Manorhaven considers eliminating alternate side parking in winter

Luke Torrance
Four cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Manorhaven. (Photo courtesy of the Village of Manorhaven)

It might be the dog days of summer, but Manorhaven trustees were thinking about snow.

The village board spent most of Thursday’s work session discussing changes to the village’s alternate street parking laws, which will be up for public comment and possibly a vote at the next Board of Trustees meeting on Aug. 30.

The trustees discussed eliminating alternate street parking entirely except in cases of snow emergencies.

This past winter, alternate street parking ran from Jan. 15 to March 15 — a one-month reduction from the winter before that, when alternate street parking started on Dec. 15.

Under the proposed changes, the fine would be increased to $150 and snow emergency hours would be changed from midnight to 2 p.m., giving residents more time to move their vehicles.

“By extending it to 2 p.m., it gives us added time to get that one side really clean before people move over,” Mayor Jim Avena said.

Several trustees said that residents continued to shovel snow from their sidewalks and driveways back on to the street.

To discourage this, the fine for doing so was set at $50 for the first offense and increasing from there.

The board decided to work out a separate volunteer for commercial policies. The fine could go up to $1,000 or 15 days in jail, but Avena said it was unlikely the village would ever go that far.

“We’re not here to write tickets… we’re here to get the streets cleaned up so that it’s safe,” he said.

Should the law be changed, during snow emergencies the Preserve parking lot would be open and parking would only be allowed on the south side of Cambridge Avenue.

The board also brought back noise ordinances for consideration. The trustees had previously discussed the regulations during their May meeting but decided to table it for further refining.

Under the proposed law, time limits would be set on “unreasonable noise,” which was defined as any excessive or unusually loud sound that annoys, disturbs or endangers the comfort, health, peace or safety of a reasonable person.

The village decided not to use decibel level as a determinant.

“Nobody enforces decibels… the police never have and they never will,” said Trustee Ken Kraft, himself a former officer with the Nassau County Police Department.

Loudspeakers would be allowed until 11 p.m. on weekends.

Power equipment would only be allowed to be used between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends for landscapers; residents would be allowed to use their equipment until 7:30 p.m. on both weekdays and weekends.

Like many other North Shore villages, Manorhaven is looking into laws regulating cellular technology and cell node usage. The trustees agreed to look into regulations, with Plandome Manor’s new laws serving as a guide.

The board approved the purchase of a new Muffin Monster sewage grinder. The purchase will cost $48,997, but Avena said the expense was essential until the village completed its project to upgrade the sewers.

“Until we fix [the sewer system], this will be an expense we’re going to have to incur every four or five years,” he said. “We avoided a major problem this week, it was ready to blow. We were in emergency mode, but we’re out of the woods now.”

The board also agreed to raise a couple of fees. The rental registration rate will increase for absentee landlords from $250 to $350. Parking fines would increase from $40 to $60 per offense, the first rate increase in 13 years.

Stop signs will also be added to several intersections around the village, including Sagamore Hill Drive at Nesquake Avenue and where Cambridge Avenue intersects Inwood Road, Kirkwood Road, Linwood Road North and Marwood Road North.

Reach reporter Luke Torrance by email at ltorrance@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 214, or follow him on Twitter @LukeATorrance.

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