As we’ve come to see, Boston’s new parking app Haystack is a polarizing innovation. Many, including the City of Boston, have come out against Haystack, which allows users to notify others of a soon-to-be vacant parking space for a small fee, on the grounds that CEO Eric Meyer and company are profiting off public property. Others, though, find it a long-overdue solution to Boston’s notoriously insufficient parking scene.

Among the latter is Michael Cuozzo, a North End resident who commutes to and from his job in Norwood. Cuozzo, it turns out, was the lucky Haystacker to win a promotional sweepstakes in which Haystack afforded one lucky user the choice between a $5,000 prize or a brand new Fiat 500.

“I live in the North End which is notorious for limited parking so Haystack has saved me time and money,” Cuozzo told me in an email. “I would usually spend 15-20 minutes driving around for a spot and if I couldn’t find one, park it in a lot which could cost $30 a night. With Haystack, I can drive directly to an available spot and pay much less!”

Seems legit enough. I also happen to live in the North End so I can attest to just how much of a horror show it is to try and park in the neighborhood. Few spots allow for non-residents to park for more than two-hours, and essentially the rest is for resident parking only – assuming you can squeeze your car into a space without the risk of losing your side view mirror at some point during the night.

Cuozzo, who already owns his own car, opted for the cool $5,000 instead of the Fiat.

Despite his overwhelming endorsement for Haystack, I asked him if he has any thoughts on Mayor Marty Walsh’s disapproval of the app and the contention that it allows for the sale of public property. Not surprisingly, Cuozzo aimed to remain as neutral as possible.

All he was willing to posit was “it seems like for someone in my situation who commutes to and from the city everyday, it has the potential to save me much time and money.”

Boston.com writer Austin Tedesco recently took Haystack for a test drive, hoping to gauge how effective and lucrative the app truly is. He was unable to find a buyer during his time cruising around the Back Bay and Kenmore Square area, and was once even directed to the middle of the Charles River.

Of course, even Apple and Google endure glitches of their own, so it’s no fault on Haystack that they hit a few speed bumps. Cuozzo’s run into just a few problems of his own, despite the vast need for non-resident parking in our shared corner of the city.

“The only issue I’ve had so far is that on one occasion, I used the app to find a spot and then when I got to the address listed, it was a street with no parking,” added Cuozzo. “I used the built in chat feature to attempt to contact the owner and find the correct address but they did not respond. I cancelled that request and quickly found another spot using the app.”

But that won’t deter him from continuing to put Haystack to good use.

In the 10 minutes I was able to talk with Meyer just prior to Haystack’s Boston launch, he told me that “thousands” have already downloaded the app. Given the volume of users, I’m surprised that Tedesco and Cuozzo are the only ones reporting similar issues. My guess is that others are experiencing similar problems, the way a professor always says that if one person raises their hand and doesn’t understand a concept in academia, others are probably scratching their heads over the same exact question.

Stay tuned to BostInno to see if Mayor Walsh makes good on his threat to take appropriate preventative measures against Haystack, or if Meyer and company get the best of the City of Boston and the app revels in popularity.

Needless to say, he's a fan of the app.
You can read more stories on Boston startups, technology and innovation at https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/inno