Open Plans’ Fight to End Parking Mandates
As the end of the year approaches, we have kicked our efforts to end parking mandates—one of Open Plan’s top priorities that we have advocated for since October 2021—into a higher gear. Ending parking mandates would represent one of the biggest changes—and wins—of the Adams Administration.
A quick refresher: two months ago, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity '' text amendment, which includes a complete elimination of parking mandates in residential developments in the entire city. That well-received announcement set our city up to break down a barrier, erected during the 1960s, currently in the way of achieving housing affordability, safe streets, and climate justice.
Public Comment Momentum
The city’s—and Open Plans’—efforts to put the top needs of residents before superfluous parking continued to gather momentum during the public comment period, which just wrapped.
From September to November, we conducted a letter-writing campaign calling for the end of parking minimums directed to policymakers who will either help make history or reject Mayor Adams' proposal. In total, 353 people wrote messages supporting the lifting of parking requirements to 32 elected officials who will help decide the fate of the once-in-a-generation zoning change—including, but not limited to, City Council members Shahana Hanif, Crystal Hudson, Lincoln Restler, Gale Brewer and Jennifer Gutiérrez, and each borough president—as well as the Department of City Planning.
Here’s a little of what they said:
”My home has a driveway and garage that is NOT mandated by zoning—developers should be able to decide based on market incentives whether a given project warrants onsite parking, and those who value this amenity can pay the full market price for it.” - Eli, Brooklyn, wrote to CM Alexa Avilés
“When other cities have lifted parking mandates, it has helped create much more - and more affordable – housing. Parking mandates also promote unsustainable car use that harms neighborhoods and sparks a downward spiral: parking mandates induce more people to drive; more people get cars; then more parking is demanded all over again. Let's lift parking mandates to break the doom loop…A vocal minority of car owners might oppose it, but a minority cannot be allowed to undermine the interests of the city as a whole.” - Vincent, Brooklyn, wrote to CM Lincoln Restler
“These parking mandates are a climate justice issue. Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by these policies. In addition, car dependency and parking construction also contribute greatly to our climate crisis.” - Haley, Manhattan, wrote to CM Carlina Rivera
“Parking mandates [are] counterproductive as regards our housing crisis, it costs significantly more for builders and renters to effectively subsidize private car storage instead of using this place for residences or for more general public use, and it contributes to worsening the climate crisis due to the emissions produced by cars.” - Kenneth, Brooklyn, wrote to CM Hanif
“Lifting parking mandates is crucial to address the housing shortage and affordability crises in New York City and will have positive effects on the climate. Lifting these mandates will tangibly improve the lives of city residents by making housing more available and affordable, neighborhoods more livable, and the city sustainable. Increasing the livability and walkability of the city is crucial for a greener and more equitable future. Lifting parking mandates citywide will strengthen our community and pave the way for the future.” - Ryan, Brooklyn, wrote to CM Hudson
“We need to use every tool at our disposal to increase the supply of housing in this city to stop it from becoming a place that only the rich can afford.” - Alexander, Brooklyn, wrote to CM Nurse
“These mandates, as they stand, take up a ton of space that could be better used for housing or more green spots, all while nudging more folks to own cars in a city where hopping on a subway or bus can get you almost anywhere…Ditching these parking mandates aligns perfectly with New York’s goals of being a city that's easy to walk, bike, and transit around. Beyond just easing up the traffic and clearing the air, it can free up our construction sector to focus on building homes rather than parking spots, making a dent in our housing crunch.” - Sebastian, Manhattan, wrote to CM Powers
Bringing the Impact of Parking Mandates to Life
As part of our campaign to nix the outdated rule, in October we set up a studio apartment in a pair of parking spots, in collaboration with Slate Property Group, to demonstrate just how much space in residential buildings the city currently sets aside for parking. (To the surprise of many, you can fit a relatively—at least for New York City standards—comfortable studio apartment between the yellow lines where city rules say only cars can go).
The installation as part of our campaign was a success, as New Yorkers saw up close how much space is allocated for empty hunks of metal instead of more productive uses. As pictured below, the Williamsburg parking garage was also about 80 percent empty, demonstrating that the Zoning Code requires more parking than there is currently a desire for in neighborhoods well served by public transit options.
The sentiments expressed by New Yorkers from all five boroughs—along with recent polling —shows there is a broad coalition willing to help get the proposal over the finish line over the next few months. It’s not just the right thing to do if we want to get our housing affordability and climate crises under control; it’s good politics and finishing the job could give the Adams administration a much-needed win. But that will only happen if it doesn’t get thrown in the bin of initiatives introduced with splashy announcements that don’t end up getting signed into law, or politicians water it down in a misguided attempt at placating a minority of New Yorkers who own cars.
While lawmakers and the mayor have a lot of tough choices to make on livability and urban issues, this is not one of them. Parking mandates are a fossil from a bygone, car-obsessed era that exacerbate our housing-affordability and climate crises, and we need to get rid of the obsolete, indefensible regulation, the same way that we should no longer have a law on the books prohibiting New York City residents from wearing slippers in public after 10 p.m., or for it to be illegal for Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia residents to walk down the street with an ice cream cone in their back pockets.