Parking permit proposal aims to alleviate woes for New York drivers

It’s no secret that finding a parking spot in any of the five boroughs is generally tough. 

Robert Klepper has the one luxury every driver would benefit from. 

"I have a parking garage," he told FOX 5 New York. Klepper acknowledged that while he has a parking garage now, he knows the flip side to that very well after living on the Upper East Side for two decades without a permanent place to park. 

"I haven’t had a garage all 20 years, and it’s brutal you know, when you’re coming home at like night and looking for parking and it’s 10 o’clock and you can’t find a spot until like 11:00 or 11:30," he said. 

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Unfortunately, it’s a scenario many of New Yorkers have lived through. 

But relief could be on the way. The New York State Senate is presenting the idea of permit parking in neighborhoods. 

Basically, the permits would cost money and that money would go toward Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) funding. 

"With the MTA in such desperate need for funding, it seemed like a good time to marry those two issues," said Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris. 

He added that the city would be in control of what the permit parking in New York City neighborhoods would ultimately look like. 

New York City Council member Justin Brannan, however, doubts this system will work. 

"The reason why you can't find a parking spot is not because people from Kentucky are parking on your block. It's because there are more cars on the street than there are parking spots. And paying for a residential parking permit is not going to guarantee you a parking spot. So basically, you're going to ask people to pay whatever it is, and they're still going to have to circle around looking for parking," Brannan said.