by Brian McLaughlin
Business owners claim Flash Parking, the lot's new operator, is making parking for their customers even more difficult then before, and that Flash has been using its authority over the lot unfairly. By demanding flat day rates from short-term parkers and blocking off parking spaces, store owners believe it is sending a message to shoppers that says "you are not welcome here."
Flash Parking assumed the lease for the lot July 1, after the Village of Lynbrook turned down the option to renew its role as the lot's operator. The village held the lease for decades, but had to forfeit it in 1997 because the Long Island Rail Road wanted to begin a parking lot reconstruction project. Once the project was completed, the LIRR offered Lynbrook a chance to renew the lease but, according to Village Clerk Carol Hanson, the LIRR made new demands on the lease that the village opposed.
"They wanted to make the lot open to commuters only and they increased our annual rental fee," said Hanson.
After Lynbrook turned the lease down, Flash Parking picked it up as a private operator. Although the lot remains public, Flash began charging fees for the spots - $4 per day or $55 per month for all spots west of Forest Avenue and $3 per day or $40 per month for all spots east of Forest. The daily rates are the same regardless of how much or how little time someone parks in the lot.
This policy has elicited many complaints from proprietors of businesses located on the north side of Sunrise Highway, adjacent to the railroad trestle. Many of these stores have parking spaces in the rear, near the trestle, that they keep open for customers. However these spots are technically part of the railroad parking lot.
This was never a problem in the past, when the Village of Lynbrook served as the operators of the lot and the spots were left unregulated. But Flash has placed the spots under the same regulations as the rest of the lot, which includes a daily $4 parking fee that business owners see as a deterrent to shoppers.
"Some of the items I sell in my store are priced at only a few dollars," said Chris Kouraos of Sunrise Beauty Supply. "There's no way my customers are going to pay $4 to spend 15 minutes in my store and purchase a $2 item."
Flash Parking Manager Scott Parker said the rates are reasonable and justified.
"We own the lease for the lot now and we need to pay for its upkeep ... the storeowners don't give customers things for free either," said Parker.
In addition to the parking fees, the Sunrise businesses have also voiced their opposition to Flash's policy of chaining off the spaces behind the stores.
"Not only does this block access to the customers, it is an insult to our beautiful village," said Louis Cerulli of Regal Bridal on Sunrise Highway.
Parker said the spaces are chained off because "we can't be everywhere at once ... if the spots were left open, people could park there without realizing they have to pay."
To access these spaces a driver must first pay for a parking pass at Flash's office, located near the Lynbrook station. A Flash employee will then remove the chain.
But Lenny Bobrow of Public Paging said "many customers don't know what the chains mean. Some of them think that the lot is closed, and go somewhere else."
Business owners also claim that Flash leaves the spaces chained off after 6 p.m. on weekdays and over the weekends, when parking is supposed to be free. Since the chains are locked in place and the Flash employees are not there to unlock them, this makes it impossible for shoppers to gain access to the parking spaces.
A number of the business owners presented this complaint to the Lynbrook Village Board on July 15. Soon after the meeting, the chains were taken down at the appointed times but, according to Kouraos, the chains were back up again after just a few days. Parker denies the chains are left up after the designated times.
The village informed the merchants they would make efforts to remedy the chaining problem, but that they could not do much to prevent Flash from charging shoppers for parking. Yet Village Trustee William Hendricks assured those attending the meeting that, "No one is paying those fees, not even commuters....eventually they will have to lower their prices or somehow change their system."
But instead of waiting for a compromise to come to them, the frustrated merchants have begun to come up with solutions of their own. At the village meeting, some of the owners speculated about the possibility of installing parking meters, but Parker said Flash would not be able to do that.
"Only townships can install meters, plus, we wouldn't be able to give out parking tickets for violators...it would be too difficult to manage," said Parker.
Parker said he would be glad to rent some spots to the businesses so they could manage them in whatever way they see fit. However, aside from All-Metro Health Care, which has decided to rent a total of 27 spaces, many of the other businesses say renting the spots would not be a practical idea for them to pursue.
Kouraos came up with another solution that breaks the $4 a day charge into 50 cents per hour increments, which he believes customers would be more willing to pay. Parker agreed the idea was not a bad compromise and said he would work with the storeowners to find a middle ground.
