New Rochelle Councilman Richard St. Paul (dist. 4) held a second meeting on April 7 to give business owners and residents an opportunity to address the BID (Business Improvement District) sponsored proposal to charge for parking on downtown streets until ll p.m. and for 24 hours in downtown parking lots. St. Paul said most of the downtown is in his district. He suggested that the BID sponsors of the proposal, Marc Jerome, President of the BID, and Ralph DiBart, Executive Director, would either approve or modify their proposal to the City Council at their meeting on April 14.
Claiming business owners in downtown had come to him about a parking problem they were experiencing, Jerome said he wanted to make sure downtown businesses would do well. The Library lot, for example, was completely filled by 6:10 p.m. when he checked. The new CVS on North Avenue was mentioned as needing places to park. Restaurant owners that were present (Bella Bella, Spectators and others) claimed these new proposed parking regulations would be “a nightmare,” for their customers. DiBart countered by saying the BID had previously asked Council for improvements in the lots and cited the recent repaving of the Library lot for which the city paid $100,000.
The shortage of parking was attributed by people in the audience to the Avalon apartments because their residents do not want to pay for parking spaces. Historically New Rochelle has always had a problem with parking. It was suggested that Avalon should have built an underground parking lot. Generally, the feeling was that this new proposal is “bad” for New Rochelle. Kurt Colucci emphasized “You can’t punish one group in society in order to help another.” He said, this proposal “would be an undue burden on residents. out of town visitors. and the already degenerating revenue collected from businesses barely kept afloat.”
Instead of all night parking fees, ticketing of cars at 4 a.m. was suggested because this was done on North Avenue for many years. When the question of where the parking fees go in the City budget was approached, it was determined the money originally goes into the parking fee budget, but Councilman St. Paul clarified that this money could then be used elsewhere.
Since Avalon’s residents with cars are causing the bulk of the parking problems because they refuse to pay for a parking space, the question arose, why can’t the new tenant leases mandate that parking spaces be included in the lease. Avalon is making money but they were given a large tax reduction for 30 years by the City. Ralph DiBart’s answer was that when they did their research they observed people parking on Main Street and walking to several apartment buildings or even to the movie theater. The suggestion was then made that if the restaurants on Division Street need parking, why can’t they pay rent to Avalon for parking spaces. Residents of New Rochelle in the audience did not feel they should have to feed meters because of the restaurants’ need for parking. The problem of where the cars parking overnight in the lots would go when the parking fees are implemented was addressed and one solution was to give nearby residents a sticker that would allow them to park in front of their homes on their street at night. The issue of “residents versus businesses” was cited. Marc Jerome closed by saying he had come to listen. He stated, “I think the downtown is going to come back.”
Dorothy Haden of the Covenant Church where the meeting was held said they had meetings and other events at night which usually start at 7 p.m. People coming to the church such as the dance group and choir will now have to pay. The Pastor, David Holder, expressed similar concerns and agreed all churches in the area, such as Blessed Sacrament, also needed free parking at night.
Business owners who attended the meeting were adamant in their opposition. Eddie Loprete of Bella Bella said, “If they pass this law they are going to shut everyone down. Their lunch business is down already because of parking tickets customers get. It is an inconvenience for us to supply quarters. It’s very unfair because we don’t have our own parking spaces.” James Del Prete of Formal Impression. a tuxedo (sale) and rental store, asked, “What will be the benefit of ticketing cars after 6 p.m. Many people pass by my windows which are lit up at night.” He said by 9 or l0 o’clock at night there were very few cars parked. He would like to see traffic equal to White Plains. Former Councilman Joe Fosina, associated with Mo’s restaurant. said businesses need parking to survive. “Tonight they had l8 people having dinner.” He expressed concern about how they could survive if this proposal is implemented.
This article is from the April 12 issue of the Westchester Herald.