Updated
Updated · Gothamist · Jul 14
NYC to Remove 3,000 Manhattan Parking Spots for Trash Bins as Upper Sides Lose 10%
Updated
Updated · Gothamist · Jul 14

NYC to Remove 3,000 Manhattan Parking Spots for Trash Bins as Upper Sides Lose 10%

3 articles · Updated · Gothamist · Jul 14

Summary

  • About 3,000 street parking spaces on Manhattan’s Upper East and Upper West sides are slated to disappear as New York City rolls out curbside “Empire Bins,” with roughly 1,500 spots lost in each neighborhood.
  • The sanitation plan aims to move garbage bags off sidewalks and cut rats and odors, part of a citywide program that could eliminate up to 29,842 parking spaces by 2032.
  • A draft environmental study said the average car-owning household in those neighborhoods would need a garage only 4.4 days a month, at about $270 monthly, which it called affordable for most residents.
  • Drivers and building workers said parking is already scarce and costly, while sanitation officials and Councilmember Gale Brewer argued the curb space should serve a broader public good.
  • Buildings with 31 or more units will automatically get on-street bins, smaller buildings can opt in, and the sanitation department will hold a public hearing on July 28.

Insights

As NYC swaps 30,000 parking spots for trash bins, will cleaner streets be worth the price for car owners?
Is NYC’s war on rats and garbage the first step in a larger plan to push cars out of the city?