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I live in Boston and I use the E-brake all year long when parking and it does not freeze up or stick even in our harsh, snowy, sub zero winters. The reason for using the E-brake is that on a hill you can get a condition called "torque lock" with the automatic where the transmission will not be able to be shifted out of park. If this happens, you must have a couple of people push the car slightly up the hill to unload the transmission. It is kind of like what happens to your steering wheel when you force it to lock with the key removed and you must turn it slightly to unlock it. The right way to park an automatic, is to hold the car with the brake, set the E-brake, then put the car into park. When driving off, start the car, step on the brake, put the car into gear, then release the E-brake. This info is in the owners manual.
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