100 new parking spaces coming

As part of the city’s efforts to find new parking options for residents, the City Council voted on Tuesday to approve a plan to lease two vacant lots in the East End and will create 100 parking spaces.

The city plans to construct 65 spaces at the northeast corner of Shore Road and Monroe Boulevard, and 35 more on the 700 block of East Broadway, between Coolidge and Wilson avenues. The city will lease the two properties for five years and three months, and pay annual rent of $36,000 for the Shore Road parcel, $60,000 for the property on East Broadway and an additional $2,000 for each lot in the third and fifth years of the agreement.

Since the city will rent the properties, City Manager Charles Theofan explained, they will remain on the tax rolls.

Theofan estimated that the city will spend between $100,000 and $150,000 to construct the lots, and that the spots will be available by month’s end. “It may seem like a lot of money, but you can’t look at this as like a luxury or something that’s not absolutely needed,” he said. “This is something that the people absolutely require. We’re very, very happy about this because, obviously, our big, top priority has been parking, and this was an opportunity that presented itself and we just couldn’t pass it up.”

Elyse Kroll, who owns CCK Global Events, a Manhattan-based food company, as well as the two properties, did not return a call seeking comment. Theofan said that Kroll purchased the lots “fairly recently” and that they are long-term investments.

“The deal came down very quickly,” he added. “We’re going to be starting work on [Oct. 7] and we’re going to have those lots open by the end of the month.”

The city is proposing that residents buy a $10 annual parking permit to use the spaces, but council member Lenny Remo and others have suggested a lottery system. Theofan said he had no idea how many residents would buy the permits and how much revenue the system would generate for the city.

Residents Al Symons and Karen Adamo suggested that the people who live in the neighboring high-rise buildings, who pay $75 or more per month for underground parking spaces, may end up buying the much cheaper permits and using the lots. “When I don’t see Chevys and Fords in the lots but Mercedes and BMWs, then I’ll know,” said Symons.

“Parking permits should be at a cost where we, the taxpayers, will get some return,” Adamo said.

Council member Denise Tangney was initially reluctant to vote on the issue, saying that Theofan failed to provide her with details about the construction costs, a charge the city manager denied. “I want to know exactly how much it’s going to cost before I vote on this,” Tangney said.

Resident Larry Benowitz asked how the city was going to pay for the construction with its $72,000 contingency budget. Theofan said that the shortfall would be covered by a portion of the budget’s general fund.

Other residents said that the city should have pursued better and less expensive alternatives: having the two properties appraised first, using eminent domain to take possession of them or building lots in the grass medians around town.

“I don’t want to live in a giant parking lot,” said council President Tom Sofield Jr., noting that he wanted to preserve the green spaces the medians provide.

Resident Richard Boodman said the city should first determine how many people are interested in buying parking permits, and then set up a rent schedule for each parking space that covers the monthly costs. “They should hold a lottery instead of offering everyone a sticker and watch them play musical parking spots,” Boodman said. “There are people waiting 10 years for a spot in the buildings they live in. They are willing to pay rent. Why burden the taxpayers?”

Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.