UPPER WEST SIDE — Even Shakespeare has to take a backseat to parking tickets.
Officials at cultural hub Symphony Space are pushing to increase the time limit on parking meters in front of the venue — saying they need the extra time to prevent their patrons from having to run outside to feed the meter during performances.
"We get repeated complaints from our customers," Edward Budz, director of theater operations at Symphony Space, asked Community Board 7 at a meeting Thursday night, saying the theater wants the current one-hour max along Broadway between West 94th Street to West 96th Street to be increased to two hours.
Customers who drive in from outside the city are frustrated they can't park in front of the theater because they'd have to get up in the middle of a performance to feed the meter, he said.
Budz proposed parking switches to a two-hour limit starting around 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Currently, the streets have one-hour parking from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
"The more flexibility there is in the neighborhood, the more it helps many businesses," Budz said.
People dining at restaurants in the area would appreciate the longer parking window too, he added.
Community Board 7 members weren't ready to commit to the idea yet or formally request the change from the Department of Transportation.
They worried the spots would just get gobbled up by neighborhood residents instead of theater goers.
"If the neighborhood folks realize these have two-hour spots, then they’ll look for it," said Transportation Committee Co-Chair Andrew Albert.
The committee decided to look into exactly how many spots would be affected and whether the change was technically feasible at those meters before officially requesting the change from the DOT. Budz has not reached out to the agency about his plan.
The DOT said it would consider any request made.
