A controversial pilot program that saw parking spaces stripped from residential neighborhoods was quietly shut down this week – about as quickly and quietly as they were rolled out last month.
“I came home from the supermarket today and saw a DOT (Department of Transportation) truck in front of my house. I spoke to the worker who said the signs were being removed all along Greene Avenue as well as Bergen Street,” said Sharon Holliday, 56, who lives in a brownstone on Greene Avenue between Cambridge Place and Grand Avenue.
“I was ecstatic that I could unload my groceries without fear of being ticketed or towed and park my car. Working together with neighbors and members of the community we were able to have our concerns addressed by DOT. Thanks to all of those who called, wrote, and visited their elected officials to make this happened for everyone in the community.”
As KCP exclusively reported, DOT workers installed the signage reading ‘No Parking Monday Through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 17. Within days and little warning Clinton Hill residents were getting $185 dollar tickets, tow boots put on their cars, and in some cases, their cars were towed adding an even steeper fine.
The three corridors in Brooklyn where the signs were installed were Greene Avenue from Cumberland Street to Classon Avenue; Bergen Street from New York Avenue to Sixth Avenue; and Manhattan Avenue from Ainslie Street to Bayard Street.
Community Board 2 District Manager Robert Perris said he was not told the DOT was removing the signs.
Both City Councilmember Laurie Cumbo (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights) and the DOT did not respond to KCP at post time.
At the protest against the signage, several seniors alleged the signs were installed due to an ongoing lobbying effort from such radical bicyclist organizations as Transportation Alternatives, whose mission statement reads in part to rid the city streets of automobiles, and its propaganda media arm Streetsblog.
Seniors at the rally against the no parking signs complained, of among other things, the lack of enforcement against cyclists that do not follow the rules of the road. Thus far this year two senior pedestrians were killed in the city in accidents with cyclists – with one involving a hit-and-run cyclist.
“All residents should have a say on parking and street policy. This shouldn’t be defined completely by that group and that will happen if we don’t fight back,” said Holliday.
