The Battery Park City Authority is calling on residents to point their cameras at tour buses idling or parking illegally in the area, in an effort to pressure the Department of Transportation to tackle the growing problem. “It’s a pretty big quality of life issue,” said Anne Fenton, assistant to BPCA President Gayle Horwitz.

 

Tour buses dropping off passengers and then lingering in Battery Park City have been a problem for years. But residents and Battery Park City staff say they have noticed an increase in the number of buses in recent months, particularly on South End Avenue.

“I walk around Battery Park City with my BlackBerry taking pictures of the buses and I send them to the [Department of Transportation’s] borough commissioner,” Horwitz said. “It is a pet peeve of mine.”

“What can a citizen do?” Horwitz was asked at a Battery Park City town hall meeting last month. “Calling 311 is ineffective.” Horwitz gave out an email address, streets@batteryparkcity.org, for photos of the

vehicles. The BPCA chief said she has been working with officials from the Sept. 11 Memorial and the DOT to tackle the issue, and is requesting more ticketing by police.

“Everyone is trying to come up with a solution,” Fenton said.

The DOT, which implemented a special parking program this fall for buses visiting the Sept. 11 Memorial, said that so far the program has been going smoothly.

“While we do not believe there has been a significant increase in unauthorized bus activity in Battery Park City, we continue to monitor the area and work closely with NYPD and DEP for
enforcement as well as reach out directly to educate bus companies on compliance and rules,” city DOT spokeswoman Nicole Garcia wrote to the Trib.

The NYPD is apparently feeling the pressure. “Every day I’m out here giving summonses. Every day,” said Sgt. Nelson Fernandez, after giving a $100 ticket to a Canadian driver in a No Standing zone, parked across the street from Gateway Plaza on South End Avenue.

“We get lots of complaints from residents,” Fernandez said.

It was not long before two other buses carrying the Canadian tour group stopped at the same curb. Soon, another police car arrived and told the drivers to move on, but didn’t ticket them.

Fenton said bus drivers drop off in No Standing zones, but cannot park. The BPCA had once talked to the DOT about turning No Standing zones in to No Stopping zones, Fenton said. The idea was scrapped because of its impact on residents loading and unloading their cars.

“We fix one problem...but then we create another problem,” Fenton said.

The Canadian bus drivers complained that they often don’t know their destination until the tour guide shows up, which makes planning ahead difficult.

“This is the worst city I’ve ever been in for parking,” said driver Donald Lord. “There’s either no standing or no parking. There’s just no place to go.”

Lord said the no standing policy means circling the area, causing pollution and increasing the chance of an accident.

His fellow driver, Granville Jennings, said he’d like to have a brochure showing drivers where they can park.

According to the DOT’s website, the city’s traffic laws require bus operators to map out a route for their trips ahead of time and always have that map with them.

Regardless of the difficulties, the drivers acknowledged that they will have to keep bringing their buses Downtown.

“The people want to see Ground Zero and there’s nothing you can do,” the ticketed
driver said.