Editor's Note: New York City reversed course Tuesday and reinstated the free parking spaces, pending more community input. Read more here.

Free parking is hard to come by in New York City and it just got even more difficult after dozens of free spots were switched to metered spaces. 

Parking meters were added to roughly 70 spaces off Columbus Avenue from West 73rd Street to West 86th Street on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the City Department of Transportation said Monday. 

DOT said the change is part of the "Smart Curbs" program and benefits the community as a whole, but residents and some city leaders called it a big blow to people who live there. 

"Roughly two to five parking spaces directly adjacent to the avenue, so not the entire side street, to create more parking availability for local businesses. Metered parking encourages turnover," said Jonathan Hawkins, the director of NYC Streets Plan for the DOT. 

DOT said the metered spaces are necessary after spaces along Columbus had to be switched over to loading zones. 

"We added a lot of commercial and truck loading and parking spaces and so, as a result, some of what was parking for vehicles, perhaps customers of the businesses, we needed to replace that," Hawkins said. 

Parking rules changed overnight, city councilwoman says

Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents the neighborhood's district, said the switch happened without proper community input and residents should have been alerted before signs were posted overnight on Aug. 11. 

"I only heard about it because residents started calling frantically, not from DOT," Brewer said. 

Brewer said she plans on asking DOT to roll back the program.

"I don't think it was done correctly and there should be a discussion whether it's actually appropriate," she said.

Abraham Pariente said he has lived in the neighborhood for decades and drives his minivan to work.

"I have to struggle to find parking when I'm leaving my spots. It's almost impossible, sometimes two hours looking," he said.

He parked in one of the metered spots right before the switch.

"I parked and overnight they put the sign on and when I came in the morning, I found a ticket," he said.

DOT said the three-hour parking limit rates coincide with other rates within similar city zones.