The Valley Stream village board approved a series of resolutions at its June 15 meeting advancing plans for a senior housing development at 62-78 Hicks St., which will lead to the permanent closure of Parking Field 26, a designated non-resident commuter parking lot, this fall.
Trustees ap-proved the subdivision of the village-owned property, finding the action to be in the village’s best interests and consistent with planning considerations. The board also approved resolutions under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, adopted Local Law 3-2026 and applyied a CA Floating Multiple Dwelling District to the property.
Village Treasurer Tom McAleer said Field 26 will close to make way for what he emphasized is “much-needed senior housing,” in the village. That will eliminate 156 parking spaces.
There are currently 230 non-resident parking permit holders. Under the village’s permit system, residents pay $40 per year for commuter parking permits, while non-residents pay $650 annually.
Following the closure, non-resident commuters will be directed to the village’s remaining designated non-resident parking areas, Fields 8 and 19 and the Hendrickson Pool parking lot. Village officials say they believe there will continue to be sufficient parking capacity.
McAleer also confirmed that the village did not conduct a parking-utilization study or a post-pandemic parking-demand analysis before making its decision, nor did it consider alternatives such as a parking garage, expanded parking access or a shuttle service. Permit holders were notified of the closure when they renewed their parking permits this year.
While the commuters interviewed by the Herald all said they support building senior housing, they questioned whether the remaining non-resident lots can absorb the displaced demand.
Mirella Bonilla, a commuter who has lived outside the incorporated village since 1996, said that Field 26 has long served as the backup when Field 8, the non-resident lot that is closest to the Long Island Rail Road station, fills up during the morning rush.
“I don’t think they can adequately support the needs of today’s commuters,” Bonilla, who works in corporate meetings and incentive and recognition-event planning in Manhattan, said. “This is a real hardship when trying to catch a morning train. It’s not practical to arrive at the lot, find it full, and then drive to another, farther lot. Adding the driving time and the walking, despite paying significantly more, we’re not receiving additional services or access; we’re receiving less now.”
Bonilla also raised concerns about pedestrian access from the pool lot and nighttime safety near Field 19.
The village, she said, should consider allowing non-resident permit holders to park in resident lots with available capacity, or build a parking garage to replace the lost spaces. She added that many commuters remain unaware that Field 26 will close, despite notices distributed during the permit renewal process.
Claudine Nazon, a Mill Brook resident for 15 years and a librarian in the New York Public Library, said the closure would have a significant impact on commuters who already adjust their schedules to secure parking. She often arrives well before her train, Nazon said, just to find a space in Field 8, using Field 26 when the closer lot is full.
“Most of the time, I don’t find a parking spot,” Nazon said. “I’m having to park at Field 26. That’s always my saving grace, but not if it’s closed. My option is Hendrickson Park. Now, when it’s snowing, it’s cold and it’s raining, paying almost $800, I’m having to park five blocks away, which is absolutely absurd.”
She suggested that the village temporarily allow non-resident permit holders to use one of the larger resident parking fields until another long-term solution is identified.
Melanie Colon, a Mill Brook resident, recently retired after 17 years at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where she served as manager of language services before becoming director of patient relations. She will continue commuting as she starts a new position in language services with New York state.
“When you are an essential service, you have to be at work, especially if something happens — even atmospheric, whether it’s Hurricane Sandy or that huge snowstorm — so trying to park somewhere where they’re probably not going to plow, and then trying to walk where they haven’t plowed yet, that is dangerous,” Colon said. “If you want to talk about crime, I don’t know what the statistics are, but you’re walking by yourself in the dark, whether it’s early morning or late evening.”
Colon added that the loss of Field 26 will increase commuting times, particularly for those headed to work early in the morning or returning home late at night. Rather than relying solely on more distant parking lots, she suggested that the village operate a shuttle between those lots and the train station during peak commuting hours, or allow non-resident permit holders to use additional parking fields.
“I don’t think that they’ve really thought that we’re people, and we’re not being treated as such, and we’re not being treated as a business, either,” Colon said. “We’re not treated as good business, because unfortunately, sometimes government [thinks] that if we’re not direct constituents, then we’re not customers.”
Although village officials maintain that the remaining non-resident lots can accommodate displaced commuters, those who offered their comments believe the closure of Field 26 warrants additional accommodations before it takes effect this fall. Supporting senior housing and addressing commuter parking needs, they said, should not be mutually exclusive, and they urged the village to revisit potential alternatives before construction begins.
