County to charge non-residents at Eisenhower Park

If you plan on driving to Eisenhower Park this weekend, have your identification ready.
   
Starting Memorial Day, non-residents will be charged a $5 vehicle fee at the county-run park in East Meadow on weekends.
   
Some park staffers manned booths last weekend, informing visitors that identifications would be checked beginning on the holiday. Signs went up earlier this week. Officials in County Executive Edward Mangano’s office confirmed the new fees, which will also take effect at other county parks on weekends.
   
“Nassau County parks are some of the best in the nation,” Mangano said. “While we welcome all to our wonderful parks, visiting non-residents must help support them financially with an upkeep fee.”
   
In addition to Eisenhower, the other parks that will charge non-residents are Cantiague in Hicksville, Cedar Creek in Seaford, Christopher Morley in Roslyn-North Hills, North Woodmere in North Woodmere and Wantagh Park in Wantagh.
   
Two tollbooths are set up at Eisenhower Park, along Park Boulevard, near the entry points at Merrick Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike. Park Boulevard is the only public roadway inside the 930-acre property, and connects Stewart Avenue in East Garden City to East Meadow Avenue in East Meadow.
   
The fee will be in effect on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., through Labor Day. Driver’s licenses will determine resident/non-resident status.
  
Legislator Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), who supports the change, explained that the fees will give the county an additional financial boost to help it maintain the parks, especially during peak summer months, when they employ seasonal workers.
   
“Rather than turn them away, the least we can do is ask them to pay a fee,” Gonsalves said. “When we go to the state parks, like Jones Beach, don’t we pay? So why not Nassau County parks? We’re not saying you can’t come, we’re saying, Hey you’ve got to help us out here. We’ve got expenses to meet.”