As New York City confronts a $7 billion budget gap under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, policymakers are increasingly considering long-overlooked revenue sources, including charging for curbside parking. With roughly 97% of the city’s 3 million parking spaces unmetered, experts estimate the city may be foregoing up to $2 billion annually. While proposals such as residential permits and expanded metering face political resistance, particularly concerns about regressive impacts, urban policy experts argue that pricing parking is both economically rational and widely adopted in other major cities.
Urban planning professor at UCLA Michael Manville emphasized the fiscal and policy potential of such reforms to CNBC in a recent article. “Can you finance the whole city off it? No, of course not, but you could make a sizable amount of money,” he said. Framing the issue as a basic matter of supply and demand, Manville added, “If you offer New York City land at the price of zero, then you’re going to have a shortage of it because the price is well below its value.”