The city Department of Transportation suddenly started adding No Standing signs around West 86th Street in recent days. And shortly afterwards, neighbors have seen tow trucks coming to remove cars.
Given how few curbside parking spots are available on most days — a recent report from the city showed that at certain times capacity on the UWS is over 100% — our anonymous tipster was perplexed by the aggressive action.
“If the Dept of Transportation has an explanation as to why they’re taking parking spaces from a neighborhood where it can often take 45 minutes to find a parking space, I’d be glad to learn it!” he wrote in an email to us. “Nobody seems to know why this is being done, though a number of locals think that, given the number of summonses and tows there have been, this another way that motorists are being forced to contribute to the city revenue stream.”
He said that the signs started going up about 10 days ago around 86th Street and West End Avenue and “Within hours of the signs going up, the tow trucks were out.” A picture he sent us shows a tow truck responding to the location appears to be owned by the city.
The changes have been continuing on an almost daily basis. Just yesterday a new sign went up at 85th Street and West End.
Upper West Sider Vivian Matz wrote on twitter on Friday: “NYC is scamming residents by changing parking signs & towing our cars.”
Matz had parked on 88th Street and West End Avenue on Thursday and found on Friday it had been towed. She took the picture at right at Pier 76 (the pound).
The DOT has not responded to our requests for comment and the community board didn’t immediately get back to us either. We’ll update if they do.
Update: In an initial response, DOT says that the signs were added because of a community board request to improve “pedestrian visibility” and says that stickers told NYPD not to tow or ticket cars for five days.
It’s unclear whether the community requested these signs — a search on the board’s website turned up no recent mention of No Standing signs and the board hasn’t gotten back to me.
Have you seen anything? Let us know by email, or leave a comment below.
Image of new No Standing sign on 86th and West End by our tipster.
Aww boo-hoo, people can’t park their cars for free?
The DoT is correct in their statement. The community board passed a resolution to increase visibility at these corners. This technique is called “daylighting,” and it makes intersections safer for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians (especially small pedestrians who can’t see over parked cars). We on the Upper West Side need to start prioritizing people and their safety over the private use of public space (yes, parking spots are PUBLIC spaces).
Nyc streets shouldn’t have a single free parking space….
This is outrageous!! I live in the 90’s so now in addition to the spaces taken because of the bike lanes that are rarely used, we’ve got to deal with the displacement of these cars. The city should issue residential parking stickers for zone area parking. Do you know who I can contact about this?
How fitting that the car pictured has a NJ license plate. Permit parking would resolve a lot of the issue for the UWS’ers by requiring a NYC registered vehicle to park on the side streets.
So why is no one crying out for this? Stockholm charges $100/mo to park on the street. Even if we charge nothing it would help to resolve the issue by not giving away parking spots to non-locals…so why is no one crying out for it?
After searching for a spot for 1 hour I pulled into one of these spots. Luckily, I looked up and saw the new sign before I walked off. Unreal! This has zero effect on visibility. My suspicion was that they were installed because of frequently double parked limos waiting at 535 WEA. One more way to harass the 99%.
Thank you Ms. Gale Brewer and whoever else is responsible for this, for realizing that the 99% in NYC walk, not drive!
Turning cars cannot see children crossing the street when cars are parked at the corners. Removing these corner parking spots is a tremendous relief to parents. And thankfully, the city is removing a parking space in the middle of the blocks for loading and unloading trucks – the double parked delivery trucks are even scarier for pedestrians trying to cross the street.
Unlike the suburbs, our city allows rich and poor alike to get around just as easily. If car-owners cannot afford to pay for parking, then why don’t they walk for free, take the subway or bus for $2.25, or ride a bike, like the rest of us do?
Removing these spots has had the exact opposite effect of creating more safety for pedestrians. I’ve noticed that cabs now approach these corners at higher speed because they can cut the corner tighter without a car in the corner spot. Brilliant.
I also don’t understand the animosity towards people that have to park on the street. A garage in our neighborhood costs more than my rent in 1997. Parked cars do not take space away from pedestrians. They actually provide a necessary barrier between the sidewalk and the traffic. See for yourself: take a stroll on 83rd bet Bway & Amsterdam, in front of the Children’s Museum, when the light turns green on Amsterdam and watch the people pushing strollers scurry away from the curb.
In Brooklyn, I noticed the same actions by the City mentioned in this article. Last week two “no standing” signs were installed on 2nd Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets in Industry City. The same day, the City towed vehicles parked in that area. These signs were placed in the middle of blocks where there is very little pedestrian traffic.