Hope for the 'Bronx Boondoggle'

"After six disastrous years, the Bronx Parking Development Co. is falling even faster into the financial abyss," writes Jeremy Smerd. "Still, there may be hope for the boondoggle in the Boogie Down."

The Bloomberg administration created the Bronx Parking Development Co., funded with $237 million in tax-exempt bonds, " to increase parking by 75% for a new stadium that had fewer seats, a new nearby Metro-North station and a mall with cheaper spaces a few blocks away," according to Smerd. "It's been losing money ever since."

So what does hope look like for this effort, which lost $29 million just last year and has already defaulted on its bonds and entered into a forbearance period? First, "Manhattan parking garages are being sold at a steady clip to developers hoping to turn them into high-rises. Manhattan drivers may soon have as much trouble finding a garage to park in as they do finding a place to fill their tank." Second is the proliferation of startups that will provide parking service on demand. According to Smerd, these services could use the excess parking capacity in far-off locations.