State Assemblyman Proposes Overnight Parking Ban On Out-Of-State Vehicles

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New Yorkers know how hard it can be to find a parking spot in New York City.

And a local assemblyman says a big part of the problem comes from out of state, and he's trying to put an end to it.

"It's terrible, terrible. My don't find parking. My husband sometimes spends 2-3 hours," said Iris Quan, of Woodhaven.

Quan and her neighbors say finding parking in their Queens neighborhood is nearly impossible.

"Anything after 6 o'clock it gets really difficult," Woodhave resident Andre Karma said.

And they say part of the blame rests on cars that park in the neighborhood with out-of-state license plates.

"I see a lot of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut," Karma said. "I think it's really inconvenient for us, especially for those who do live here."

"When you get stories of people coming home at night, their elderly parents going looking for parking and parking three or four blocks from home," said Edward Wendell, with the Woodhaven Residents Block Association. "And then coming home and seeing three or four cars with plates from out of state in front of their house, it's very frustrating."

State Assemblyman Mike Miller is proposing to ban cars with out-of-state license plates from parking on city streets between 2 and 5 a.m.

"Parking spots are at a premium and we want to be able to have a spot for those that register their cars here in New York," he said.

But not everyone agrees with the idea.

"I think that might be a tad bit harsh because you don't know if they're visiting family," Karma said.

"There are legitimate people visiting our fair city and our region from out of state and you would be punishing all of them and denying them access to the city, in a city that relies on tourism," said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair.

Under the proposed measure, New York residents with homes in other states could apply for exemption and visitors could get a temporary parking permit, Sanchez reported.

Miller proposed the same bill late last year, but it didn't get much traction. He's hoping an early push this year will garner more support.

If the bill is passed, violators would be ticketed and towed.