The Parking Alternative Plan

The Albany New York Parking Permits Review Website

This site updated 2/28/2004

Yet another municipality gets a parking permit plan. When will Albany?

Yet another TU Editorial supporting the plan

Recent TU Article: This article highlights one of the many problems we, supporters of the plan, face: The political battle between the mayor and the assemblyman. I believe that we residents of the city, since most of us are connected to the political scene one way or another, enable this kind of disagreement. We like politics, since we choose it as a vocation, so we understand the political angles and expect them, thus enabling it to exist. Yet if this issue were in a city far away from the state capital, and the residents were not predominately connected to politics, but they were just working joes and janes, they would not stand for this kind of stuff. They would rise up and say to the Mayor and the Assemblyman: Stop this bickering, GET IT DONE!

 History-
 Yes, Albany once had a parking permit system!

 The Bill -
 Read the actual text of the last bill

 The Outcome of the last effort to pass the legislation -
 So what happened and why

 Map of The Northeast -
 Albany is the only State Capital in the Northeast without a parking permit system

Media articles / segments -
 Both pro and con

 Links to other areas with permit parking
  This page features links to other locals with permit systems, compare what they have with what we propose

  Support from Businesses
   Business Owners Support the proposal

 8.5 x 11 printable flyer of support
  This is a PDF file, if you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer, open this and print it out. Display this flyer on your home, at your church, on the community board at the corner store, where ever people will see it, help spread the word.

 Sample Letter of Support
  Print this letter out sign it and send it to Sen Bruno, so your voice will be heard! - You may want to customize it to suit your issues..

  Opposing views -
   Hear what the opponents have to say.

  Supporting views -
  A whole mess of why it will be good

 The opponents of the Bill -
   A list of those who have publicly come out against the bill or the system

  The Supporters of the Bill -
  A list of those who have come out for the bill or the system

 Register Here to be an Opponent or a Supporter
  This pops up an email form, be sure to tell me where you stand!

 Go here to have your views posted on the website.
  

  Alternate Proposals
  NONE Yet!

 A word from the WebSite Developer, regarding the Albany Parking permits Issue.
  
Times Union Editorial in support of Residential Parking Permits.

Mayor Jennings is right to keep pushing for a residential permit law

 


First published: Friday, February 20, 2004

H ere's a question for Assemblyman Jack McEneny and, for that matter, everyone else at wits' end over Albany's inability to get state legislative approval for a permit parking law. Just what would it entail to compromise with the very entities that have been so successful in resisting such legislation?

And why would the two large state workers unions, the Civil Service Employees Association and the Public Employees Federation, be in any mood to compromise? Rigid opposition to residential permit parking has served their interests just fine.

Mr. McEneny seems to have two major problems with a parking permit bill favored by, among others, Mayor Jerry Jennings. One of them is that a law that would allow the Common Council to expand the affected area after the state Legislature approved a narrower one would likely be overturned in court. That's best left to the city's lawyers, though, not the unions that could effectively veto it on such grounds.

Mr. McEneny's other problem is the vigor with which the mayor, the political rival that he tends to be, is pushing for a residential parking law. He thinks it's counterproductive. But what's Mr. Jennings supposed to do in the face of almost two decades of obstinacy from CSEA and PEF?

If ever the mayor's aggressive style of politics seemed to be entirely in order, it's now. Mr. Jennings would be remiss if he were willing to give in to the unions as they block legislation to improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods in or near downtown.

His words for those who would surrender, or even compromise, are harsh but fair. Albany needs leaders who will stand up for permit parking, and state legislators who will keep fighting for its passage, not back down to the special interests who won't stand for it.

Parking permit bill in doubt
Albany-- McEneny urges Jennings to compromise to get lawmakers to buck state unions on measure

 

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST , Staff writer
First published: Saturday, February 14, 2004

There will never be a permit parking system on Albany's streets if Mayor Jerry Jennings insists on trying to "bulldoze" the state workers unions, which have scuttled every attempt to create one for nearly two decades, Assemblyman Jack McEneny said Friday.


McEneny, an Albany Democrat, said the unions are so strong that he won't be able to get enough support for the current proposal unless Jennings, a fellow Democrat with whom he is often at odds, is willing to compromise.

With the state Legislature on track to finish the budget on time for the first time in 19 years, the assemblyman said, this could be the year the permit bill makes it through, if the mayor will sit down and iron out fundamental flaws in the bill.

First and foremost, McEneny said, the system requested by the city -- which provides for permits in a 1-mile radius around downtown -- is unconstitutional because it gives the Common Council the option of expanding it to any street in Albany. He said Jennings has been unresponsive to his attempts to revise the bill and make it more specific so it can pass constitutional muster.

And McEneny said he can't persuade his colleagues in the Democrat-controlled Assembly to make a politically risky vote that defies the unions for a bill doomed to be struck down by the courts anyway.

The two major unions representing state workers -- the Civil Service Employees Association and Public Employees Federation -- have fought every attempt to put permit parking on Albany's residential streets because they say it would discriminate against their commuting members. City residents, however, complain that with more than 17,000 state workers in downtown offices, precious parking spaces on residential streets are routinely gobbled up by those who drive to their jobs.

"Extraordinary" union pressure killed the parking bill in committee last year, the first time since he started introducing parking bills in 1995 that McEneny was unable to at least get it to the Assembly floor, he said. No version of the system has passed both houses since the state Court of Appeals struck down a city-imposed system in 1987.

This week, Jennings vowed, "We're going to push it through." On Wednesday night, he told the Washington Park Neighborhood Association he was "sick and tired" of squabbling with the unions that have reneged on agreements, and he was fed up with meetings. Jennings laid out for residents what he called "a very aggressive, very loud" grass-roots plan to "turn the heat up" on the Legislature and force it to act.

On Friday, McEneny countered that the solution requires dialogue among all the parties -- the state, city, unions and residents. More noise is not the answer, he said.

"I've led those events; I've spoken at all of them," he said. "I don't think that's productive. Everybody knows that everybody is mad."

Jennings said McEneny needs to overcome his fear of the unions and devote all his energy to making sure the parking bill passes this year.

'It's time Jack McEneny took his gloves off, if he has any on, and fought for us instead of acquiescing so easily to the whims and the wishes of the state unions," he said.

9/15/03

How do you like this Albany? Who is kidding who... I ask you, the residents of Albany, what are we going to do about the parking situation? The Governor doesnt care about you, Silver doesnt care about you, Bruno doesnt care about you. My sources tell me the Mayor Jennings is going to try to sue all of the above, his only problem is that he can't find a lawyer in this town that is not in one way or another connected to one or more of those politicians.

 

 

 

STATE OF NEW YORK
EXECUTIVE CHAMBER
GEORGE E. PATAKI, GOVERNOR
Press Office
518-474-8418
212-681-4640
http://www.state.ny.us FOR RELEASE:
IMMEDIATE, Friday
September 5, 2003

GOVERNOR APPROVES BILL TO EASE PARKING PROBLEMS IN EASTCHESTER
Town Can Proceed With Plans To Resolve Parking Burden On Local Residents

Governor George E. Pataki today announced that he has signed legislation
into law that will allow the Town of Eastchester to move forward with plans
to alleviate parking problems for residents who live in and around the
Town's shopping district and commuter train stations.

"Working together with Eastchester Town Supervisor Jim Cavanaugh and
local Town officials, we have successfully resolved a long-standing parking
problem for local residents," Governor Pataki said. "This new law will
allow the Town to move forward with their plans to establish a new parking
system that will ease the parking burden on residents who live in and
around the Town's busy business district and commuter train stations."

This new law authorizes the Town of Eastchester to establish a residential
parking permit system in specific areas in and around the Town's shopping
district and two railroad stations. The legislation was requested by the
Town of Eastchester to help ease the parking problem its residents are
experiencing.

Commuters who travel on the trains, mostly to and from New York City, have
been parking along residential streets rather than making use of the
commuter parking lots. In addition, people who shop at local stores park
along residential streets rather than at metered parking spaces in the
shopping district. This practice has resulted in cars parked in front of
the homes of residents, often leaving residents without a place to park.
By establishing a new parking permit system, the Town will able to resolve
the current parking problems without affecting local business activity.

Senator Guy Velella said, "The residents of Eastchester are fortunate to
have residential areas with easy access to commuter trains and local
businesses. However, this convenience has also become a burden. People who
use the train and local businesses are parking in front of people's homes
and not in designated lots. This often leaves homeowners with no place to
park their cars and crowded streets which are unsafe for neighborhood
children. I am pleased that the Governor has signed this bill to allow
Eastchester to create a resident parking permit system and help keep the
high quality of life our residents deserve."

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin said, "Eastchester homeowners put a lot of hard
work and money into making Eastchester a wonderful place to live, but the
town's parking problem has adversely affected their quality of life for too
long. This common sense law will ease the parking burden of Eastchester
residents whose homes are near the train station."

Eastchester Town Supervisor Jim Cavanaugh said, "This law is a victory for
the people of Eastchester. I want to thank Governor Pataki for signing this
important measure into law. I'm pleased that our efforts to pass this new
law were successful, and that we can now move forward with our plans to
resolve the parking problem that residents have had to endure."
###


Where we were last year: 6/03/03?

Another year without a parking permit system is on us. That makes 18 years or so this issue has been around. My inside sources say that the squabbles between Sen Bruno , Mayor Jennings, and The Speaker, plus the Gov. have put a nail in this issue for the year. So, politics, and not common sense rules Albany. What a surprise. Here is a summary of Carol Wallace presentation to OGS regarding the Sheridan Ave Garages:  

Hello all !! I wanted you to know that I attended the OGS hearing on the DEIS of the Sheridan Hollow Garage proposal. I testified about the experiences of Mansion Neighborhood in regard to the huge garage at the corner of Madison ave and Eagle St. My main points were:

1) OGS worked very well with us in changing important design elements so that the building fit in better with the neighborhood in appearance

2) the unions reneged on their promise to back off from stopping our resident parking permit bill once they got such a huge new garage to meet their needs. As we all know, exactly the opposite happened and we'd been had..

3) OGS made it very clear to us that liability issue prevented them from opening the garage for use to others and, if we used it at night, we did so at our own risk and must be out by 6 or 7 in the morning to avoid getting towed or a ticket.

4) that, in my opinion, still another state garage exclusively for state workers must not be built at public expense without public use for the community in which it is built and that they need to find a way to overcome the liability issue,

5) that no additional cars must be brought into the city without the mitigating program of REMOVING COMMUTER CARS FROM RESIDENTIAL STREETS to help keep some balance and that other incentive programs must be upgraded (such as carpooling and rewards for riding mass transit). (I found out that the workers that carpool to our big garage get to park outside in the wind and the rain and the snow instead of getting a choice spot inside as a reward for leaving cars at home !!!!!!)

6) that the American Lung Association had designated an "F" grade for the capital district because of the high incidence of lung problems and days of inversion here due to the toxics in the air with cars, especially SUV's which are now almost half of all cars being purchased today, being the main culprits. I was the last one to testify and built on arguments that others made, especially Jack McEneny who said he would not support a garage that would park only state workers. If that was all they could do, then take the money and build garages or lots outside of the city and bus workers in. AMEN TO THAT!!!

I'm sure you agree and have already thought of the obvious that we must use this garage as leverage for advancing the resident parking permit plan and other issues that will keep commuter cars out of the city as much as possible.

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING WRITTEN TESTIMONY IS JUNE 9. Please talk this up with your neighborhood association, if you haven't already done so. Onward, ever onward, Carol

 

 

 

"I can't stand it when I see a $60,000 a year employee putting a quarter in a parking meter" - Lou Matrazzo, a PEF Regional Coordinator, during his presentation at the Public Educational Forum concerning the Parking Permit Legislation, June 6, 2002 in the Legislative Office Building.

Question: Why is a $60,000 a year Union Member putting quarters in a meter?- Why doesn't someone who makes that much money just rent a space.

Question: How many of the retired people, renters, and homeowners in the Down Town area make $60,000 a year?

Question: WHO RUNS THIS CITY? Joe Bruno? PEF and CSEA? or should the residents?

An Assembly Member Speaks out: Thank you to Joseph E. Robach for his letter of support. See Letters of Support

HOT! HOT! HOT! read Assembly Member McEneny's letter response to Roger E. Benson, PEF President's letter. (Parts of which have appeared in the TU.) Assembly Member McEneny's makes some great points! and Benson obviously was caught red handed! Share this with your friends...

From the permit archives: read how PEF President Benson pledeges support of the permit system in 1998. - story

 

Flash back to the year 2000: Take a look Back at what one Union Member said after the installation of the Parking Meters Story

"This new garage at Quackenbush Square is only part of our continuing efforts to create new parking opportunities in our downtown. This year we will continue to lobby the State for permit parking for our Center Square, Townsend Park and Lower Central Avenue neighborhood. We will continue to make the case that we must be given the ability to manage our streets so that our residents do not continue to shoulder the burden." January 7, 2002 State of The City Address by Mayor Jennings Full Text Here

 

Now available this beautiful four color window sticker, Show your support of the Parking Permit Bill by displaying this sticker on your car window! How to get your own permit now.

Also we have a printable flyer

 

Here is the Petition

 Times Union Editorial:

Digging in on parking

A state workers union hardens its opposition to permits in Albany

 

First published: Monday, June 10, 2002

This much couldn't be clearer as the state Legislature moves ever closer to adjournment. It's the special interests, not lawmakers, and certainly not the people who live in Albany who determine the fate of legislation intended to let the city impose parking laws that favor residents over commuters.

That means, when it comes to parking, residents of the neighborhoods around the Capitol and downtown are second-class citizens.

It's the people who drive into that part of Albany to go to work who rule. They're state workers, for the most part, and heavily represented by the Public Employees Federation and the Civil Service Employees Association.

The unions have never been shy about opposing what's known as residential permit parking, or otherwise demanding that the rather limited parking in the affected sections of Albany be allocated on their terms. But now they've laid all that out more blatantly than ever.

At a legislative hearing last Thursday, where a permit parking bill backed by the Assembly but resisted by the Senate was essentially left for dead, PEF said it wants it all.

"The reality is there is never enough,'' said Lou Matrazzo, a PEF Regional Coordinator.

Got it, everyone?

"This bill ignores the needs of employees,'' Mr. Matrazzo says, as he calls for the other half of the solution -- better public transportation and more of it.

The opposition to permit parking is actually more entrenched now than it was just three years ago. Back then, Roger Benson, the PEF president, was saying that he might be willing to accept some sort of permit law once the parking garage at Eagle Street and Madison Avenue was finished.

Well, guess what?

That garage has been open for more than a year. It's time to hold Mr. Benson and his union accountable for his suggestion that for every space a PEF member got in a state garage, a space on the nearby streets could be covered by a residential permit law.

That's actually quite a deal, for the unions particularly. What an incentive to build garages, as a political solution to a parking issue that shouldn't be so daunting.

But it doesn't give the special interests everything. It does, however, give ordinary city residents next to nothing.

For years now, the Senate has been unwilling to stand up to this lobbying blitz against a fair and practical approach to parking. In Albany, that is. And only in Albany. In almost a dozen other cities and towns across New York, permit parking laws are in effect with the necessary legislative approval.

Say this about what Mayor Jerry Jennings' suggestion that the state unions should build their own garages -- with their own money, of course.

Nothing else seems to work.

Welcome to the Albany Parking Permit review website. This site is maintained by citizens, business people, residents, taxpayers, and politicians who believe that the city of Albany deserves to have put back in place a Parking Permits System. This system would have far reaching positive Economic and Social impact on OUR CITY. This plan is the Parking Alternative Plan to the status quo. This plan improves parking for Business, Residents, Renters, Visitors, and even the union members!

Contact Senator Bruno today:
mail - sample letter to print and send,
phone: 518-455-3191
e-mail BRUNO@SENATE.STATE.NY.US,
ask for his support of the permit parking bill.

Spend a few minutes reading all the items here and you will see that in spite of the UNION flack and political spin, a Parking Permit system will be a positive force to maintain and continue the growth downtown Albany has experienced. It will make downtown Albany, again attractive for businesses to move to, private tax paying businesses, it will make downtown Albany again attractive for people to buy homes, rent apartments, and generally want to spend time in.

Should this bill not be dealt with this year, for the next 2 years, we will be updating and expanding this site, so by the next go around, Republican, Democrat or what ever, the State Legislature will vote to respect and uphold the property rights of the Residents of the city of Albany.

Thank you for visiting this site.

This site is always being updated. First posted to the web 6/25/01

Note: We believe that this issue makes so much sense on balance that we are posting all sides of the issue. This site will not just be a point site for the proponents of the Bill, but a place to get all the facts, figures and read all the positions. We feel strongly that once you have done that you will support the Parking Permit Bill.