Local pol looks to suspend muni-meters on holidays

One local politician is hoping to make parking across the city just a little bit easier and a lot more consistent.

At a Wednesday, February 24 City Council meeting, Councilmember Vincent Gentile will unveil a new bill that would see both parking meters and muni-meters suspended on 28 holidays, in alignment with the already legal suspension of alternate side parking.

“Legal holidays are significant to our culture and to religious sects,” said Gentile, calling the current system – which often suspends alternate side but meters only on New Years Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas – a “gotcha” system. “If we value it enough to recognize it and suspend alternate side parking, we should also suspend meters.”

Holidays that would fall under the bill include Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Ascension Thursday, Feast of the Assumption, Feast of All Saints, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, first two days of Succoth, Shemini Atzareth, Simchas Torah, Shevuoth, Purim, Orthodox Holy Thursday, Orthodox Good Friday, first two and last two days of Passover, the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha, Asian Lunar New Year, the Hindu festival of Diwali on the day that Lakshmi Puja is observed, and all state and national holidays.

“My constituents voice their complaints like clockwork on holidays via phone, e-mail and social media, asking why the meters are in effect on a holiday, and I agree with them,” said Gentile. “The rules are illogical and confusing when they should be consistent.”