There’s much to like in RIOC’s Motorgate announcement last week, but there’s also an iffy core that needs further consideration.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Changes at Motorgate, Starting June 1st, 2024
“Parking on the island is at a premium,” RIOC said, and the waitlist for Motorgate swelled in recent years. But in a strange twist, they discovered that SP+, the operators, can make room for a lot more parking, enough to trim the waitllst dramatically.
No explanation was offered for why this wasn’t done before, but RIOC’s under new management. The past is the past.
The change adds several hundred new monthly spots, and that’s great for Roosevelt Islanders. It should have happened much sooner.
But Then, There’s This…
“A parking rate increase of 3% will be assessed to all parking categories, except the disabled parking rate, which will remain unchanged.”
That’s a serious mistake because RIOC continues subsidizing cars storage to the disadvantage of the majority of residents who don’t own cars.
This leaves parking rates far below the area average. It’s unfair to those who don’t own cars, and it deprives RIOC of hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue.
Details…
Earlier this year, Acting COO Mary Cunneen offered details of a survey taken of nearby parking rates. Manhattan rates are far higher and are irrelevant here. But when you look at Queens…
A nearby garage on Steinway Street charges $326.17 monthly with SUVs paying a little more. Compare with Motorgate at $219.60, yielding a huge discount absent any serious rationale. The 3% increase propose hardly dents the difference.
Broken down, this means RIOC is subsidizing drivers without the hint of a rationale. It’s an odd choice for a state agency that says it’s short on revenues. Rents are sky high on Roosevelt Island and increasing fast. Discount parking doesn’t help.
Among other things, income from Motorgate pays for Red Buses and their services. In other words, it supports those of us who do not drive, but it could and should do more. Paying the going rate for parking is a classic no-brainer, but we are not doing that here.
And let’s not forget the toll on Main Street as more and more cars enter the community. RIOC has no business encouraging more cars. Their absence was once a core attraction on Roosevelt Island. Now, for residents, it’s the opposite.
It’s a mistake. RIOC should correct it.
Also at Motorgate…
In its announcement, RIOC said it would crack down on certain abuses. First, business workers who get free of discount parking in Motorgate will find their privileges cut back. Their time will now to limited to two hours before and after work before standard rates kick in.
It’s unclear how this affects RIOC employees who get free parking but RIOC does not compensate the business for what’s a basic employee benefit.
Finally, RIOC says there will be a crackdown on illegal parking in the facility, including ticketing and towing.
Dude, this site is unreadable with all these ads.
Then, get your information elsewhere. Maybe you have a suggestion for a better way of paying costs for things people like you want for free. Look forward to hearing from you.
I’m concerned once congestion pricing goes into effect that people will start using Motorgate to park their cars and take the tram or train from here. I know of people who are now driving to LIC and take the train in from there.
That’s been going on for years, but RIOC statistics show that outsiders have a small impact on reserved parking. It may worsen with congestion pricing, but most of the spots are already taken.