There was a central theme to the Mineola Board of Trustees meeting last week: parking.
Mayor Scott Strauss addressed a lack of parking in the downtown area of Mineola on Sundays. “Because we have free parking on Sundays and it’s a quick ride to New York City on the train, people from all over come over and park here all day,” he said at the meeting last Wednesday.
Strauss said people parking in downtown Mineola to take the train to the city deter residents from supporting local businesses. The mayor said he is considering discussing with the board having metered parking hours throughout downtown Mineola from noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Trustee Dennis J. Walsh emphasized to village residents that the meters are “not about money but about keeping spaces open.”
The discussion about parking issues did not stop there. Amanda Gandolfo, owner of the Fit Body Boot Camp on Mineola Boulevard, addressed the board about village restrictions on early morning parking in the village.
Gandolfo said her business is nearing its one-year anniversary, which she described as a feat since “not many businesses make it in one year,” but she is concerned about her 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. classes. Her fitness class attendees keep getting ticketed by the village due to a rule barring parking around her part of the boulevard between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
According to the village code, no vehicle can be parked and left unattended on any street between the hours of 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.
This rule is having a detrimental effect on the 5 a.m. classes, according to Gandolfo, who said losing members from the class of 60 due to fears of tickets could cost her about $10,000 a month in revenue. If this class is lost, she said she would have to move.
Strauss, sympathetic to Gandolfo’s struggle, commended her business on its first year and offered to start discussing changes, saying the board is on her side.
“Those rules from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. have been around forever. I don’t know why — maybe it’s time to change them,” Mayor Strauss said.
After Gandolfo spoke her piece with the Mineola board, another town resident, who did not wish to reveal her name, described parking problems on Wellington Road near NYU Winthrop Hospital.
Due to the construction going on around her area, she said, “things are going from bad to worse.”
Residents on her block are having trouble parking on Wellington, the resident said. She asked if there was any chance residents on the block could get some special treatment, such as placards for cars owned by residents on the block.
Village Attorney John P. Gibbons Jr. said New York roads are part of the public trust, meaning anybody can park there. There can be no discrimination against nonresidents, he added.
“It’s not fair that you can’t park in front of your house and hospital employees take it,” Gibbons told the resident.
