Neighborhoods right above the congestion pricing zone are bracing themselves: Car owners fully believe they will have to compete for parking with drivers looking to avoid the possible $15 toll to drive below 60th Street.

It’s already a crapshoot for Kenny Pedreira, who lives in the Bronx but works on the Upper East Side at Rockefeller University.

“Sometimes I get lucky. I usually get my spots by being familiar with vehicles in the area, knowing that certain residents move out at a certain time,” Pedreira said. “So I get a little lucky there, but there are days that it’s a fight, and when it’s that, you have no choice but to go to a lot.”

What You Need To Know

  • Car owners who park on the street are concerned they won't be able to find parking

  • Residents say garages on the Upper East Side have already raised prices

  • Congestion pricing may revive the idea of resident-only parking

Friday he lucked out on East 64th Street. But he is sure that will change with congestion pricing.

“It’s going to be tough. I mean, right now it’s hard to find the parking,” he said. “On top of that, hard to pay for a parking lot. It’s going to add up.”

A garage is out of the question for Jim Sanders, who says he uses his car every day and area garages are already capitalizing on what many anticipate will be an increased demand for spots

“A lot of garages have increased their prices either doubled them, some places. I used to be in a garage and they jacked it up $400 a month in preparation for it,” Sanders said, who believes they’ll go up even more. “They’ll be able to because so many people are going to have to park here so they don’t have to drive into Lower Manhattan.

There are two garages on East 63rd Street as you exit the FDR. Residents say one is already extremely expensive as Manhattan garages go. But car owners in this neighborhood are convinced that street parking spaces will be hard to come by once congestion pricing comes in the spring.

“This is going to be a chokehold for the rest of the city to basically park here and commute down to the lower part of Manhattan,” Sanders said.

An idea that has been discussed but has not gained traction is resident-only parking. Boston has had it for a long time in its residential neighborhoods. Congestion pricing may bring that discussion back to the forefront.