Restaurant, Bar Owners Cook Up Protest Over Paid Parking Extension

Tensions ran high Monday night as restaurant and bar owners flocked to Village Hall to protest a Board of Trustees' decision last month to extend metered parking hours from 10 p.m. until midnight.

The discussion lasted nearly two hours and included a PowerPoint presentation and over a dozen speakers, some favoring the new rules as a carefully thought-out, progressive, long-term remedy to parking woes in the village, while others feared a negative impact the changes will have on business in an economic climate they said remains extremely challenging.

A presentation from Business Improvement District President Tom Schafer noted that Port Jefferson already charges for parking later than any other village on Long Island, with most stopping at 6 p.m. However it remained unclear whether other villages, like Port Jefferson, stop charging for a portion of the year.

But Schafer, among others, noted that during the busy season, charging customers at such late hours would put nighttime businesses at a competitive disadvantage with other villages.

"Port Jefferson, at 10:00 p.m., already has the latest metered parking on Long Island," said Schafer, owner of Tommy's Place and Schafer's. "To extend to midnight would possibly make us the latest in New York State. I don't know if we want to lay claim to that."

But members of the village Parking Committee – an advisory board that recommended extending the parking hours – noted that actually, that would be a forward-thinking idea that other villages will eventually find themselves doing as well.

Michael Mart, an ex-member of the Parking Committee, said that Port Jefferson is already ahead of the game, and extending hours even further will promote turnover during later hours, thus creating more revenue for nighttime businesses and funds for the village to further improve parking facilities around the village, including an upcoming renovation to the Trader's Cove lot.

"Huntington now is in the exact same process we started 10 years ago in trying to figure out how to solve its problem," he said. "And like us, they are hiring professionals to look at them. I'm pretty certain they and other communities will come up with the same answer."

Proprietors from Ruvo, The Fifth Season, Spycoast, Pace's Steakhouse and Port Jazz all disagreed, however, as did a former member of the Parking Committee. While the thought of keeping clean and improved parking lots with a safe environment was a thought nobody disagreed with, "you have to draw the line somewhere," said Port Jazz owner Ken David.

And while extending the parking hours two hours might seem sensible to some, to the unknowing customer, the change could have a negative ripple effect.

"It took forever for us to train our customers," said Joe DiNicola, co-owner of Ruvo. "We've spent countless hours and money, telling our customers, 'You have to pay until 10.' Employees do everything in their power to help them not get tickets ... But once they come out from dinner, 10:15, and they have $30 ticket on widow, they’re not coming back."

DiNicola suggested increasing the cost of parking, rather than extending times.

Phil Griffith said he recalled hearing similar concerns from the business community when paid parking was implemented five years ago, and "the parking lots are still filled. People keep coming."

After discussing the issue in the past, the Village Board of Trustees decided at its Feb. 4 meeting to change the parking hours after taking a measure off the floor, meaning it was not on the listed agenda prior to the meeting. Trustee Lee Rosner – who said he "was not prepared for that vote" – cast the sole dissenting vote in the 4-1 tally, and hopes to change board members' minds before parking takes effect on March 15.

A measure late Monday night to roll back the parking hours back to 10 p.m. was tabled, and Rosner plans on meeting with BID members Tuesday night before another village meeting next Monday.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Michael Mart is a member of the Parking Commitee. He previously served on the committee.

What do you think about moving paid parking from 10 p.m. to midnight? Let us know in the comments.