Fort Greene Gets Action from Spitzer on Placards

The Fort Greene Association has scored another victory in the fight against abuse of placarded parking, this time with some help from very high places.

According to Fredrik Anderson, the FGA’s vice chair and head of its transportation committee, neighborhood merchants and residents had been frustrated that state employees who work at 55 Hanson Place were hogging metered parking spaces at Lafayette and Fulton streets. (The meters themselves, designed to encourage parking turnover, were the result of lobbying by Councilmember Letitia James, the FGA and the Fulton Area Business Association.)

The FGA waited until Gov. Pataki — whom they presumed would be unsympathetic to their complaints — was out of office. Then, as soon as Gov. Eliot Spitzer was on the job, they wrote a letter to the governor’s office requesting action.

"Within a week or so, the placarded cars were gone," said Anderson. Not only that, the FGA got a friendly call from a representative of the state’s Department of Taxation and Finance, which has offices at 55 Hanson, explaining that commuting employees had been asked to leave their cars at home. "The meters are now available for shoppers," said Anderson.

The FGA’s April newsletter contained this reaction to the disappearance of placarded cars:  "We are still pinching ourselves in amazement."

Add this positive development to a police-driven crackdown on placards in Chinatown, reported by Streetsblog a couple of weeks ago.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Fights for Livable Streets

|
DOT’s failure to provide a traffic signal or even a simple crosswalk at intersections along DeKalb Avenue disconnects the neighborhood from its bus stops and its park. Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Association is running an exemplary grassroots campaign on local pedestrian safety issues. The neighborhood group has generated more than 500 letters to DOT requesting specific improvements in crosswalk layouts […]

More People Get to Fulton Street By Bike Than By Car

|
When shop owners oppose new plazas or protected bike lanes, even in the city’s most walkable neighborhoods, they often say their businesses rely on street parking to attract customers. Removing even a handful of spaces, they claim, would lead to economic ruin. The reality, of course, is that an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers don’t drive to do their shopping, […]

Tonight: Help Shape the Future of Fort Greene’s Fowler Square

|
NYC DOT, Council Member Tish James, Community Board 2, and the Fulton Area Business Alliance are hosting a community workshop tonight to gather ideas for a new plaza at Fowler Square — the triangle formed by Fulton Street, Lafayette Avenue, and South Elliot Place in Fort Greene. In addition to lending your expertise as the […]

Scenes From Last Night’s Bike-Share Forum in Fort Greene

|
Last night, Council Member Tish James held a public forum after receiving complaints about bike-share stations in her district, covering Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. The event, held inside Sacred Heart Church on Clermont Avenue, attracted an audience of about 100, with a small majority there to show support for bike-share. For two hours, residents expressed […]

Council Candidates at Fort Greene Forum Agree: Don’t Touch Parking

|
If you were hoping for inspiring leadership from the City Council on transportation issues after the next election, you may want to look somewhere other than District 35, which covers the neighborhoods just east of downtown Brooklyn. Two-thirds of households in the district are car-free, according to the 2000 Census. But while most candidates supported traffic calming […]

Municipal Art Society Public Forum on Atlantic Yards

|
Can it Work for Brooklyn? Thursday, June 15 6:30-8:30PMHanson Place Central United Methodist Church 144 St. Felix Street (@Hanson Pl.) Forum is free and open to the public. Please arrive promptly, as seating is limited. Transit: B, D, M, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, 5 and LIRR to Atlantic Ave./Pacific St.; G to Fulton […]