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Exclusive: Welcome To 'No Park Slope,' Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Finding a parking spot in New York City is as good as gold, especially in a Brooklyn neighborhood where the situation is already bad -- and could get even worse.

CBS 2's John Metaxas took to the streets in a Mobile 2 Unit on Monday and tried to find a spot in Park Slope.

Anybody who owns a car in Park Slope knows how hard it is to find one. But now, Con Edison is about to close one of its employee parking lots, eliminating hundreds of spaces. It means cars that park there now, may soon be out clogging the streets even more.

People in Park Slope said it's already ridiculously hard to find parking.

Sometimes you can spend a half hour at it; sometimes more. Sometimes you give up," resident Manuel Quintana said.

Almost everywhere you look you're confronted by no standing zones, no parking zones, pesky hydrants and a seemingly endless line of cars that just got here before you did. Think you've found a spot? Think again. And don't even think of parking on the sidewalk.

"I have no time when I leave New Jersey, so I make sure when I get here its right when the alternate side lifts, so I will get a spot and not drive 45 minutes," resident Debra Warshaw said.

But now Con Ed wants to eliminate hundreds of private parking spots for its employees, sending them out into the streets to park with everyone else.

"No way! So what are we gonna do for parking? You can't park. It's gonna make it real hard. We're going to have to circle round and round, double park and get tickets," resident Kim Alvarado said.

Con Ed said simply it's chosen not to renew the lease on the parking lot to reduce operating costs for its customers. But the utility workers' union said its members are deployed out into the five boroughs from yards like the one in Park Slope, sometimes working 18-hour emergency shifts -- and they need the spots.

"If it snows and there's no parking, our guys are going to be out on the streets looking for parking, and there are no spots. They call it 'no Park Slope.' I believe," Bob Stahl said.

"No Park Slope" sounded just about right to Metaxas, who drove around for a while and didn't find any spots. Con Ed said it is urging its workers to use mass transit and offers a transit check program to make that more affordable. But the workers said that misses the point. They said they sometimes travel here with equipment and need to drive.

The union said workers have had parking privileges here for 50 years and the benefit should not be taken away without being collectively bargained.

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