Posted to Op-Ed on

Op-Ed: Car Rental Companies Shouldn’t Take Over Public Parking for Profit

by Anonymous

In Crown Heights, street parking is a precious commodity. Local residents and small business owners, particularly along Kingston Avenue, rely on these spaces for daily use, whether it’s for their personal vehicles or customer access. So, when car rental companies use public street parking for their fleets, it raises eyebrows and frustrations.

We’ve heard from frustrated residents along Montgomery, President, and Union Streets who are fed up with the situation. They now have to think twice before running an errand, knowing they might come back and be stuck circling for parking for an extended period of time—sometimes for up to 45 minutes, even being forced to double park or park at a pump, risking a ticket. Others end up parking on streets farther away, which can be dangerous late at night, or on meter-lined blocks where they have to rearrange their schedules just to avoid getting a ticket.

Living expenses in the area aren’t cheap. Baruch Hashem, many families are blessed with large families and school tuitions, on top of basic necessities. Getting several tickets due to the lack of parking only adds to the financial burden, hurting residents’ pockets.

As it is, the area already faces the challenge of alternate side parking twice a week per side, making the search for a spot even more difficult. Moreover, President Street residents are no strangers to street closures for Kaparos, Moshe Rubashkin’s half-block Sukkah, Chanukah and Yud Alef Nissan tank parades, camp bus pick up and drop off, and a few organizations with their own Mitzvah tanks that park on the street all day and year-round which often leaves residents scrambling for parking. With one car rental company operating a fleet of over 50 cars, and another company with nearly double that, occupying public spaces, the situation has become even more untenable.

Small business owners along Kingston Avenue are also feeling the impact, as fewer parking spots mean less customer access, which could hurt their livelihoods. It’s simply not fair for car rental companies to treat public streets as their personal parking lots, especially when they’re profiting from these vehicles. If a rental company wants to operate a business, they should invest in a private lot instead of taking away spots that the Crown Heights community and local businesses rely on.

Public spaces should serve the public, not be monopolized by businesses looking to cut costs at the expense of local residents and small businesses. It’s time for a fair solution: car rental companies need to respect the community and invest in proper facilities for their operations.

We are calling on the new Vaad Hakol and community activists to step up and address this issue. Let’s work together to ensure that the streets of Crown Heights serve the people who live, work, and shop here—not just businesses seeking profit at the expense of the community.

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48 Comments

  • You missed one

    You missed another big company operating from Empire Blvd. That takes most of the spaces between Nostrand and Brooklyn.

  • Mendy

    The answer to this is permit parking. Many cities with limited car parking availability have to have permits to park on the street. If this was to be implemented then there would be no issues.

    • Dovid

      That will not work here
      As we are a host community
      Who are allways hosting guest from out of town

      All year long.

      Permits have their own set of issues.

  • Chaim

    Here’s the thing. These companies are owned by yidden. Fellow Yidden, also residents of Crown Heights, enjoy have easy accessibility to these vehicles.

  • Luise

    The local car rental companies provide a service to the community. I personally don’t have a car because I can rent from them when I need one. If I had to shlep to Enterprise every time I needed one, I would buy my own car.

    Additionally, there is no parking lot anywhere near their user base available for them to rent.

  • Yanky

    While you are at it, some people living on my block have a few cars. Just because the husband, wife and 3 older children can afford cars, does NOT give this ONE house the right to hog FIVE parking spots on my block. Hey buddy, it is ONE spot per house. NOT FIVE. Someone has to put a stop to this….and don’t reserve a few seats in shul either! You come firs, so you get ONE seat, you can’t save 5!!

    • anonymous

      If a family owns 20 cars, they can park all 20 cars on the street and tough luck on the neighbors. And if I buy all the challahs in the bakery, tough luck on you if there aren’t any left. That’s life! If you don’t like it, quit.

  • 712 Crown Street

    712 Crown Street (corner Schenectady) has a lot of abandoned vehicles parked in front on the city street, since before Covid. If those derelict vehicles get towed, then there will be 4 more permanent parking spots for the entire community & area residents to use.

    If it gets towed…

    • OP

      For abandoned cars call 311.

      Though it will only be picked up if there are no license plates. So if there are license plates on the abandoned cars, remove them and then complain to 311 (you can use the app). Might require repeated attempts, but it gets done.

  • Anonymous

    Why is your private car any more entitled to hogging this “public space”. These rental companies service the public and make it convenient more many to access a car on demand. If people didn’t have access to these, more ppl would have “private” cars in their stead.

    Love how everyone thinks if there was one less car they would have a parking spot! B/4 citybikes there was also nowhere to park…

  • Anonymous

    What makes your “private” car any more entitled to this “public” space then these serving the public?

  • Think of the alternative

    These rental companies rent to members of the community. If these members of the community don’t have access to car rentals, they’ll be more likely to rent cars and use even more parking spots.
    These rental companies are likely responsible for reducing the amount of cars in the community. They should not be vilified.

  • Municipal Parking Garage on Clarkson Ave Instead of Homeless Shelters

    The is a lot of land by Clarkson Ave & Albany. Instead of homeless shelters, let’s build a Municipal Parking Garage for hard working people. Then let’s find a place in upstate NY, where the land is cheap, and build homeless housing there. There will be fishing, hunting and all you can eat, drink and smoke. Beggars can’t be choosers. Negotiate with the homeless – everyone has their price.

  • Chaim Zusha

    Biton hogs all the parking spots. Let him invest in a proper parking lot like every other legal car rental business in America.

    • Shmully

      Yes. Bitton rents out cars by the hour. When your finished, you must park the car between Albany & Brooklyn. Between Carrol & union ….
      ALL his cars are parked in this small radius of streets.

  • j

    Parking spaces are meant for residents of a block firstly.
    there are supposdly two rental companies who use un street parking on president.
    not to mention rubashkins trucks
    car rental companies can rent a lot within walking distance instead of making local
    people miserable

  • Anonymous

    Why no one had a problem with zipcar/revel etc?

    As long as the cars are legally parked I don’t know what the issue is… unlike the dangerous lines double parked cars all along empire. (Not to mention next to the police station, no less)

  • yankel

    Enterprise rates are cheaper than the local car rental guys. The locals charge for Shabbos even they know that we don`t use cars on Shabbos

  • Mr commen sense

    The city bikes are taking valuable parking spots. Most corners have no standing signs taking away more valuable spots. Bus stops take half a block taking more valuable spots

  • OP

    With all due respect to holy work, the Tanks are the worst violators. Despite being an organization, for the people operating them it’s a business and source of income. They serve no purpose on Crown Heights streets, and most don’t move much during the week, hogging spaces.

    And when it comes to alternate side parking, there’s no way for homeowners to compete with PAID bochurim ready to grab spot

    • CHaim

      Buggy is a big problem. Look at Enterprise on Empire they rent a large garage to store their cars they do not inconvenience their neighbors with parking their cars on the street same needs to be done with BUGGY and the Israeli Rental Cars on President. Also Rubashkin truly needs to be shut down. His Sukkah was put up today 6 weeks before to truly kill all travel in CH. The nerve of his arrogance.

  • The problem of free stuff

    This is what happens when parking is “free”. Everybody tries to get as much as they can at everybody else’s expense.
    If it’s free, why not take two?
    If you don’t, it’s not like the other guy will leave some for you. So you may as well take as much as you can…

  • Concerned Resident

    Rubashkin’s sukkah and the Rebbe’s tanks are “occupying” your “public spaces”? The rental services that make it possible for bochurim to date are profiting “at the expense of our community?” Not sure what “community” you think you represent but it sounds like you care a lot about YOUR street parking and not as much about the things we stand for here.

  • Attention Homeowners

    If you can afford a house on President and Kingston you can afford to build a driveway. Are you really complaining about the Rebbe’s mitzvah tanks and Rubashkin’s sukkah taking away the parking spot you think you’re entitled to? Yuck. Mamash disgusting.

    • dummy

      you know what someone can afford? the nerve you have!! someone could have bought their house years ago when market was down!!! and in case you didnt know, you cant just build parking driveways!!!

  • "We" are Anonymous

    This article ends off, “We are calling on…” Who is this “We” that “We” should listen to? What if “We” disagree with you? In fact, “We” do disagree and think that “We” are right, and you are wrong and you should stop saying “We” because “We” don’t agree.

    Sincerely, Anonymous.

  • Mushkie

    I wonder if such an OpEd would have been written if a non-Jewish company parked it’s vehicles on the street/ Then, we would say, oh well, nothing to do, since it is legal. But, since it’s a Jewish owner, now we can clamor and kvetch! A jew! Chuzpah! Ganov! How dare he! How do Iknow that we would be silent with a Goy? Look at the car& tire repair places! No one complains there. But a Jew-gevald!

    • dummy

      you would hear big time and they own a parking lot and dont take advantage of our streets!!!

  • Zalman

    It shouldn’t be legal for them to do this because it’s definitely not moral. They are taking advantage of a legal loophole to hurt the the families of the Shechuna.

    • Chaim

      It’s Yidden from the Shechuna that benefit from this service! Nobody is getting hurt!

      You would have to be very delusional to think that without these companies, you will have parking.

  • Chaim

    Lets have a discussion about Lubavitcher landlord who refuse to have Jewish families in their buildings. And Lubavitcher contractors who build for Goyim.

    • Boychik

      I am a Lubavitcher landlord and I refuse to have Jewish families in my buildings. I cannot deal with all the kvetching about high rents and constant complaining. I don’t get any of it from my goyish tenants. And I don;t get the mean dirty looks in shul either for being a big bad landlord! Only an idiot would rent to Jewish families. Goyim are thrilled to have an apartment and are happy to pay rent

    • Suri

      Boychick, I hear you! I teach. But I don’t teach on Jewish schools. No way! I teach in public schools. I get paid on time. I get benefits. I get vacation pay. And I don’t get all the garbage teachers in Jewish schools need to put up with. Yes, it hurts to say it, but it’s easier to do business with non-Jews.

  • Chaim

    When we see a fellow Jew, we should behold him in the [pristine spiritual] state in which he is conceived in the Primeval Thought of Adam Kadmon.2 On that level, the soul exists together with all the generations that will emerge from it until the coming of Mashiach, our righteous redeemer. Thus, when we do a Jew a favor, we do a favor for all those souls until the end of all the generations.

  • Chaim

    We can also discuss how fellow Lubavitcher’s will go outbid a fellow brother, who is trying to purchase a home to raise his Jewish family in, while the outbider is purchasing to flip the house for profit and rent to goyim.

    כאן צוה ה’ את הברכה

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