After several months of debate, the Manorhaven Board of Trustees voted Thursday to implement new snow parking laws in the village.
“I believe, based on the adjustments of the law, that this [winter] will be even better,” said Mayor Jim Avena.
Under the new law, alternate side parking would only be required if the village declares a “snow emergency” between Dec. 1 and March 31.
When declared, alternate street parking for that day would be in effect between midnight and 2 p.m. Exceptions are Cambridge Avenue and Oldwood Road, where parking will only be allowed on one side of the street and will not alternate.
Residents who leave the village for an extended period of during the winter will be required to park their cars off of the streets.
“People who intend to be away for any period of time had better park their car somewhere other than the curb,” Avena said.
The penalty for failing to observe alternate side parking is $150. That fee will increase by $50 for every 30 days that it is late, up to $300 if the payment comes in more than 90 days after the penalty is issued.
The trustees had discussed the changes to the snow emergency parking regulations for several months. Although members of the board had some disagreements during past work session, the trustees voted unanimously to pass the law.
Another local law was put up for public discussion but was tabled until October. The law would enact a six-month moratorium that would temporarily ban the construction of wireless telecommunications towers, facilities, and cell nodes in the village. Village attorney Jonathan Fielding said the law is meant to address the proliferation of cell nodes that cellular providers have been installing to improve data service.
Several members of the community expressed concern over the nodes — which would allow for the implementation of a more powerful 5G network — were causing harm through radiation. But as he stated at the work session a week earlier, Fielding said the village could only regulate the nodes on aesthetic grounds.
“This board has the power to regulate the height, size, the physical aspects of it, but nothing related to the radiation or the electromagnetic transmissions,” he said. “That was a decision Congress made to take that authority away from municipalities [as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.]”
Following the public hearings, the board heard from Alexandra Trinkoff of Residents Forward, who wanted to partner with the village to clean up Manorhaven Boulevard.
“Residents Forward has always been community-minded in making our town and Port Washington more beautiful, cleaner, safer and better, and we’d like to include Manorhaven in those efforts,” she said. “We want to have a closer relationship with Manorhaven.”
She announced that a clean-up of the boulevard — similar to one held in Port Washington in the spring — will take place on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 9 to 10 a.m. Garbage will be cleaned up, the streets will be swept and bulbs will be planted.
While the topic was not up for public discussion, Avena did discuss the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting that took place on Sept. 17. During the meeting, dozens of residents expressed their disapproval over a proposed mixed-use — though primarily residential — four-story building on Manhasset Isle. The meeting was tabled until Nov. 13.
Avena said that in order to accommodate a larger crowd, the meeting will be held at the Knights of Columbus building on Manorhaven Boulevard. He said the village contacted the Senior Citizens Center about hosting the meeting but the space was booked that night.
Reach reporter Luke Torrance by email at ltorrance@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 214, or follow him on Twitter @LukeATorrance.
