By Michael Morton
As a result, vehicles clog busy downtown byways and sit all day in metered spaces meant for shoppers who put money in city coffers for the privilege, they said.”Jamaica streets look like a commuter parking lot,” said Carlisle Towery, president of the Greater Jamaica Development Corp., a business group. “We welcome these agencies, but they've come here without provision for parking.”With the permits issued by the city Department of Transportation, drivers can leave their cars in “no parking” lanes and park for free in metered spaces. A recent two-day study commissioned by Greater Jamaica found that 18 percent of cars parked at meters in the downtown area had permits, with the vehicles using up 45 percent of the total available time at the spots. The study, which was conducted by the Manhattan firm of Fay, Spofford & Thorndike, found that the permits cost the city $3,500 a year in lost meter revenue-more than $1 million a year-and deter potential shoppers because the low turnover rate means spaces are hard to come by.”It's unfair,” City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) said, estimating the permits in Jamaica at 500 and demanding that each one be justified. He also said he might support a total ban on using permits to park at metered spots. “People who park at the meters should be going to the stores, going to the restaurants,” he said.The study recommended that “no permit” parking zones be established, enforcement stepped up to deter drivers from feeding the meters and meter rates adjusted so that lots and garages are cheaper over the long haul, encouraging daylong parkers to move off Jamaica streets. Drawing on the findings, Greater Jamaica suggested banning permits on 168th Street near the 103rd Police Precinct, on 161st Street near a city Administration of Children's Services office and around King Park and the Sutphin Boulevard courthouses. Towery said off-street alternatives already existed for all four sites.However, an official familiar with the parking problems said agencies did not want to pay for employee parking and instead went to the Transportation Department, which freely issued permits upon request. The official added that one of the alternatives, a parking garage under one of the courthouses, had space but had been limited to judges because of security concerns.The Transportation Department did not respond by press time to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Children's Services said the agency was concerned about employee parking, but would have to work with other city agencies to make changes. At the state Office of Court Administration, a spokeswoman said a policy went into effect Feb. 28 bringing in nearly 100 employee cars from the street and putting them in the garage. And at the 103rd Precinct, Inspector Robert Napolitano said a nearby parking garage for police use was full, with other officers putting their cars out front of the station house on 91st Avenue, not 168th Street. He said he would work with community leaders to get more parking enforcement from the city but acknowledged that facilities had been built without spaces for vehicles.”It's a complicated situation,” he said.Reach reporter Michael Morton by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
