An agreement that would grant the Manhasset Park District authority to issue parking tickets on Plandome Road business area is in the works with the Town of North Hempstead, Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations President Richard Bentley said last Wednesday.
He said the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations agrees on the need for the park district to be able to issue parking tickets but is concerned that the agreement being discussed would be too limited.
“The Plandome Rd area has been historically problematic and we believe they are part of the solutions,” Bentley said of the park district. “When I say the Plandome Rd area, it includes the immediate adjacent town streets on Plandome road.”
“We know that when parking enforcement tightens on Plandome Road, drivers will start parking on the streets adjacent to Plandome Road,” he added. “That is something we don’t want.”
Manhasset Park District Commissioner David Paterson said discussions between the town and the park district are in the early stages.
“We are still in the preliminary stages. There have been no agreements or paperwork signed,” Paterson said.
He declined further comment.
“I don’t know what to tell you. We have agreed with the town not to talk about this,” Paterson said.
Town Councilwoman Anna Kaplan, who is also involved in the discussions referred the Manhasset Times to town officials for comment on the discussions. Efforts to reach town officials were unavailing.
Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations Vice President Andrew Schwenk said he attended March’s park district meeting and suggested that it would be beneficial if the park district patrolled the side of the streets along Plandome Road as well.
At the meeting, park district commissioners told Shwenk that they were told by North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth that the side streets are patrolled by Nassau County and, therefore, she would not have the authority to give permission for the park district to patrol, according to minutes of the meeting.
Schwenk declined comment on the record.
Park district commissioners told Schwenk that they would like to get the inter-municipal agreement in place to patrol Plandome Road first and then possibly add the side streets.
But Bentley said he disagrees.
“We think they are being short sighted and it is going to cause discontent,” Bentley said.
Bentley said if provisions for side-street patrolling are not included in the park district’s agreement with the town, it might be difficult to add later.
Paterson said the park district has been in constant communication.
“We told the civics that this was going to be a long process. There is nothing we can discuss without discussing with the town.” Paterson said. “We’ve been discussing this for quite some time and you don’t make a promise you can’t keep.”
Bentley said he understands the park district’s decision to pursue the agreement with the town before asking for further additions to the agreement but said the park district is going about the process the wrong way.
“I understand and I appreciate the MPD’s success in trying to get this [inter-municipal agreement] in place but I don’t think that’s the best way to handle it,” Bentley said.
Bentley said he’s concerned residents are going to be “screwed” when drivers start moving their cars on the side streets.
He said the park district could propose a dividing line as to how far the park district can issue tickets on the side streets and that could satisfy the town.
“Let’s recognize that in advance that they can go past Plandome Road and let’s hammer that now when we have the ability to have the best agreement we have so that it doesn’t have the negative impact,” Bentley said.
