Ferrer rips 'pay-to-pray,' stadium

[NVMojo]

February 28, 2005

Mayoral hopeful Fernando Ferrer took aim yesterday at Mayor Bloomberg's Sunday parking meter policy at an East Harlem church, but he saved some brimstone to slam the West Side stadium project.
"There shouldn't be a tax on worshiping," Ferrer told parishioners at the Greater Highway Deliverance Temple on E. 111th St.

Critics have called Sunday metering "pay-to-pray," but Bloomberg has defended the policy as a way to generate $7 million a year and create parking-spot turnover. "City Hall needs to understand that this place of worship that we're in today, and the time we spend here, are sacred," the former Bronx borough president said.

more...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/285147p-244257c.html

[Dookus]

1. huh?

using parking meters is now a "tax on worshiping"? That's nonsense.

[NVMojo]

2. I was thinking it was a good idea! Put alot around the Rev. Sun Yung Moon!

[Dookus]

3. heheh

well carry this to its conclusion - do Jews get free parking on Saturday?

Are only meters near churches to be free?

The whole idea of calling this a "tax on worshiping" is silly.

[mcscajun]

6. I'll agree about the 'tax on worshiping' remark being silly, but…

…in all the time I lived in NYC, parking meters didn't apply on weekends. In some very congested areas, usually shopping zones, they might apply on one day out of the weekend, but never both.

Forget the religious aspect; New Yorkers and their out of town visitors and relatives endure a parking nightmare five days out of the week; surely Bloomberg can find other ways of making his budget work?

I'm so grateful I don't live there these days: I'll wager this man does NOT get re-elected. Of course, Ferrer is angling for the office, and that's part of why this is a story in the first place. He went to the same High School I did -- good luck to him.

On edit: Oh yeah, and about the stadium: NYC doesn't need it, especially not as a tax-break giveaway so rich folks can have pretty skyboxes to hang out in and watch the game, and the team owners can get a free ride, too. There are better, more productive uses for Manhattan's limited real estate.

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. Funny

I went to a school in NYC with the same last name has Ferrer.

BTW: For all the time I lived in NYC, parking was free on Sunday. I guess nothing is 'sacred' anymore.

[merwin]

4. Those are holy parking spaces!

There's a church near my place called 'Holy Family Church'... Their parking spaces have signs on them that say 'Reserved for Holy Family'. I bet those get used a lot!

[Name removed]

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