Open Plans reclaims mandated parking for studio apartment installation
New Yorkers step inside staged apartment to explore trade offs that parking mandates require
NEW YORK, October 21 – Today Open Plans staged a studio apartment in two below-ground parking spots to visualize how parking mandates force New Yorkers to compete with cars for the use of valuable space. The People Over Parking installation, presented as part of Open House New York Weekend, invited guests to step inside the trade-offs parking mandates force and confront the ways that prioritizing cars has negatively impacted housing, the climate, and livability. Hosted at 66 Ainslie in Williamsburg in partnership with building owner Slate Property Group, the installation allowed New Yorkers to experience a firsthand reallocation of space and provided ways for guests to be a part of the solution for change.
Much of New York City still operates under parking mandates, zoning rules enacted in the 1960s that require new buildings to include space for private parking regardless of demand or desire. These rules add considerable cost to a project (as much as $150,000 per spot) and take up valuable space – for every two parking spots built, space for one studio apartment is lost. During the installation, attendees were invited to learn more about the movement to eliminate parking mandates citywide, a key goal in Open Plans’ campaign for parking reform. At the end of their experience, guests had an opportunity to send a letter to City Planning confirming their support of lifting parking mandates in Mayor Adams’ City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment.
“There is no excuse for New York City’s zoning code to encourage driving and car ownership,” said Sara Lind, co-Executive Director at Open Plans. “Parking mandates were misguided in 1960 but they’re disastrous in 2023. Walking through this installation, you feel the absurdity of forcing this space to be used for cars when we so desperately need housing. Mayor Adams’ administration has an opportunity to modernize New York’s housing policy with this one zoning amendment, and we want every New Yorker to understand what they stand to gain from that.”
Dozens of cities across the country including Buffalo, San Francisco, and Minneapolis have already lifted mandates, allowing new housing to include as much, or as few, parking spots as desired. In the years after Buffalo removed parking mandates, 47% of large new buildings created less parking than used to be required — but, crucially, not no parking; demonstrating that in car-dependent neighborhoods, parking will still be built to meet demand.
“Anything that adds to the cost and time it takes to build new apartments is working against us in this housing crisis. Cities across the country have stopped forcing builders to add unnecessary parking in new construction—and it’s time New York City follows suit. Slate is proud to partner with Open Plans to demonstrate the simple truth: it’s more important to create housing for our neighbors than it is to create parking for more cars,” said David Schwartz, Principal of Slate Property Group.
Streetfilms, a sister organization of Open Plans, has released a short video on the installation. More information on the installation and the organization’s campaign to lift parking mandates can be found on the Open Plans website.