The city of Albany lost its legal appeal in late February of PEF’s year-old preliminary injunction that blocks implementation of a parking-permit system favoring residents over commuters.
The Appellate Division, Third Department of the New York State Supreme Court upheld an order issued February 25, 1999, by the state Supreme Court in Albany County. That order granted PEF a preliminary injunction that restrains the city from putting the prepaid residential parking-permit plan into effect in the area around downtown.

PEF, which represents more than 16,000 public employees in the Capital District, sued the city last year to protect members from having to pay $785 for an annual parking permit that would have cost residents just $15.
Even if you came up with the $785, the permit would not guarantee you a parking space. It was only a “license” to hunt for one.

In affirming the lower court’s decision, the Appellate Division said the city lost its appeal “because the (state) Legislature simply has not conferred upon the city the authority to discriminate in such a manner. Accordingly, (PEF has) established a likelihood of success on the merits (of the lawsuit), justifying Supreme Court’s grant of preliminary relief.”
“We thank the Appellate Division for affirming this injunction,” said PEF President Roger Benson.

“Now that the courts have spoken clearly on this issue, I hope city and state leaders will be ready to work with us to resolve these difficult parking problems in a way that is fair to everyone,” Benson said.
— Sherry Halbrook

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