NYU Furman Center Report Finds That New York City’s Minimum Parking Requirements Call For More Off‐Street Parking Than Developers Expect Tenants And Buyers To Demand
Report by Meghan Lewit
March 21, 2012
Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy (New York)
March 21, 2012—An analysis by NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy and its Institute for Affordable Housing Policy suggests that the city’s minimum parking requirements may be causing developers to supply more off‐street parking spaces than tenants and homebuyers demand, potentially driving up the cost of housing and promoting inefficient car ownership.
The report, Searching for the Right Spot: Minimum Parking Requirements and Housing Affordability in New York City, analyzes the provisions of the city’s Zoning Resolution that require residential developers to provide off‐street parking. The regulations require, on average, 43 new off‐street parking spaces for every 100 new housing units constructed. The requirements differ widely across boroughs, from 39 spaces per 100 new units in the Bronx, to more than 120 spaces in Staten Island. Much of Manhattan and Long Island City, Queens are exempt from the requirements.
“Our findings suggest that the requirements generally cause developers to provide more off‐street parking than they think buyers and tenants really demand,” said Vicki Been, director of the Furman Center. “The city has announced that it is reviewing its parking requirements. As that review is underway, it is important to explore how parking regulations might better balance concerns about housing affordability, sustainability, and traffic congestion, on the one hand, with the needs of car owners on the other.”