Residents, Groups Protest Parking Meter Program In Downtown Bay Shore

ISLIP, NY - Over 100 Bay Shore residents gathered at Islip Town Hall on Tuesday afternoon to protest the parking meter program established in downtown Bay Shore over the summer.

Originally in 2014, the Town began a plan to add meters at certain town parking lots including:

• The Town Lot at South Park Avenue and Gibson Street
• The Town Lot at Maple Avenue and Gibson Street
• The Town Lots along Gibson Street between Maple Avenue and Shore Lane
• The Town Lots along the south side of Mechanicsville Road between Park Avenue and Third Avenue
• A portion of the Town Lot west of North Park Avenue between Mechanicsville and Main Street

However, after several complaints n June, the Town changed the plan to include:

• Installing parking meters in lots behind Main Street which would be become active after 6 p.m. on weekdays rather than at 9 a.m.
• Running meters on weekends from 9 a.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. on Sundays.
• Creating more weekday parking spaces in Lot B behind Main Street at Mechanicsville Road
• Adding additional employee spaces behind the YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts on Main Street.

Since then several groups have been continued to oppose the plan which led to the rally on Tuesday.

The event was organized by an informal coalition of community groups including the Concerned Citizens of Bay Shore, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Bay Shore, the Bay Shore-Brightwaters Summit Council, and the Bay Shore Women’s Huddle.

“The Town Board has abandoned the Bay Shore community in exchange for a modest boost in revenue,”attorney Jason Fenley of Concerned Citizens of Bay Shore said. “The Town Board has abandoned their promise that at least these new revenues would be reinvested in Bay Shore. We won’t allow this unfair tax on Main Street to go unchallenged.”

During the event, organizers read a list of demands, which are:

• A full and accurate accounting of expenses and revenues since the inception of the program
• Creation of a Bay Shore parking district and designated fund to account for expenses and revenues going forward
• An immediate expansion throughout the Town of Islip so that Bay Shore does not shoulder the full burden of the Board’s revenue-generating scheme
• Operational improvements to the program, which has been difficult to use, including clear signage explaining how to use the meters, machines that take dollar bills, and a smart phone application similar to one that’s been implemented in other downtowns.

In a statement to Newsday, Supervisor Angie Carpenter program was developed to meet the needs of the growing community and that most of the parking meters in Bay Shore are still free.

“The town has worked with the community since the program’s infancy to ensure that this parking management program maximized the ease of available parking in our downtowns, railroad stations and major popular areas, while at the same time, eliminating the abuse of those who park beyond the allotted times,” Carpenter told Newsday. “Overall, the vast majority of parking in downtown Bay Shore is still free.”

According to Chamber of Commerce president Donna Periconi, “the parking meter program continues to negatively impact businesses in our downtown district. This is unacceptable and unnecessary.”

After the rally, the residents and community leaders announced plans to attend the Town Board meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. to deliver a letter with their demands.

“If the Town Board really wants to help manage traffic from the Fire Island ferry season, then in the off season, parking meters in the LIRR parking lot and backlots behind Main Street should be unmetered," Susan Barbash of the Bay Shore Women’s Huddle. "It just isn’t necessary."

Watch a video from the rally below:

Photo: Screenshot/Video posted by Jason Fenley For Islip Town Council

What do you think? Should there be paid parking in downtown Bay Shore? Let us know in the comments below.