New York Parking Gets Pricier (for Cars) and, Temporarily, Cheaper (for Vespas)

I blogged a while back about parking spaces in New York City, wondering why there aren’t more spaces for sale rather than for lease. An article in yesterday’s New York Times reveals that more new buildings are indeed selling a few parking spaces, including one building in Chelsea whose five spots are selling for $225,000 apiece. This isn’t quite the widespread private market I envisioned — but, well, it’s a start.

In other Manhattan parking news today, the Times reports that Vespa, the Italian scooter manufacturer, has paid for two months’ worth of parking spaces in garages scattered about the city, making them available for free to Vespa drivers. Vespa explains everything on its website entitled …. Vespanomics.com. It defines the term Vespanomics as “the ecological, economic, and personal satisfaction one achieves after buying a Vespa scooter.”

I wonder what would happen in one of these parking garages if you try to park a motor scooter that’s not a Vespa.