In
a letter to Borough President Stringer, the Straphanger’s Campaign and NYPIRG
have urged a massive reduction – to zero!! -- in Extell’s plans for parking at
the proposed Riverside Center. The full letter can be
downloaded here.
The
letter marshals the facts and logic against the proposed 1,800 spaces for the
massive complex. Their conclusion is simple:
…no persuasive argument has been made for why Riverside
Center should add any additional parking to the current commercial supply.
They point out the
facts of the local parking supply that make this proposed increase massive and
unnecessary. They also go into the side-effects of providing more parking, things
that affect all of us:
It is well-documented that parking supply is
directly related to the level of driving. Expanding the supply of available parking
spaces only induces more travel by private automobile and discourages walking. At the
same time, increased car use exacts a host of indirect costs that are especially damaging
to a dense urban environment like New York City.
The letter makes a
fascinating point, consistent with that of every community group, that the
whole design of the project is sadly out of date – so out of date that it
actually violates
current City Planning policies:
As our awareness of the local and global
harms produced by auto dependence grows, the current parking request for Riverside Center
is a throwback to a 1960’s Tower in the Park design prized in a suburban and
automotive-centric era of planning. Well-served as it is by public transit and within walking distance
of many destinations, Riverside Center should be designed as a transit-oriented and
Active Neighborhood which minimizes car trips and offers its residents and the
surrounding community amenities that enrich rather than
degrade the urban environment.
I’m
really glad other groups are beginning to pay attention to the mis-guided
hubris of the Extell/Carlyle Group’s plans for this prime real estate. The
whole letter is worth reading.
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