More Metered Parking Coming to Tarrytown

If you're tired of circling around downtown Tarrytown looking for a parking spot, your troubles may soon be over. At least 35 new spots will soon be available within a couple blocks of Main Street.

After years of negotiations, village officials last week announced that they have reached a verbal agreement to purchase a portion of the parking lot behind the Masonic Lodge at 54 Main Street. The village had hoped to acquire the entire lot and fit up to 30 spaces, but they've settled on enough asphalt to install at least 20 new spots.

The lot will include a single meter that spits out validated tickets after a driver pays, instead of the individual meters that line other lots and streets in the village.

The village first attempted to purchase the lot in 2005, but officials at the lodge balked at the offer.

"It wasn't about the price, they just didn't want to give up the parking," Village Administrator Michael Blau said.

In 2006 the village mulled claiming eminent domain on the lot, a move that underscored the dire lack of parking in the downtown area. But the owners of the lodge changed their tune and opened up lengthy negotiations with the village.

At a work session last week, Blau said the village is now waiting for the lodge's lawyers to return a written agreement so the mayor can sign it and make the deal official.

The village has also accepted an offer from the Junior League on Broadway to acquire a 17-spot parking lot on West Elizabeth Street.

Trustee Rebecca McGovern, a board member at the Junior League, said the women's group wants to retain two of the spots for League officials, but doesn't want to deal with upkeep anymore.

Officials said that move would not only add parking for merchants, shoppers, and diners, but could clear up the issue of vans and trucks parking there illegally. 

"We have a lot of problems with commercial vehicles parking in the Junior League overnight. We're constantly threatening to tow them," Blau said.

He added that the new lot could be a good place to corral store owners during the day and village residents overnight.

"The merchants don't have permits and they don't feed the meters, but they don't get ticketed," said Blau.

No local store owners would admit to parking for free, but most said they would welcome the new spots.

"It can't be bad for business to make it easier for people to get in here," said William Arroyo, owner of River View Wines & Spirits on Main Street.

"I wouldn't mind parking a couple blocks away" if the village issued permits for merchants to park in the Junior League lot, he added.

Some area residents, like Sara Jacobi of Irvington, are thrilled about the announcements.

"I come to visit my mother [in Sleepy Hollow] all the time, and on a Saturday it takes us longer to find a spot than to drive down here," she said.

Others, like Pete Major, are indifferent.

"Parking is never really a big problem for me. I'm around [Main Street] five days a week and I can't complain," said Major, who works as a conductor for the MTA.

But, he said, "it could be good for commerce around here, and for Third Friday," referring to the monthly street fair that often draws hundreds of people into town.

And at least a few people in Tarrytown are upset.

Nanci Hernandez-Fajardo's parents live on South Washington Street, and their backyard faces the Masonic Lodge lot.

"If the village takes over the lot, that would mean more problems for my parents and our neighbors," she said.

"During the summer, my parents are always in their backyard. More car spaces mean more car fumes into my parents' home."

The Board of Trustees will discuss the parking situation, including the official price tag for the Mason lot, at upcoming meetings in May.