Borough Park

City Council to tweak muni-meters to give drivers a break

May 2, 2013 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
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Muni-meters will be reprogrammed to fix a few kinks that have frustrated drivers parking on local streets, Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced May 1.

Councilman David Greenfield (D-Borough Park-Bensonhurst-Midwood) and Council Transportation Committee Chairman James Vacca (D-Bronx) joined Quinn at a press conference on a Manhattan street to announce new legislation to be introduced on May 8 to adjust muni-meters to make life easier for drivers.

Under the bill, the meters will automatically shut off and not accept payment at times when drivers are not required to pay for parking at that location. The meters will also be programmed to not accept payment when they are out of the paper needed to print receipts.

“Whether you’re doing your laundry or parking your car, you should always get what you pay for. This legislation ensures drivers will no longer pay for parking at a meter, only to find out that this requirement ended 20 minutes earlier. Our legislation will reduce frustration and increase fairness in how we pay for parking,” Quinn said.

Greenfield said the legislation, which he drafted, addresses complaints that he has heard from his constituents.

“Nothing is more frustrating than paying for a meter and not getting a receipt. And good luck trying to get your money back,” Greenfield said. “This legislation will make parking fairer and more convenient for thousands of drivers in New York City,” he said.

“We can and should do more to ensure that parking in this city is fair. Parking is difficult enough as it is,” Vacca said.

The bill would immediately apply to meters in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island that can easily be reprogrammed to meet the new requirements. Muni-Meters that do not currently have the ability to be reprogrammed, which includes the majority of meters in Manhattan, will be required to meet the new requirements within two years of the date the bill is enacted.

“We must provide the public with a convenient, fair and consistent way to pay for parking in New York City, and this legislation brings us much closer to reaching that goal,” Greenfield said.

Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst) voiced his support for the bill to reform the muni-meter payment system. “I have received numerous complaints from constituents in my district who feed their muni-meter only to learn that it is out of paper or out-of-order altogether after they’ve made their payment,” said Gentile, who called the legislation a “common sense bill will effectively end that sort of frustration.”

 

 

 

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