Gouging drivers won’t cure NYC’s parking woes
Brooklyn: I’m writing regarding a bill proposed by City Councilman Lincoln Restler that would increase NYC’s alternate-side parking fines from $65 to $100 after the first offense and allow the city to tow vehicles after the third violation. Restler believes that the current fines are too cheap and are no longer a deterrent to those drivers who, in the face of astronomical parking garage rates, often choose to accept a parking summons as a cost of living in the city.
I believe that the underlying problem here is vanishing public parking spaces. The extension of the COVID-era dining shed allowance, the expansion of the Citi Bike program, new bus lanes and street planning have eliminated thousands of them.
Many of our city’s car owners live in the outer boroughs, particularly in neighborhoods underserved by public transportation. In 2020, the city standardized ASP fines citywide, resulting in an increase from $45 to $65 for drivers outside of Manhattan. Restler’s proposal would amount to a 122% fine increase for these motorists in just four years.
I think it’s fair to say that even those of us who are diligent about moving our cars twice a week still get a few tickets per year. The bill would further penalize a pool of NYC motorists who the city essentially looks at as a piggy bank. Parking tickets are already the second-largest source of city revenue, right behind city taxes. I appreciate Councilman Restler’s efforts to tackle this problem, but he has proposed a solution that is all stick and no carrot. Derek Wiesehahn
Nice neighborhood
Manhattan: I grew up in the housing projects on Dyckman St. As a kid, I loved roaming the 10th Ave. riverfront and fell in a few times. I loved playing football next to the Speedway. My family moved away when I was a freshman in college. I stayed in the city, and because things happen the way they do, I kept finding myself returning and living in the neighborhood. I lived there at different times and in different affordable, easy-to-find places for parts of college and graduate school. As fate would have it, I needed a place to live many, many years later and found the best deal in Inwood. I stayed in that apartment for 13 years with the rent topping out at $1,900. Affordable housing is a bigtime need in the city and this housing boom in Inwood certainly offers an opportunity for reasonable living. My question is where will people park their cars? Don Cerrone
Double negative
Brooklyn: How does an editorial in the Daily News (“Mind the gap,” Jan. 31) begin with: “Even if you haven’t never ridden the London Tube”? Jack Flynn
Scooter patrol
Brooklyn: Here’s a possible solution to the highly menacing delivery guys on motorized bicycles, scooters and mopeds who put pedestrians’ lives in danger by flouting all traffic laws: Create a task force of police on scooters who can patrol the avenues and catch these scofflaws, issue tickets and, if need be, confiscate their vehicles. They may not catch all of them but will get enough of them to put the word out. This lawlessness has to stop. Are you listening, Mayor Adams? Irwin Cantos
Livelihoods lost
Manhattan: I see that the cops shut down seven massage parlors/brothels in Queens. Mayor Adams says that prostitution is not a victimless crime because it is rife with sex trafficking and abuse. If that is the case, then why were no arrests made regarding those issues? The only thing that was accomplished by shutting down these establishments was to put people out of work. P.S.: One time, I went to a discount massage parlor — it was self-service! James Baldwin
Let slide
Bayside: Three cheers to the NYPD for finally hiring officers with super X-ray vision. How else could the officers have known that a Black man was behind the wheel of a car with tinted windows for such an implied racial stop? I’d love to know why Councilman Yusef Salaam was offered courtesy instead of being written a ticket for the illegal tints. Why was he not asked to provide registration for the car he was driving (to show he wasn’t committing insurance fraud)? These are two tickets I surely would have received had I been breaking both laws. Big shout-out to the fantastic NYPD for showing why they’re the best! Karen Sabatini
Are things so bad?
Brooklyn: What happened to body cameras? They record every interaction. The City Council has now overridden the veto of the mayor. Officers will have to take more time to document every action. Not only will it tie up officers and their time, it will kill morale, which is sadly at an all-time low. One of the council members said that Civilian Complaint Review Board complaints are at an all-time high. As a civilian member of the NYPD for almost 51 years, I do not see it. Let us look to bring in community advocates to help mend relations. Sharon Cesario
All on video
Brooklyn: There may be a simple solution to the “how many stops” problem with the police department. Since all police officers have body cameras, the department at the end of every shift should upload every officer’s camera into the cloud. Every police-initiated stop, and not a citizen-initiated stop, would be marked for review and the officer would write down the time in their patrol pad, put those times down at the end of their shift and file for review. F. Bodkin
Just say no
Bayonne: I have some advice for New York’s Finest about the police transparency bill: Just don’t do it. What can they do, fire the whole police force? Stick together. The police union has to use all its clout come election time and vote these cop-haters out of office. Wake up, New York citizens, and get rid of these progressive Marxist politicians. They are hurting New York and our other once-great cities, which now all look like cesspools. Mike Armstrong
Undeterred
Brooklyn: A sign on the bus says that assaulting a bus operator is a felony punishable by a prison term. Yet if a police officer is attacked and beaten, the perps get a slap on the wrist and, if arrested, will be out in hours. Something is very wrong here. Peter G. Orsi
Unafraid
Kew Gardens: The three soldiers killed in Jordan were casualties waiting to happen. After dozens of attacks on Americans in the Mideast, it was just a matter of time. President Biden, when previously asked for a response to the growing attacks, issued a one-word, bone-chilling warning to those planning attacks. In his best tough guy voice, he said: “Don’t.” How did that work out? It’s clear that America is on the defensive and that he is viewed as a toothless tiger. And why, after that abysmal exit from Afghanistan where we lost 13 Americans, would anyone fear him? Phil Serpico
Super saturated
Central Islip, L.I.: We are getting so sick and tired of reading about and seeing photos of Taylor Swift with her probably temporary football boyfriend! I hope we don’t have to suffer through seeing her during the Super Bowl. Thomas Sarc
Storied career
Manhattan: We bid farewell to Chita Rivera / a star of great renown / musical theater, sold-out concerts / Tony winner / she was the toast of the town / An accomplished singer / she danced her way into our hearts / winning praise and well-deserved accolades / for her memorable parts / Chita was the Spider Woman / Velma in “Chicago” / Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie” / a hit in every show / Best known for “West Side Story” / where she played Anita / she was stellar in this role / kudos to you, Chita / a master class performer / a talented Broadway star / she wowed us with her skills / acclaimed both near and far / So as we say goodbye today / we are feeling downcast and blue / Broadway theaters will dim their lights / in tribute to honor you / The world of entertainment / has lost a shining star / but we know you are in heaven / and are still the best by far. Phoebe Celentano
