February 13th, 2009 · 1 Comment

From Green right Now Reports

Here’s another good reason to think small in these challenging times.

Owners of the diminutive smart fortwo in New York City can now park for half the price in hundreds of lots around the city. smart USA Distributor LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Automotive Group, Inc., announced the agreements with three New York City area parking companies: Meyers Parking, Icon Parking Systems and AviStar Airport Parking.

In a city where annual parking costs are in the hundreds of dollars, the smart fortwo owners can receive 50 percent discounts off daily and monthly posted parking rates.

“Our arrangement with the parking companies gives smart owners the best of both worlds: the ability to park at a discounted price, along with the ease to park almost anywhere,” Dave Schembri, President of smart USA, said in a statement. “The smart fortwo is helping New Yorkers change the way they park and navigate congested city streets, while offering great fuel economy, safety and functionality.”

At 61 inches wide and 106 inches long, the smart fortwo already offered parking advantages for New Yorkers. It can be parked sideways, increasing the options of space-challenged city dwellers.

Meyers Parking first offered half price parking to smart fortwo owners beginning last September, and the program was renewed for 2009. Meyers Parking is the official parking garage of Madison Square Garden, the New York Rangers, New York Knicks and New York Liberty. Meyers also has the largest public garages in Times Square, on the Upper East Side and the Empire State Building area.

Icon Parking Systems has more than 200 parking facilities in Manhattan. Company officials said smart fortwo owners will automatically qualify for a $99 monthly rate.

For smart fortwo owners traveling by plane out of the New York City area, AviStar Airport Parking, a wholly owned subsidy of Parking Company America Airports, LLC (PCAA) is offering half price parking on the daily rate at both JFK and LaGuardia Airports. Customers wishing to take advantage of this special promotion are required to print a special coupon from the company’s web site and present it to the cashier at the time of payment. The AviStar Airport Parking promotion will expire on April 30, 2009.

More than 26,000 smart fortwos have been sold since January 16, 2008. The company says there are approximately 4,000 smart owners in the metropolitan New York market.