Avalon Fort Greene, a new 42-story luxury building near downtown Brooklyn's mass-transit hub, devotes two stories and 256 parking spaces to one of its most elusive residents: the automobile.
The building is well-occupied, but the garage is half-empty. The same is true down the street at 80 DeKalb Ave. Nearly all of the building's 365 apartments are filled, but only half of its 126 parking spaces are leased.
Over time the number of cars per person grew significantly. Then existing residents, wanting to maintain sufficient on street parking, would object to development in less it contained sufficient parking. Then these demands became codified, and now there are lots of empty parking garages.