DOT chief says paid parking is on the table, but not as a cash grab

Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said Thursday that the Mamdani administration is studying whether to charge for more of the city's street parking, but that any change should be about making the curb work better, not about raising money.

Flynn spoke at New York Law School's 205th CityLaw Breakfast in Tribeca, an event billed as "The NYC DOT Future: Prioritizing Affordable Transportation." CityLand, which streams the series, has posted the full video.

What he said

According to amNewYork, Flynn was asked about First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan's remark earlier this year that charging for more free parking was under consideration as a budget tool. Flynn said DOT's recently created Office of Curb Management is weighing more meters and dynamic pricing as one of several tools. "Pricing is just one tool," he said, adding that where better pricing would help the curb work for everyone, "that should be on the table."

amNY reported that Flynn said 97% of the city's nearly 3 million street parking spaces are free, a system he said makes it harder to find a spot, make deliveries, set up outdoor dining, place trash containers or meet an Access-a-Ride van. He also said some neighborhoods are far more car-dependent than others, so there can't be a one-size-fits-all approach.

Context

No proposal or map has been released. amNY noted that the Center for an Urban Future has argued for metering more spaces as a revenue source, while Flynn and advocates quoted in the story framed pricing as a way to manage demand.