EDITOR’S NOTE:
Below is a copy of a letter sent by a constituent to City Councilmember Mark Weprin.
I am writing to you out of frustration and anger at the recent installation of “Muni Meters” along Bell Boulevard in Bayside. Apparently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has seen fit to wrest every last dime from our pockets, not having been satisfied with the increase in local property taxes during his tenure or the increase in additional fees and charges. We are now faced with the inconvenience of having to find a receipt dispensing machine, which sometimes is more that 100 feet away, obtain a receipt and come back to the car in order to place the receipt in the driver side window just to make a quick stop in a local store. I understand that in addition to raising the parking fee from 20 minutes to 15 minutes for 25 cents, we can no longer use the remaining time of a previous parker. In addition, these machines often do not work properly, and last week, I lost a quarter in one forcing me to walk/run an additional 100 feet to find one that works.
I have lived in this neighborhood for over 40 years, ever since my late wife and I bought our home. On an almost daily basis, I have patronized the small businesses in the community area of Bell Boulevard between 48th and 47th Avenues. These “Muni Meters” have caused considerable inconvenience and danger to the shoppers of that area, in that we have to find a working machine, put our money in, all the while keeping an eye out for an army of ticket writers looking to further fleece the citizens of New York. A friend of mine narrowly missed being struck by a vehicle running across the street in order to place the receipt in his window as a ticket writer descended on his car.
As I am friendly with most of the proprietors of the local businesses, I have asked them if there has been any impact from the installation of this system. Every one of them has indicated a drop in business. If you don’t believe me, I urge you to take a stroll in the area I have indicated and see for yourself.
When the mayor ran the first time, he promised to run the city as a business. If he was to run his business as he has been running our city, I suspect he would be out of business in a very short while.
Yours truly,
Edward L. Fox
