The new $150 Village parking permit fee may not have generated much revenue yet, but it has been in place long enough to generate much controversy, as a large group of tenants who utilize the affected Village parking fields voiced their objections at the November 5th meeting of the Garden City Board of Trustees.

Anticipating many speakers on the topic given a plethora of new faces in the boardroom, Mayor Robert Rothschild began the meeting by announcing that the Board was sending the parking permit fee issue back to the Village’s Traffic Commission for review. The Mayor said the Board has requested the commission consider adjusting the hour restrictions after monitoring the lots over the last few weeks. They are also being asked to consider the possibility of eliminating permits. The next Traffic Commission meeting will be held on Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Village Hall boardroom.

The parking permit fee has been applied to the Village parking field on Fair Court, and Village Parking Field 5, which is located behind the Garden City Medical Building at 520 Franklin Avenue. Village Parking Field 5 contains 193 spaces, 96 of which are designated for permit holders (93 are two-hour spaces, and four are reserved for the disabled).

The parking field at Fair Court, which is located at the corner of Old Country Road and Washington Avenue, has a total of 396 parking spaces: 312 require a permit, 37 have a 2-hour limit, 38 have a 1-hour limit, and nine spaces are designated for the physically challenged.

“I do not believe the configuration now at Fair Court allows enough spaces for full-time employees to be in that lot,” Mayor Rothschild said.

The Mayor said he wished more people became active in the parking issue nine and a half years ago when the Village was considering acquiring homes to be used to extend the parking lot. He acknowledged that it was an “ugly” time in the Village’s history, but added, “that was the time when people who wanted parking in those lots should have come out, and they totally ignored the whole situation.”

He said he was a major proponent of extending the parking lots, and believes the Village should have done more at the time to make it happen. “Unfortunately we didn’t do some things we should have done,” he lamented. However, he said the Board is now revisiting the parking problem to find a solution. “We’re trying to fix the situation. We’re trying to make it more efficient, and at the same time help some of the business owners and tenants.”

The majority of speakers argued that the permit fee is unfair to tenants because it singles out only a few office buildings. Trustee John Mauk reminded them that these are the only lots that have the privilege of parking permits, and that the fee is being applied to using the permits, and not to the individual buildings.

“This is not something that’s being done arbitrarily, it’s not something being applied unfairly as it has been suggested,” he said. “Rather, if we are going to have permits and we are going to grant special privileges to certain groups, all we’re saying is that the Village should also have the right to impose a fee for some of those special privileges.”

Trustee Dennis Donnelly said the fee amount was arrived at because all Village permit fees are $150, including the parking permit fee residents pay to use the parking lot at the Garden City Long Island Railroad station. Trustee Mauk acknowledged that none of the trustees like to impose fees. However, he admitted it’s a problem because the Village has increasing expenses and does not want residents to have to shoulder more of the financial burden. “Where can we continue to find money to pay for the services that the residents, tenants and visitors to the Village expect and look for on a daily basis?” he asked.

The Board had considered implementing a $100 parking permit fee for the two lots in September, 2008, but the motion was defeated with a vote of 7 to 1. Thomas Lamberti, who was second deputy mayor at the time, was the sole supporter of the fee. He argued that it was unfair that tenants be allowed to park for free when the Village charged residents a $100 fee to park in the lot at the Garden City Long Island Railroad station. The fee was increased this year to $150.

Charles Ajlouny said most of the tenants in the buildings located at 320 and 350 Franklin Avenue are attorneys. “If we get together and decide to file a lawsuit against you, the legal bills alone to fight us will be more than offset by the taxes you are going to raise. And I can assure you, as an attorney, as a member of the Bar, that if this goes through, a lawsuit’s coming, and you’ll lose because it’s unconstitutional.”

When asked for comment after the meeting by The Garden City News, Village Counsel Gerard Fishberg responded via e-mail, “It would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific threatened litigation. However, as a general rule, the village looks to avoid taking actions that might be considered ‘unconstitutional.’”

Mayor Rothschild was annoyed by some of the comments from tenants that the fee will hurt small businesses located in the buildings. “I have always been a major proponent of the commercial district in this Village, and I will not as the Mayor, allow this Board to do anything that will hurt the commercial district in this Village,” he pledged.

Irene Goodwin, who along with her husband owns the buildings at 310, 320 and 350 Old Country Road, said they negotiate leases with their tenants with the understanding that parking in the lot will be free. She believes the reconfiguration the Traffic Commission will consider may help, but she also asked the Board to reconsider the fee. “I think it’s the wrong way to go,” she said.

Tenants are not required to purchase parking permits. Free parking is provided behind the Chamber of Commerce building, which is 1.5 blocks away from parking field 5. The Mayor said some employees are not aware that the lot is available. Attorney Charles M. Strain of Farrell Fritz, P.C., a firm that represents the tenants located at 520 Franklin Avenue, said employees do not park at that location because the lighting is not good and they do not feel safe.

Strain said a clear message was sent by voters this year that they want less taxes and fees and for government, especially in Nassau County, to run more efficiently. He said the Village could take the “first step” by hearing their call and eliminating the fee.

Strain also complained that Parking Field 5 is in need of repaving. The Mayor responded that it is one of the many projects that were deferred during the budget work sessions held earlier this year given the difficult economy.

Mayor Rothschild said during those budget sessions, many revenue-generating ideas were supported by residents. However, as they were implemented or seriously considered, people who would be affected began attending meetings and writing letters in protest. He specifically mentioned the controversial proposal to institute a $30 per game fee for field usage, which was unanimously voted down after a large group of residents attended a budget work session in March. The parking permit fee and a special sanitation removal fee for “excessive accumulation of waste” by businesses which went into effect in September are other examples of fees that proved controversial.

“It really is amazing, when it finally hits someone’s pocketbook, they needed to come and talk about it,” he said. He added that he thinks it is “wonderful” when people feel so strongly about an issue.

The Mayor also warned residents that the Board is going to again be faced with very difficult decisions during the budget process, which usually begins in early February and runs through the beginning of April when the budget is approved. “I want to make the residents aware that we’re not out of the woods yet. We thought we were making hard decisions last year. This year I think it is going to be much, much more difficult.”