yes

I will certainly set out to assess the impact City employee commuting has on parking and traffic. Each agency has particular challenges, responsibilities, and operational parameters (i.e. are they centrally located, or need to be spread throughout the City) that will require a plan tailored for each appropriately. That’s why, as mentioned, I will task the Division of Accountability and Results to work closely with each agency as a resource to develop plans to encourage their employees to take transit, bike or work.

And also as mentioned, I will certainly explore best practices from the private sector and identify wasted office space—combining offices where it makes sense and reducing overall City office space. Reducing employees’ overall commuting time will certainly be a factor in this. Additionally, use of telecommunication technology must be taken advantage of to provide ways to reduce commuting, perhaps letting certain City workers (as in call centers or customer service roles) to work from home, giving them multiple benefits including the elimination of commute time.

As part of my directive to identify 10% of waste in each agency, I will advocate for reformed (i.e. restricted) parking permits unless it is absolutely necessary from an operational standpoint.

All NYC employee perks would be examined and audited thoroughly. As an avid biker who currently bikes to work, I would lead by example by biking to work EVERY morning (not just when the TV cameras are around). We also need to eliminate the number of City provided automobiles. Few, if any at all, City employees should have a car provided by the City for their use in an official capacity.

In a City with over eight million people crammed into 800 square miles, street space is a rare commodity and New York City employees have to do their share to help reduce congestion. And for too long we have seen a proliferation of illegal permits that allow non-essential City employees to park in spaces designated for local merchants and residents. I would audit parking permits issued to City employees to ensure that the recipients truly need them to perform official duties for the City and I would recommend stiff penalties for those who are caught with illegal parking permits.

There are several ways to reduce New York City government’s dependence on cars. One way to achieve this goal is with better fleet management. Car sharing programs allow many different people to use one car, helping to reduce the overall number of cars needed to service those agencies. I believe the City should investigate ways to institute better car sharing among its employees. With the goal of reducing the government’s fleet of vehicles, we must also ensure that the new fleet must be hybrids that reduce harmful emissions and save on gas.