Photo: NYC 311
March 17, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The mayor announced this afternoon that he is suspending alternate side parking and street cleaning for one week–after facing heavy criticism for not doing so earlier.
Alternate side parking will be suspended across the five boroughs starting tomorrow, March 18 through Tuesday, March 24, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The City will then evaluate whether to suspend alternate side parking for longer, based on the one-week trial.
“This will give us an opportunity to evaluate the impact and see if it’s something we want to do on a longer-term basis,” de Blasio said.
However, with the coronavirus pandemic expected to last several months, whether the City could stop street cleaning for that long in order to suspend alternate side parking is unknown.
“Do it for a week to see how it goes makes all the sense in the world,” de Blasio said. “Doing it throughout a crisis that could easily reach months upon months is a bigger question mark.”
The mayor said there is a “real connection between a clean neighborhood and overall healthcare.”
Any New Yorker under isolation who has received a ticket can appeal it with the Department of Finance. Those challenging the ticket must provide medical documentation or testimony, which will be taken into consideration when their case is reviewed, the Department of Transportation said.
