Bd. 1 Wants GCP Parking
BY LIZ GOFF

Officers and members of Community Board 1 in Astoria are lighting a new fire under a decades-old proposal to build a municipal parking facility over the Grand Central Parkway (GCP) near the parkway's Hoyt Avenue exit.

The proposal, the brainchild of Board 1 Chairperson Vinicio Donato, was first presented to city officials as the board's number one capital budget item back in 1982.

Plans called for the construction of a municipal parking facility spanning the parkway from 35th to 37th Streets and from Astoria Boulevard North to Astoria Boulevard South, District Manager George Delis said.

"The board has submitted this request to the city as its No.1 capital improvement item for 25 years," Delis said. "For 25 years the Department of Transportation and the city have been telling us the plan is too costly, that the city would not make back in parking fees what it would cost to build the facility.

"We feel that Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg's Congestion Pricing Plan sheds new light on our proposal. We believe it's time for the Department of Transportation and City Hall to take a very serious look at this plan, to consider it as a real solution to the current parking stalemate and future traffic congestion the mayor's plan would cause at Hoyt Avenue and 31st Street. That's a problem that would get completely out of control if the legislature approves the mayor's proposal."

Under the mayor's traffic pricing plan (PlaNYC), the city would charge passenger vehicles $8 and commercial vehicles $21 to drive into Manhattan below 86th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Taxis would be exempt, Bloomberg said.

As part of the plan, Bloomberg has proposed the creation of a public authority to take in the new revenue, estimated at approximately $380 million a year. That revenue would be used to fund improvements to mass transit- subways, city buses and commuter trains, Bloomberg said.

The mayor is asking state lawmakers to approve the plan before the current legislative session adjourns on June 21 so the city

can qualify for a federal grant of up to $500 million tied to congestion pricing plans- money that could be used to pay for the parking facility.

Federal Transportation Secretary Mary Peters met with Bloomberg and Governor Eliot Spitzer at the governor's Manhattan office, where she announced that nine communities nationwide, including New York city, are finalists for the federal grant that will pay out a total of $1.1 billion in aid to combat traffic congestion- thus "greening" the environment.

Peters said her agency will select up to five communities to receive the aid. Those communities must guarantee they will move ahead with their traffic pricing plans to qualify, Peters said.

"If the city is serious about getting cars out of Manhattan, it must provide parking for suburban motorists who will drive to Astoria, park their cars and take the train to Manhattan," Delis said. "Has the city estimated the number of motorists who would exit the Grand Central Parkway at Hoyt Avenue to jump on a Manhattanbound train? Where will these people park? If they are serious, it's not only time for city officials to examine the community board's parking proposal, it's time for them to approve it."

Bloomberg's plan got a heavyweight shot in the arm when Queens Congressman Joseph Crowley announced his support for the measure. At a press conference with Bloomberg at Grand Central Terminal on June 9, Crowley described the proposed fees as a "necessary evil" to fund the mayor's plan for improvements in mass transit.

Crowley, who is also the Queens County Democratic leader, said, "This is a big plan. It's not about our generation. It's about future generations of New York…and I do applaud the mayor for his foresight."

Bloomberg said part of the funds raised would be used to open Long Island Rail Road stations in Corona and Elmhurst, neighborhoods in Crowley's district.

A spokesperson for Assemblymember Michael Gianaris said the Astoria lawmaker would have to examine the cost effectiveness of the Board 1 municipal parking plan before commenting on it.

The spokesperson also said Gianaris doubts that state legislators would act on the mayor's proposal before the June 21 cutoff because they have not had sufficient time to consider the potential impact of the plan.

Delis said the Board 1 proposal has received support from City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. and officials at the 114th Police Precinct

"Precinct officials have been behind the idea for 20 years," Delis said. "Mayor Bloomberg and the Department of Transportation should take this opportunity to embrace this proposal and earmark part of $500 million in federal funding to develop the Hoyt Avenue municipal parking facility."

Delis said residents in neighborhoods bordering Astoria Boulevard, Northern Boulevard and the Queens Plaza traffic hub are voicing concern about the number of motorists who will be seeking parking spaces in those areas. "We understand these neighborhoods are already overburdened by vehicles parked by commuters who take the subway to Manhattan," Delis said. ""The city should take steps to remedy residents' concerns."

Bloomberg is exploring the possibility of developing "Residents Only" parking permits to assist people living in neighborhoods that would take the brunt of motorists trying to avoid paying fees to drive in Manhattan. A Bloomberg spokesperson said that under a plan being considered by the mayor, motorists would be charged an annual fee to obtain the residents only parking permits. The fee would be similar to the $25 charged by Chicago or $35 charged by Seattle. Neighborhoods requesting the permits include Long Island City, Astoria and Sunnyside, Delis said.

Officials at the city Department of Transportation (DOT) said they would have to perform a survey to determine the feasibility of the Board 1 proposal.

"We would have to wait a few months to let things settle down," a DOT spokesperson said. "Then we can perform a survey to accurately determine the number of vehicles that are being parked in the area by Manhattan-bound motorists, to determine the need for the parking facility."

"Parking is an issue that would greatly impact people in these neighborhoods," Delis said. "It should be resolved as part of the mayor's overall congestive parking plan."