Merchants & Employees For A Better Port Jeff

This page contains Archived articles and commentary - Sorry some of the links are no longer active

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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

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!

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 (1/6/2008) 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.

Metered Parking Update - Village Hall Meeting 11-5-2007

The monthly PJ Village Hall Town Meeting clearly showed the merchants present that it is going to be business as usual when it comes to offering relief to Merchants and our Customers this Holiday season. Previous meetings with village officials have established that the merchants in Port Jeff have suffered severe economic hardships since the advent of metered parking and increased ticket writing activity. The merchants of PJ know that many our customers have taken their business elsewhere. Unfortunately a impassioned request by Stella Tessler (Gift Of Faith) to suspend metered parking for the Holiday Season fell on deaf ears. Suspending Metered parking for the holiday season should have been the first step in correcting and limiting the damage done by metered parking in our town. - Ken Veale PJMC

Village Trustees decide to keep Metered Parking for Holidays
According to Stella Tessler, at the Village Trustees business meeting ( 11-19-2007) the vote to turn the meters off during the winter was DEFEATED. Trustee Barbara Ransome and Mayor Brian Harty voted to turn the meters off. Unfortunately, every day Metered Parking and the threats of tickets are sending potential customers elsewhere. What are the Trustees Capon, Erland and Faulkner thinking about? Newsday's article Browsing Main Street (11-19-07) clearly shows what other towns are doing to bring customers into their towns for the Holiday Season. Port Jeff wasn't even included in the the article about Villages that are customer friendly and promoting holiday shopping and events. Garden City promotes free parking, Glen Cove has revamped its parking to open up more spots, Huntington has suspended it's .25 cent per hour metered parking for the holiday season! This Village needs to listen to it's merchants & employees, Mayor Harty and Barbara Ransome. The small amount of revenue the village will bring in from the meters this holiday season is minimal to the damage it will do to business in town! Considering the damage metered parking and the resulting ticketing has already done to the village economy, suspending metered parking for this Holiday season really makes sense. Once again the Village is on the wrong side of the issue! Get rid of metered parking and all the tickets and let's make Port Jeff a fun and popular place to spread the Holiday cheer! -Ken Veale PJMC

Huntington has Suspended it's Metered parking for the Holiday Season!

This was a story that was actually covered by Eyewitness 7 ...Channel 7 in NYC

(The TV piece was a highlight about local business people and the town of Huntington were working together to bring people to Huntington for a enjoyable shopping and holiday experience)

The message to merchants...service your customers and go the extra mile to enhance their experience

Message to the leadership...try to embrace the idea that a little show of good faith can accomplish a lot... The leadership in the town of Huntington agreed to repeal parking for the holidays...a decision that showed courage and vision to both support their merchants and to enhance the positive experience in Huntington...a lesson can be learned here

PLEASE CLICK THE VIDEO LINK TO SEE HOW WABC COVERED IT!!!!

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5792515

John Diaz
Imagine Gallery
35 Chandler Square
Port Jefferson NY 11777
631-509-5340

(The TV segment was aired multiple times on the weekend of 11/29/2007 and highlight how local business people and the town of Huntington were working together to bring people to Huntington for a enjoyable shopping and holiday experience - Ken)