

I've said from the beginning that congestion pricing is necessary to reduce traffic and raise money for transit. But to actually eliminate congestion, instead of pushing it into the neighboring communities, we need a plan (RPP) to prevent people from driving their cars to communities outside the zone and taking the subways the last mile to avoid a toll. I don't want to move traffic; I want to eliminate it.

And let me be clear - I support RPP for ALL neighborhoods that want it. I support RPP not only for Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens and Park Slope; I support RPP for Windsor Terrace, for Kensington, and for every neighborhood that is facing a crisis in parking. This is a city wide issue, and it needs to be addressed that way.

At the forum last night their was a contingent from Windsor Terrace protesting against RPP. The strongest sentiment I've heard from WT is a feeling of being excluded, e.g. "Windsor Terrace would be treated as the parking lot for Park Slope". That's not the way it should be; that's not the way it will be. I look forward to working with the people of WT and Kensington to make sure that we are all getting the same protections.

The last thing I'll say for now is, the system is broken. This problem is not going away, and will only be exacerbated by the tremendous amount of development under way and on the drawing boards. Defending the status quo is indefensible. We need action, and we need action that will treat every neighborhood with respect.

Addendum:
I should also note here that Bruce Schaller from DOT did a good job presenting; the "new" DOT we have these days beats the hell out of the old regime.

Plaxico!

What a game!

Obama on Iraq

Obama last night:
"I don't want to just end the war, but I want to end the mindset that got us into war in the first place."[emphasis added]

I couldn't have said it better. TAPPED has the full quote and commentary, worth a read.

Congestion Pricing Plan Announced

Via Streetsblog, which has a link to the full report:

"Compared to the Mayor’s plan, the Commission’s plan has considerably lower operating and capital costs and a simpler fee structure. By increasing both the cost of taxi trips and parking within the zone, the plan ensures that those who live inside the zone also pay for auto use. The plan will also reduce traffic in neighborhoods adjacent to the zone, decrease vehicle emissions, and benefit the City and regional economy."

This is encouraging for a couple of reasons: (1) The plan is better than the Mayor's original proposal, and (2) included in the Plan is a provision for Residential Parking Permits (RPP), which are important to prevent "park and ride" behavior that defeats the purpose of congestion pricing.

More on this in the coming weeks. And don't forget, we have the RPP forum coming up on Monday night:

When

February 4, 2008 7:00 pm

Where

St. Francis College Auditorium
Remsen St.
Brooklyn Heights

Notes

Organized by: Council Members David Yassky, Letitia James and Bill DeBlasio and the Boerum Hill Association, Brooklyn Heights Association, Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, Clinton Hill Association, Cobble Hill Association, Concord Village, Fort Greene Association, Park Slope Civic Council, Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council

Rumor Mill - Congestion Pricing Announcement

From a tipster - tune in to New York 1:

The Mayor's Task Force is announcing
their version of Congestion Pricing in
a press conference this afternoon at 3PM.

Downzoning Rally VIDEO

Fred from the Union-Sackett Block Association shot some great video of the rally.

Gowanus Lounge has mirrored the videos here.

I'm at the podium about 6:00 into the second video. I have no sound where I am right now . . . hopefully I spoke clearly.

CORD Declares New Holiday

Once in a while I get a good email in the box worth sharing:

On Wednesday, January 30, 2008, our Councilman, Bill DeBlasio introduced to
his fellow Council Members, a Resolution calling for two things that a
substantial number of Carroll Gardens residents have been seeking for quite
some time.

Councilman DeBlasio asked for the requested downzoning study to commence
immediately and, more importantly, called to halt construction on anything
that would exceed fifty feet (a simplified representation of the downzoning
result) immediately as well. For all intents and purposes, he asked for the
interim moratorium that we have been hoping for.

Now, unfortunately, a Resolution, even if unanimously passed, is not legally
binding. It is not law. It is little more than an agreement between
civilized parties. But, we, at CORD are most appreciative of this first
step. Councilman DeBlasio promised this to us back in September and he has
delivered. Some people would say, “So what? It doesn’t really mean
anything.” But, we think it took courage to take this very politically
unpopular idea to the Council Chambers.

We think that this is the way change begins. It starts with thinking about
things differently, challenging what is no longer working and looking for a
way to do and make things better.

What was introduced on January 30th, in the NYC Council Chambers was a
small, but very good first step. We must remember that real change takes
determination, purpose, conviction and tenacity. It takes resolve.

January 30th was Resolution Day.

CORD

I'll second that.