Hi, everyone! 

I am not sure if all my Lower East Siders have taken notice.....but as of August 4th, there were two parking meters established in the neighborhood. Let me just say for everyone in the neighborhood…they both need to be removed and whatever is coming needs to be stopped. 

Did you know that 18% of people in LES (Chinatown and East Village) reported to have lived in poverty in 2018? In 2019, it spiked to a 24% poverty rate compared to 16% citywide. Therefore, on top of the every day/month things one will need such as paying rent, food, child care, utilities, transportation and the nice things bought from time to time...now one has to worry about a parking meter being added to their budget and that is IF they can even afford just some of what was mentioned? No thanks!

These parking meters only make it more challenging to park. Let's not overlook that a bus lane was added on Avenue D extending from 3rd Street to E 9th Street and Avenue D. With this and our new neighbors (the meters), it will set a lot of drawbacks for people living in the community who spend more than a half hour searching for parking almost every day.

While I can go on and on about how inconvenient and truly distasteful the decision of adding these meters are to the neighborhood, the community should decide. If you choose to sign the petition, let it be known why so the Community Board in District 3 (Manhattan) and the Department of Transportation can see how this makes things more difficult in a neighborhood that has become overall more challenging to live in!

DISCLAIMER: The photo is not of my own!