Since 2015, Brooklyn Bridge Park has been limiting the number of parking spots at its Green P lots, a decision that has been in effect for months but was confirmed this week. As of Aug. 22, the allotment per Green P lot was adjusted by 27 spaces, reducing the total from 1,524 to 1,503. The numbers sit in sharp contrast to those of the Broadway Lots, the downtown lot that is home to Grand Army Plaza, the Hub, the Market Hall, and much of the park’s retail scene. Broadway Lots permit a maximum of 760 spaces.
There are more than 50 signs on the roofs of Green P lots that tell drivers they can park for free. These signs feature shiny colors and perfectly aligned figures, such as a checkered pattern and two numbers.
These signs are not new, however. According to a co-worker, we’ve seen them around the pier, as well as on the east and west side of the Brooklyn Bridge, on the roof of Grand Army Plaza and in front of Sunnyside Gardens. It seems like the signs have been there for a while.
Our co-worker, who requested to remain anonymous to avoid inviting harassment from the park, said she, herself, drives a truck which is yellow, not white, making it easy to spot the signs. After some phone calls and emails to the park, we confirmed the signs’ validity and heard from a spokesman that the new rules had not yet changed the signs and that the display of white signs was “an exception.”
“This last change to parking was made strictly on aesthetics. No significant modification was made in any way to the signs,” said Adam Oberman, spokesman for the park. “We have more than 50 signs in the park now, and this change in the sign program has nothing to do with the color of the sign.”
We contacted the city agency in charge of signage for the park, the Department of Transportation, to get clarification on the signage matter. City spokeswoman Elaine Weber confirmed there had been no policy change for sign colors at the Green P lots, but added that “this is just an exception.”
“I am not sure how often is this an exception, but this is just an exception,” Weber said. “We can’t make exceptions, they have to stay the same.”
Since the signage change in 2015, a new rule has been put in place whereby drivers can park in the Green P lots for two hours, with spaces then reallocated to people who pay. Longtime drivers at the Broadway Lots seem pleased with the new policy, a parking attendant who asked not to be named told The Times. “Everybody is happy about it. They’re over there parking for free, so it works,” the attendant said. “It’s New York, everybody wants to park for free. I don’t mind.”