Government Transportation

NYC to Designate 309 Parking Spots for Carsharing

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City will dedicate 309 parking spots to carshare programs: the NYC DOT will dedicate 285 parking spaces through the DOT NYC Carshare pilot for Zipcar and Enterprise CarShare vehicles on streets in select neighborhoods as well as in DOT municipal parking lots, while NYCHA will also start a new partnership with Zipcar, dedicating 24 parking spaces at certain public housing developments. Curbside regulations noting the exact locations of the NYC DOT Carshare two-year pilot are now posted in neighborhoods in four boroughs that were selected after an extensive community consultation process.

Enterprise CarShare and Zipcar vehicles are expected to be available to rent from those designated spots starting on Monday, June 4. Both Enterprise CarShare and Zipcar will also be offering discounts to NYCHA residents citywide.

“For the first time ever, the City is setting aside dedicated parking spots to expand access to carshare programs,” said Mayor de Blasio. “For every vehicle in a carshare program, up to twenty households can forgo the need to own a car, fighting congestion and making our air cleaner. We’re also bringing more carshare options to NYCHA residents to help them get around, so we can continue building the fairest big city in America.”

Data has shown that one carshare vehicle can be shared by up to 70 individuals, and research evaluating these programs in other cities across the country shows that 5-20 private vehicles are sold, or never purchased, for every one carshare vehicle made available. For New York City, this could mean fewer cars competing for parking at the curb, and improved mobility for households that do not own their own car. The City is excited to evaluate how making carshare convenient and accessible to more New Yorkers improves the quality of life for car owners and non-car owners alike.

Carsharing is a service that gives members access to a vehicle for short-term use – usually by the hour or minute – at a cost that includes gas and insurance. Carshare companies participating in the DOT pilot offer round-trip service, allowing members to borrow cars from and return them to the same location.  Under the pilot, DOT will work with round-trip service providers Zipcar and Enterprise CarShare to improve access to carshare and increase the mobility and financial benefits of the service for residents and the city as a whole.

The NYC DOT Carshare Pilot will bring carshare service to 230 on-street parking spaces in 14 neighborhoods citywide:

Bronx

  • Parkchester

Brooklyn

  • Boerum Hill
  • Brooklyn Heights
  • Cobble Hill – Carroll Gardens
  • East Williamsburg
  • Park Slope
  • Red Hook
  • Williamsburg

Queens

  • Eastern Rockaways
  • Jackson Heights
  • Jamaica

Manhattan

  • East Harlem
  • Hamilton Heights
  • Morningside Heights

The pilot will also introduce carshare service using 55 dedicated parking spaces at 17 DOT municipal facilities in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens:

  • Bronx: Belmont Avenue; White Plains Road; Jerome & 190 Street
  • Brooklyn: Avenue M;  Bensonhurst #1 & #2; Brighton Beach; Grant Avenue; Sheepshead Bay #1 & #2
  • Queens: Broadway & 31 Street; Far Rockaway #2; Ditmars; Queens Village; Queens Borough Hall; Steinway #2; Sunnyside

NYCHA has partnered with Zipcar to provide public housing residents the opportunity to join Zipcar with no fee for a 12-month period and an additional driving discount for vehicles located at NYCHA facilities. NYCHA’s Resident Engagement Department has done extensive outreach to Resident Associations to educate residents on the discount and promote the benefits of the more affordable transit option. In addition, IDNYC cardholders already have access to a complimentary, one-year membership to Zipcar, which includes a waived application fee, and 10 to 15 percent discounts on hourly driving rates Monday through Friday only.

Many NYCHA developments sit in less dense areas of the City and are effectively transit deserts. The lack of public transportation options limits resident opportunities and impacts potential job or quality of life possibilities for public housing residents. NYCHA has identified 24 parking spaces at developments with limited public transportation to place new Zipcar vehicles, providing broader access to the Zipcar program. These parking spaces were previously vacant and will not impact residents with NYCHA permits to park at their developments.

NYCHA Bronx ZipCar sites (2 spaces each):

  • East 152nd St-Courtland Ave
  • Davidson Houses
  • Marble Hill Houses
  • Randall Balcom Houses
  • Throggs Neck Addition

NYCHA Brooklyn ZipCar sites:

  • Belmont Sutter Houses (2 spaces)
  • Cypress Hills Houses (2 spaces)
  • Fiorentino Plaza (3 spaces)
  • Glenmore Plaza (3 spaces)
  • Marlboro Houses (2 spaces)
  • Pink Houses (2 spaces)

Research has shown that carshare has the potential to:

  • Lower household transportation costs by providing access to a car without the onerous costs of car ownership.  A family that uses its car only a few times per month can save the thousands of dollars per year in costs incurred for car payments, maintenance, insurance, and parking tickets.
  • Shorten the search for parking by ensuring that carsharers always have a reserved space. Adding carshare spaces also helps reduce personal car ownership, as car owners who shed cars lead to fewer drivers competing for limited curb spaces.
  • Improve access to jobs, services, and recreation by making a car available when you need one.
  • Improve air quality because New Yorkers who use carshare drive less than those who own their own car. Research has shown that in some New York City neighborhoods, nearly half of drivers at any time are searching for parking.  Less driving means cleaner air.

Mandated by Local Laws 47 and 50 of 2017, the DOT Carshare Pilot will expand transportation options for more New Yorkers by making carshare more geographically, physically, and financially accessible. To participate in this pilot, carshare companies are required to serve parts of the City where carshare is currently not available. Carshare companies must also provide a vehicle with professionally installed hand controls to any carshare member within 48 hours of that member’s request.

Carshare parking spaces will have new curb regulation signage to clearly designate spaces for a specific carshare company in addition to pedestrian-level signs to provide information about the pilot program. Carshare parking spaces are designated OTHERS-NO STANDING to ensure that the spaces remain available for residents using the carshare service. Following standard enforcement procedures, NYPD is authorized to ticket and tow any non-carshare vehicle illegally parked in carshare parking spaces.