Town Board Hikes Parking Meter Fees

Cars parked on Wall Street near the intersection with Main Street in Huntington village. The town board voted Tuesday to increase parking fees on side streets in the village. Long Islander News photo/Connor Beach

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

It’s going to get a little more expensive to park on some streets in Huntington village.

The Huntington town board approved Tuesday an increase in parking rates for metered spots on many of the village’s side streets.

The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Eugene Cook and seconded by Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, increases the fee to park on streets like Green, New and West Carver Streets from 50 cents per hour to $1 per hour. Parking rates on the village’s side streets will now match the cost to park on higher trafficked Main Street and New York Avenue.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Cook said. “Parking was different on some streets, and this equals it out.”

The fee increase was passed 3-2. Councilman Ed Smyth voted with Cook and Lupinacci to approve the increase, while Councilwoman Joan Cergol and Mark Cuthbertson opposed it.

Cuthbertson said he felt the town should not increase parking fees “until we as a board take more concrete steps towards acquiring more parking spaces.”

Cergol, referring to a 2013 parking study by consulting firm Nelson\Nygaard, said the fee increase “runs completely counter to what that recommendation was.”

In their report, Nelson/Nygaard recommended the town charged $1 per hour to park on core blocks along New York Avenue and Main Street and $.50 per hour on blocks within the area bounded by High Street, Prospect Street, Gerard Street and Myrtle Avenue.

Cook said he didn’t feel there is a need to distinguish between these “primary” and “secondary” streets for parking rates. He said it doesn’t make sense that a driver could pay a lower rate if they simply turned the corner from Main Street onto Wall Street.

The fee increase comes after a recent announcement by Lupinacci that the Department of Public Safety created a new Parking Enforcement Team (PET) in downtown Huntington village on March 1.

Town officials said between March 1 and April 10 the PET, two full-time and occasional part-time officers, have issued 3,303 parking summonses worth a face value of $233,935.

“We’ve had virtually no negative feedback from the public since we rolled out our Parking Enforcement Team and summons numbers are up over 100 percent,” Public Safety Director Peter Sammis said in a statement. “I think people are relieved to see the enforcement of parking rules, especially when there has been abuse of parking for so long.”

The town board unanimously passed Tuesday a new law requiring drivers to respond to a ticket within 30 days. Penalties for ignoring a parking ticket will include a default judgment, nonrenewal of New York State motor vehicle registration or booting a car.

The new parking enforcement law takes effect on July 1.

Showdown On The Agenda Passes With No Fight

By Connor Beach

cbeach@longislandergroup.com

A new rule will give the public earlier access to the list of resolutions up for debate at upcoming town board meetings.

The rule change was written by Councilman Ed Smyth in an effort to “achieve greater transparency in town hall.”

In an interview last week, Smyth said resolutions should be available 10 days before the scheduled town board meeting instead of three. The extra time would benefit both the public and the town board members who have to consider the resolutions, he said.

Smyth said the resolutions are usually made available at around 4 p.m. on the Friday before a Tuesday meeting, not enough time for board members or the public to analyze each document.

“Since we’ve gone back to monthly meetings there can be as many as 70 resolutions on the agenda,” Smyth said. “Even if only 30 are substantive, there’s no way you can responsibly vet them.”

His colleagues on the town board approved Smyth’s rule change at Tuesday’s meeting, though not without some negotiation. Councilwoman Joan Cergol, Councilman Eugene Cook and Supervisor Chad Lupinacci voted with Smyth, while Councilman Mark Cuthbertson opposed the change.

“This was originally submitted as a 10-day advance notice, but through some discussion we compromised on a six-day advance notice,” Smyth said during the meeting.

Although he didn’t have enough support to pass 10 days of advance notice, Smyth called the compromise a “good start towards increasing the transparency of the Huntington town government.”

Cergol added during the meeting that the board members “have talked a lot about transparency both at the dais and during workshop.”

“I think we all want transparency,” she said.

The resolution will allow board members to add resolutions to the meeting agenda inside of the six-day advance notice period as a “late starter.” Town procedure requires these resolutions be voted on twice, once to add the late starter to the agenda and again to pass the resolution.

Resolutions submitted late must also include an explanation from the relevant department head justifying the delay and why the matter can not wait until next month.

Restaurants Go Strawless Ahead Of County Law

Beth Fiteni, Heidi Cohen and Tara Marie Kotliar of Green Inside and Out show off the Strawless Suffolk door decal at Mac’s Steakhouse in Huntington village. Photo/Green Inside and Out

By Connor Beach

cbeach@longislandergroup.com

In advance of a recent Suffolk Law banning plastic straws, 12 restaurants in the downtown village of Huntington have signed a “Strawless Pledge.”

In December 2018, local volunteers visited 70 establishments asking owners to make the pledge to go completely strawless, provide biodegradable straws only upon request or provide reusable alternatives to plastic. In addition to the 12 restaurants that have made the “Strawless Pledge,” seven restaurants voluntarily moved in that direction, without taking a pledge and five more have expressed interest.

Green Inside and Out, a Huntington-based nonprofit organization, led the campaign to urge Huntington village restaurants to make the switch. The campaign was coordinated with the Huntington High School Environmental Club, Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition, the Long Island Sierra Club, Starflower Experiences, Healthy Planet, and Atlantic Marine Conservation Society. All of the groups sent volunteers to talk to restaurants and distribute information.

The Suffolk County Legislature adopted earlier this month a law requiring restaurants to only offer biodegradable straws and stirrers upon customer request.

The effort emerged through the Single Use Plastics Committee, led by Legislator Kara Hahn (D-Port Jefferson), who sponsored the resolution. Last summer she had announced an awareness campaign called "Strawless Suffolk.” Each restaurant signing the pledge in Huntington received a Strawless Suffolk door decal so customers can identify them.

“The Suffolk legislation is a huge success, and I am even prouder of these restaurants in my home town of Huntington village who have stepped up to be proactive in protecting our environment,” said Beth Fiteni, Director of Green Inside and Out.

Legislator William Spencer (D-Centerport) said he hopes the straw legislation will impact consumer behavior in a similar way to the five-cent fee on plastic bags.

“We have a major plastics crisis, and hopefully this will help reduce in amount of plastic in our landfills and waterways,” Spencer said.

Goin’ Strawless
Restaurants that have signed onto the “Strawless Pledge” include:

• bee-ORGANIC
• Hatch
• Kai Poke
• Mac’s Steakhouse
• New York Panini
• Pazzo Paisanos
• Osteria da Nino
• Red Restaurant
• The Rust & Gold
• Sapsuckers Hops & Grub
• Stella Blue
• The Shed Restaurant