Patchogue Proposes Moratorium On Businesses Due To Parking Issues

PATCHOGUE, NY - Patchogue Village has been growing rapidly over the past few years, so much so that now officials have suggested to put a moratorium on applications for new restaurants and taverns. The village board voted unanimously during the meeting on Monday to set a public hearing on the proposed moratorium for January 27.

Mayor Paul Pontieri said that he had met with the Chamber of Commerce restaurant committee to discuss the businesses located on Main Street and how some are struggling due to concerns about parking. There are currently 42 restaurants and bars located in downtown Patchogue and 2,200 public parking spaces to accommodate the employees and customers of theses businesses.

"We need to slow it down, give us a little time to gain control over the parking issue and allow us to make some hard decisions on how we have to deal with it," Pontieri told Patch.

If the moratorium passes on January 27, it will move to the Suffolk County Planning Commission who will review it and give their recommendation to the village board. The board can then either accept it or override it with a majority vote. The moratorium will apply to all future applications, meaning anybody who is looking down the road to open a business they will have to wait 18 months under the proposed moratorium.

Officials are already making headway to finding more parking space. Pontieri says they are working with Suffolk County to get the final approvals to build a parking garage behind the Sixth District Court on West Avenue and Main Street. They are also looking at areas Church Street and Oak Street to create more public parking lots.

"This is about the sustainability of the downtown over time," he told Patch. "At this point we might have some negative reaction from people over this, but if we don't make it a decision to move forward then we are not doing our job."