Parking in the city can be a nightmare, but imagine waiting until the year 2046 for a space. NY1's Michael Scotto reports on what might be the most coveted parking spaces in New York.

Charlie Smith is one of the lucky ones. He pays $215 a month to park in the garage that's part of the apartment complex where he lives, the Seward Park Cooperatives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Space in nearby garages costs twice as much.

"It took me 10 years to get a parking spot," Smith said. "I'm in here about eight years."

Paul Nasrani has been waiting 14 years for one of the 380 spots. His mother-in-law, who just bought an apartment here, might not live long enough to get one. She's been told not to expect a space until 2046.

"It'll be a while," Narsani said.

Every New Yorker with a car knows finding a parking space takes patience, but for residents here, it can take a lifetime. The co-op's board of directors says the wait list, posted in the lobby, is now 30 years long.

The parking spaces are so important to the residents of the complex that they're now at the center of a major battle.

It all started after the co-op board decided to make changes to how the facility is run. To boost revenue, the board hired a company to manage the garage. Instead of self-parking, it's valet parking now.

The company also plans to reconfigure the spaces to increase capacity by 100 cars to permit day parking.

At a fiery meeting this week, residents with spaces welcomed the extra capacity, but not the day parking and valets.

"I, for one, don't like anyone driving my car," said Donald West, a resident of the Seward Park Cooperatives.  

But for residents like Julie Schnee, who has been waiting 12 years, the added spots bring hope.

"We are number 39," she said.

The same goes for Nasrani, who is tired of his street parking routine.

"You live by the alternate side calendar. October is the best month of the year. You got Jewish, Muslim holidays, all back to back, it's like a month off," he said.

The new capacity is not expected to dent the 30-year wait because many young families with cars have been moving in. The wait list now has 670 names.