This Parking Spot Is Free. Should It Be? (Gift Article)

The first and best thing we could do about parking in the city is to turn as many free parking spots as possible into things that benefit more people: expanded sidewalks, green space, containerized trash, bike parking, etc. Then we can figure out what to do with the rest of the spots.

Just 3% of parking spaces in NYC are metered. Everything else is a double-parked, lane-blocked free-for-all. @emmagf.bsky.social @edenweingart.bsky.social and I look at ways the city could fix it www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Love all of these ideas. Why not all four? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The NYT informs readers that dynamic metered parking—implemented in San Francisco, Baltimore, LA, and DC—could bring in *billions of dollars a year* in revenue. Plus room for public spaces, bus lanes, bike lanes, outdoor dining setups, trash containers... check out the EasyPark proposal.

Here's a gift link if you want: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Charge for all parking. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

“The most precious commodity and real estate is street space and curb space... We give it out for free, which makes absolutely no sense.” www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

1) There should be no free parking in NYC. 2) Residents should be able to purchase neighborhood permits for a reasonable annual fee. 3) Non-residents should pay by the hour. A lot. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Today in the New York Times. Unlocked article here: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

It’s starting to sink in. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The high cost of free parking in NYC

3 millions car storage spots. You could add another million and it would not be enough when they are all FREE. NYC real estate is the most valuable in the country. Giving this space away to store cars is complete lunacy. I hope Flynn and Mamdani come up with a plan. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

"'The most precious commodity and real estate is street space and curb space,' said Ya-Ting Liu, who until March served as the city’s chief public realm officer. 'We give it out for free, which makes absolutely no sense.'" www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Mayor Mamdani is sitting on a huge city-controlled revenue source that could fund all kinds of amazing stuff for his base, all while making streets safer, cleaner, and less congested. (If he wants to.) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Good overall reporting in the local paper about parking

Worth a look: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

(This one could have been more…honest about what placard abuse is, gone into greater detail about registration fraud and rate evasion, and not included a quote from a M*nhattan Inst*tute ghoul, but it’s still worthwhile) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

No. Nice feature from the Times. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

“Every year, drivers in New York City spend, on average, 107 hours — or more than four days — looking for parking spaces. The vast majority of street parking is free (yet not enough spots)” (Get this New York, in Tokyo there is (effectively) no on-street parking!) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

@nytimes.com @nytopinion.nytimes.com Way ahead of you #NewYorkTimes why can't we end free #parking paradigm & become more like #Paris? www.nytimes.com/interactive/... My take here www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfJW... #brooklyn #design #cars #pollution #climate #airquality #mamdani #socialism

Parking should not be free in the New York City. By making it free, the city has been giving away an asset. I think parking should be mix of residential permits and dynamic pricing along high trafficked commercial corridors. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The high cost of free…oh never mind www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Ah, yes, the incessant whining and entitlement of the car addicted. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

So much to say about this - lets begin with, there is no conceivable space more useless than a free parking space in the city. @https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/06/09/nyregion/nyc-street-parking.html @nyc.streetsblog.org @streetspac.org

No it should not be free www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

“There are about three million #parking spaces in New York City, which should be enough for the roughly two million vehicles that are owned by New Yorkers” Ridiculous that NYC is still not charging people for storing their hunks of metal and glass on public land. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...