Queens Parking Workshop Turns to Talk of Motorist “Rights”

Speaking of the upcoming second round of citywide parking workshops, the summary of Round 1 is now online at the Department of Transportation’s web site. To get a sense of why it’s so essential for non-car owners and livable streets
advocates to attend the second round of parking workshops (especially
in Queens), download the summary memorandum.

It’s pretty dry reading but there is some interesting material on pages 9 to 11 under the header, "Neighborhood-Specific Discussions." For example, in the Forest Hills, Queens workshop:

Some participants felt that it was a right of residents to own cars because of the distance between Forest Hills and the Manhattan urban core. Those defending car ownership rights felt that it was the compromise made to not live as close to Manhattan.

Interesting, this "right" to own a car. I wonder if Queens car owners’ rights include the right to free, convenient parking? Let me double check my copies of the U.S. Constitution and the New York City Charter and see if I can dig that up…

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