Thursday, March 27, 2025
Just over a year after Island Park switched to a digital parking system on Feb. 1, 2024, the community is seeing a change in both municipal management and everyday parking experiences.
Rather than relying on traditional meters, the village implemented the ParkMobile app, requiring drivers to pay a fee of $1 per hour — with a 45-cent surcharge for using a credit card — to parking in its municipal lots. Drivers who don’t own a smartphone can call a phone number to pay for parking.
Designed to modernize parking management, the ParkMobile app has generated both praise and protest among residents and business owners.
Revenue gains and enhanced enforcement
The primary goal of implementing the ParkMobile system was to generate new revenue without burdening residents with higher taxes, and it has done that. In the first full year of operation, the system generated just over $52,000 in parking fees, with over $41,000 comprising the village’s portion of the fees in its Long Island Rail Road parking lots. So far this year, that revenue is already approaching $7,000, bringing the total income from the system to just under $59,000 since its launch. The village had projected $50,000 to $100,00 in annual revenue.
At the same time, village officials report that the new system has effectively doubled the number of parking tickets issued. That number surged from 617 in 2023 to 1,241 last year, and over 100 tickets have been issued so far this year. The largest increases were seen in the “No Parking Permit” and “Other Violations” categories, making it clear that the system’s stricter oversight is having an impact.
“I think the revenue part was better than I hoped for, which is a win for the village,” Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty said. “It’s been a year, and we’ve taken in over $52,000. It’s impacted our borrowing in a positive way, because it’s recurring revenue.”
The village sought additional revenue streams to address financial challenges, to be able to borrow at favorable rates, invest in community infrastructure and improve its bond rating.
Balancing fiscal success with community concerns
While the village has generated new revenue, not everyone in Island Park is celebrating.
“I refuse to use the lots,” Island Park resident Cathie Hall said on Facebook post on parking feedback. “If I can’t park on the street, I shop elsewhere.”
Currently, residents are allowed to park on Long Beach Road free for up to two hours. Business owners and their employees pay a $100 annual pass to park in merchant-designated lots. Businesses and residents have expressed concerns that the new system has deterred short visits and reduced customer traffic.
“I just go by bike or park on the street for free,” another Island Park resident, Kelly Ann Foster, posted. “If parking isn’t convenient, I just pass by and go elsewhere.”
Some merchants say they have noted a drop in quick-stop visits, and older residents have found the app-based system challenging, despite alternative payment options.
“We’ve had several people who’ve gotten tickets and then refused to come back, or if there’s no parking on the street, will not stop,” Gary Johanning, manager of Pops Wine and Spirits, on Long Beach Road, said. “A couple of hundred thousand dollars in revenue doesn’t exactly hurt the village, but it’s putting a strain on the businesses.”
At the February 2024 village board meeting, after the ParkMobile system was implemented, a petition opposing it, with 931 signatures from residents, merchants and their employees, was submitted.
Balancing fiscal Looking ahead
The village indicated that revenue from parking fees would be allocated to the maintenance and repair of parking infrastructure.
Last spring, Island Park secured $600,000 in federal funding aimed at upgrading drainage systems, resurfacing Long Beach Road and reconstructing sidewalks and parking lots. The initiatives are part of a broader transit-oriented development plan intended to modernize the village’s infrastructure and support sustainable growth.
“We’re working on all the necessary preliminary design, engineering, and environmental reports for the parking lots and the transit-oriented development parking lots, including the reconstruction and drainage in those (village) lots,” McGinty said. “The design and engineering is on the way. And remember, in a village, money is fungible, so it helps. No matter what we do, $50,000 is a big deal.”
