Newly Elevated Homes Are Eliminating Parking Spots In Long Beach
LONG BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy has had unintended effects in one Long Island beach community.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Friday, newly elevated homes in Long Beach now have driveways where there used to be none, eliminating parking spots in front of the driveway cutouts.
For homeowners who have elevated, the new driveways guarantee parking.
"It's better for the people who live here. In other words, most of us, in the past, would stay home all weekend, because if you moved your car, you couldn't get a spot in the whole West End," resident Linda Alper said.
But for those still in bungalows with no driveways, the crunch has gone from bad to worse.
Fewer spaces also mean bigger headaches for beachgoers, restaurant workers and patrons.
"You're going to go around the block many, many times before you park anywhere, and that hurts the businesses," said one woman.
"The community has changed dramatically from being able to park here for the weekend and just leave your car, to now just getting down here takes about an hour just to get parking for work," restaurant employee Anthony Cardenas said.
The numbers don't add up, Gusoff reported. Around 1,000 homes now have new driveways, so that should have freed up at least 1,000 street spaces. But some driveways are being used for entertaining or storage.
"They don't use it as a driveway; they use it as an extra room," said one man.
City officials say there's not much they can do. Single and double driveway aprons are allowed.
"They're allowed to have a curb cut up to 20 feet. It's not automatic and it has to lead to legal, off-street parking," Long Beach Buildings Commissioner Scott Kemins said.
Long Beach officials say they're always looking into ways to alleviate the parking crunch, but it's a beach community with limited space – and therefore, limited options.