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"I Like to See A Man Proud of the Place in Which He Lives" Abraham Lincoln
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Merchants & Employees For A Better Port Jeff |
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"I Like to See A Man Proud of the Place in Which He Lives" Abraham Lincoln
 2007 was not good for the merchants and employees of Port Jeff! The greater Port Jeff area is quickly becoming an economically de-stabilized zone for its merchants and employees. Our politicians have developed and put into place programs (metered parking) and policies (ticketing and strict code enforcement) that are negatively impacting all the merchants and employees of Port Jeff. Me4PortJeff is a group of merchants and employees who want a better Port Jeff. In 2008 the merchants & employees left in PJ need to come together and address the many problems we are all facing. Some of the community issues, We feel that need to be revisited by Port Jeff Politicians are: metered parking, code enforcement, strict law enforcement, motorcycle parking and special events that directly compete with our local stores and restaurants. We are also very interested in quality of life issues like litter, overflowing garbage cans, street & parking lot lighting and local environmental issues. Policies and programs that discourage visitors from coming, staying, enjoying and patronizing our Stores and Restaurants need to be changed. Let make Port Jeff a friendly, welcoming, more desirable place to visit and work. |
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Get Involved & Let's Make Port Jeff A Better Place! Our
politicians don't seem to care that they have implemented programs (metered
parking) and policies (ticketing and strict enforcement)
which are encouraging people to go and spend their time and money elsewhere. Less visitors and
customers to Port Jeff means less merchants and employees in Port Jeff.
Instead of chasing people from Port Jefferson we need to welcome
people to our town!
We all know we are living in tough economic times but
as any
merchant can tell you, business is way down because of paid parking, tickets
and strict code enforcement. Our customers have voted with their
feet and have stopped coming to our stores and
restaurants- they don't need the hassle - they have simply
gone elsewhere. Let's work together to make Port Jeff a better place to
visit and work!
Contact us at
Me 4 Port Jeff |
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Parking Meters Prove Problematic " People are complaining about these meters on a daily basis. We have spent $250,000 and the machines don't work right." Mayor Harty 1/28/2008 Tell us something we don't know! According to a article in Suffolk Life (11/6/2008) The Port Jeff Board met on on 1/28/2008 to discuss a number of issues, including ongoing problems the village has had with parking meters. As we already new, besides just being difficult to use for the average visitor, the board was informed the meters don't operate properly in cold weather and the meter's paper receipts are problematic because they are affected by dampness and rain! The board was also informed that the 19 meters require more maintenance than the village was led to expect and that according to Dwight Buck for a variety of reasons, hard wired meters would have been a better choice than the solar powered meters installed. According to Mayor Harty " People are complaining about these meters on a daily basis. We have spent $250,000 and the machines don't work right. The business community is so frustrated. We're going to get some answers here or we're going to have to make some changes". Our Answer to the Mayor is we need change and we need Now! The business community is definitely frustrated. The meters and resulting tickets make a difficult business environment far worse. As the summer of 2007 showed most merchants reported large sales declines which they attributed to metered parking and ticket writing campaign that followed. We know our customers don't want paid parking, We know the meters are difficult to use. Metered parking is wrong for Port Jeff. It was poorly thought out, poorly executed and has proven to be a problematic solution to the very manageable parking problems PJ has experienced in the past. |
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Parking Ticket Fines Going Up! If the merchants didn't have enough problems with paid parking and a slowing economy, now the village is considering raising it's parking ticket fines. This is just another way to tell people to stay away from Port Jeff. Please come to the next the Public meeting being held on Feb. 25,2008 to discuss raising the parking ticket fines and say no to the Mayor and the Board. According to Suffolk Life, the Village wants to raise the fines accordingly:
The merchants support our code enforcement officers in their efforts to enforce our current village codes. We want everyone to obey the village rules and parking laws but people do make mistakes. Now is not the time to raise and further penalize visitors to Port Jeff. We need to encourage people to visit Port Jeff not give them more reasons not to come to Port Jeff. March Update: The Village raised the parking ticket fines- Just another example of the village not being in touch of the needs of the business community. The village's answer to a seasonal parking problem, install a $250,00 metered parking system, double the code enforcement budget, create a ticketing campaign blitz and now raise the fines and the villages parking problems will go away. Unfortunately, the customers the merchants count on have gone away also! Raising the parking fines is just another reason people are not spending their time or money in PJ. |
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Are the Parking Meters legal? At the Feb 25, 2008 public Village Hall Meeting, village resident and online editor for The Port Times Record John Springer challenged the legality of metered parking enforcement since it is not addressed in village code. According to John Springer who also owns the Old Port Pub with Mayor Harty, contends the village has not followed NY state law when it changed it's parking lots from free 2 & 4 hour parking to metered parking. Springer questioned the villages legal right to ticket and to fine. Springer also called the enforcement discriminatory because residents don't have to pay in the metered lots. We can only hope John Springer is correct. When will the village trustees realize metered parking and the resulting ticket blitz is a monster that is destroying our village!
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Is Mayor Harty in favor of Seasonal metered parking? In the April 2, 2008 edition of Suffolk Life the current mayor of Port Jeff is quoted as saying: " I still support seasonal parking meters but in the government majority rules". The mayor noted he was out voted 3-2 by the village board. The town of Brookhaven lot in Port Jeff doesn't collect parking fees during the winter months. According to the current Mayor who was head of the parking committee which recommended metered parking, the original plan was to shut the meters for the winter. Metered parking is a very expensive solution to a manageable parking problem that exists for a few months in the summer. People visiting town don't want to pay for metered parking. The metered lots are basically empty all spring fall and winter while visitors seek free parking spaces in the village. Parking is free in all the towns around Port Jeff. Port Jeff town should never have got in the metered parking business! The town has spent $250,000 on installing metered parking, the code enforcement budget has doubled, merchants are suffering lost sales, employees are being let go, people are shopping elsewhere - metered parking in PJ and the resulting ticket writing campaign is just a bad solution to a seasonal parking problem. One day we can only hope this Mayor or a future mayor will realize metered parking with all it's expense and resulting problems is just not good for Port Jeff. Port Jeff could have saved the taxpayers a lot of money and the merchants a lot of grief if it would have managed the town parking lots and resources in a way that balanced the needs of the residents and the business community. Ken Veale - PJMC
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Visitors To Me4PortJeff.com |
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You'll Find It In PJ - Come On Down |
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Merchants & Employees For A Better Port Jeff 106 W Broadway -
Port Jeff - New York - 11777 |
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