DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Borough President Eric Adams wants to take some city cars off Downtown Brooklyn streets by creating a municipal car share system.
“There are at least half a dozen City agencies in the Downtown Brooklyn area, all of which have access to their own automobile fleet,” he wrote in a Feb. 1 letter addressed to the mayor. “The majority of these vehicles, when not in use are occupying parking spaces on Downtown Brooklyn’s overcrowded streets.”
The letter was first reported by Streetsblog.
Eric Adams Municipal Car Share Letter
Adams says the car share program would ease street congestion, free up parking spaces and save taxpayer dollars.
A spokesman for Adams said it was too soon to say how much taxpayers would save, but the BP's office is working with local groups and government staffers to begin studying the impact on taxpayers, as well as the impact on the environment and on municipal transportation.
“We’re engaging advocates and engaging government to find out-of-the-box solutions that will impact not only the Downtown Brooklyn area, but that can be implemented in other areas as well,” spokesman Stefan Ringel said.
In the letter, Adams also said he wants to get rid of parking spaces for city cars at the Borough Hall plaza, where his own fleet of cars is parked, according to Streetsblog.
The public space should be open for recreational use, especially during the spring and summer months that see increased activity on the plaza, Adams says.
“We must find the appropriate balance between prioritizing precious public space for active use and storing vehicles needed for public business,” Adams says.
Adams' proposals for freeing up space at the plaza include an internal survey of staff transportation methods, off-site municipal vehicle storage and enrolling in the city’s ZipCar membership program.
