Albany parking permit bill advances

A bill authorizing the city of Albany to institute a residential parking permit system moved through the Assembly Codes Committee today with a couple of negative votes, including Democrat Helene Weinstein. Sponsor Jack McEneny, D-Albany, told me he expects the bill (A01039A) to pass the Assembly, as it did last year. The biggest state employee union, CSEA, has softened its opposition this year, McEneny said, although another union, PEF, remains opposed.

A staffer for Senate sponsor Neil Breslin, D-Delmar, said the AFL-CIO also remains opposed, but that CSEA dropped its opposition after the geographical scope of the bill was reduced this to year to three-quarters of a mile surrounding Empire State Plaza, as opposed to one mile previously. The bill has been moving through committees in both houses. The Senate staffer said Breslin anticipates united Republican opposition to the measure, but is hopeful of united Democratic support. He did not bring the measure to the floor last year, the staffer said, because there were not enough votes to pass it.

CSEA spokesman Steve Madarasz said he did not know the union's current position on the bill (I'll update this as needed).

Comments

[Terry ONeill, Esq.]

This whole parking permit issue is a huge political fraud. I'm not surprised that politicians like Jack McEneny, who doesn't live in downtowm Albany, are playing footsie with the public employee unions on this issue. Parking in downtown Albany is really not much of a problem during the day and we have built plenty of parking for state workers. But in the evening when the real problem manifests itself, McEneny, the Breslins and all the government bureaucrats are parked in the suburbs, not burning up gas looking for a place to park in the city center. That is the real problem for people who live in our city. I'm sick of people pretending to be my hero using this fake permit proposal as their beard.

[Bob Conner]

Good point. But can anything be done about the evening parking crunch, which I presume is caused by Lark Street revelers?

[Jim Flateau]

I don't know that the evening problem is the revelers. Maybe a car and a half to two vehicles can be parked in front of most brownstones. Those brownstones which are rentals can have tenants in the basement apartment plus those on three (or more) upper floors. That's at least four apartments and maybe two cars each competing for a maximum of two parking spaces in front of each building. I'm not certain how any daytime parking permit system alters that nighttime math.

[Bob Conner]

I guess like the BP oil gusher, it's a problem without an immediately obvious solution. Less of one, though.