Paying For NYC Parking Got Easier, Assuming Drivers Can Find Spots

NEW YORK CITY — Paying for parking in New York City just got easier, but not drivers' often-fruitless struggle to find convenient spaces.

A new "ParkNYC" app launched Monday that offers a pay-as-you-go feature, Department of Transportation officials said.

Drivers now won't have to pre-load a digital wallet with money, but instead use their credit or debit card to make payments directly, officials said.

"Skip the meter and the wait, the new ParkNYC app lets you do it all from the convenience of your mobile device in just a few taps of the screen," the new app's website boasts.

Drivers who pay-by-cell account for 42 percent of New York City's parking meter payments, officials said.

But the new app, it should be pointed out, likely won't help motorists score hard-to-find parking spaces.

While locals often grumble about lack of parking, street safety advocates point out such spaces are everywhere. The problem is there are too many cars, they argue.

"Street parking isn't scarce - it's on both sides of almost every single street in NYC," Liz Denys, a Brooklyn community board member, recently tweeted. "Cities just physically can't fit this many people driving."

For New Yorkers who want to keep their cars, however, officials contend digital measures such as the app will help foster proper parking turnover across the city.

For more information, visit ParkNYC.org.