Most days Shivani Massari just wants to show up for her job at a restaurant in White Plains, work the shift and leave at the end of the night with a little cash in her pocket.
And, most days, it”™s not that simple.
“Parking is really bad here,” she said.
Massari works as a waitress at James Joyce Bar and Restaurant on Mamaroneck Avenue, a popular hotspot that attracts both workday and nighttime crowds.
Massari, who drives into White Plains daily from Yorktown, feels she and her colleagues just can”™t get a break when it comes to parking. One problem is that the parking meters in front of James Joyce only allow one hour parking until 6 p.m.
“You could be in the process of putting money in the meter and the ticketing officer will say it”™s too late,” Massari said. “It”™s frustrating. I get tickets all the time.”
Peter Evangelista, co-owner of Evangelista Hair Salon, also on Mamaroneck Avenue, agrees.
“The police should be a little more lenient with people parking,” he said. “White Plains is not the best place to park to begin with, we don”™t have a lot of parking, sometimes people need to double park because there is no space. They need to run into a bank quickly to do something. I see that they are not easy on these people, they keep on giving tickets, and it only drives people away. I think they have to do their job, but it”™s better if they”™re more concerned with the person. I think it”™s situations like that that have a tendency of deciding if a person will come back, and the word spreads,” Evangelista said.
Parking garage fears
“The parking situation is horrible,” echoes DeDe Sposato, owner of the Carroll-Condit Gallery down the street. “Everyone seems to be scrambling to get back to their car before they get a ticket.”
Scrambling, because every second counts.
“If you forget to put one dollar in the meter because you want to run into a place for one or two minutes, it can cost you $15,” Massari said.
For a waitress trying to run errands and get to her job on time, that can be a steep price to pay.
“Give me a break,” said an exasperated Massari. “At least do something for employees. When you”™re stuck working, it”™s hard.”
For example, Massari could buy a $160 monthly parking pass but, according to her, she”™d have to park on the third floor of a municipal garage.
“I don”™t want to go up there when I get off work,” she said. “It”™s late and I don”™t want to get mugged. Especially at two in the morning when you”™ve got drunken people hanging around.”
To get to the municipal parking, Massari would have to go through the back of James Joyce to the parking lot and up the ramps in the dark.
Rosanne Rush, president of Magnificent Edibles on Mamaroneck Avenue, agrees with Massari.
“Business owners and employees should get some kind of discounted parking rate,” she said.
And Shivani Massari doesn”™t feel it”™s getting better at all.
“They give everybody tickets,” she said. “Sometimes our patrons will be sitting outside and their car is just across the street and they”™ll get ticketed. People should be able to enjoy their dinner.”
Massari interrupts her diatribe to give a passerby four quarters in exchange for his dollar bill so he could park long enough to get a haircut nearby.
“See what I mean?” she asked.
Plenty of parking
But Al Moroni, commissioner of parking for the city of White Plains, disagrees that the situation is as grave and dark as it is being portrayed.
“It”™s actually quite easy to find parking,” he said.
And in fact, though the meters in front of James Joyce allow for only one hour parking on Mamaroneck Avenue until 6 p.m., after 6 p.m. and until 9 p.m. the meters switch to a three-hour parking limit. After 9 p.m. all street parking is free.
There are seven municipal garages in White Plains and 14,500 parking spaces. Eight thousand of those spaces are metered. All lots and garages require payment around the clock. All meters on the street are free after 9 p.m. and on Sunday.
“We have also installed multispace meters so people can use credit cards and not have to have exact change,” Moroni said. “They can park as long as they want. And we”™re trying to convert to more and more of these. We”™re clearly making it easier for people.”
Another frequent complaint has been the meters that only allow parking for up to a half hour.
“The only half-hour meters are along Main Street at City Hall,” Moroni said. “Keep in mind, along the same corridor is City Garage where there are 2,700 spaces and the Hamilton/Main Garage with 1,100 spaces, both within one city block.”
In the future, Moroni says he”™s looking into the possibility of surface lots downtown using cell phones. Drivers could identify their parking spot, call a number and then payment would go onto their cell phone bill. The cell phone would then interact with city machines to let them know that time on the meter has been updated. “You would be able to use your cell phone to extend your time without having to run out to the car.”
Some $19 million in revenue was collected in the 2007-08 fiscal year from a combination of meter fees, permits and violations. The parking authority”™s operating expenses are about $9 million. “So the net income toward the reduction of property taxes is about $10 million,” Moroni said.
Between the chunk of parking money that is going back to the city where it can make a difference and the continued effort of the commissioner to address any issues that are causing grief in the community, Moroni points out that some fees in life are easier to swallow than others.
“Bar owners don”™t have trouble charging $12 to $13 a cocktail,” he said.
Wait a minute ”¦
Parking at the many meters and municipal lots in White Plains can seem frustrating at times and that doesn”™t cover the privately owned garages that charge, as well. On a recent Sunday morning, a Business Journal reporter arrived at the Westchester Mall between 10 and 10:30 a.m. to shop. After parking and entering the mall, said reporter saw that the shops were not yet open and promptly left. Just not within the five minutes allowed before a $3 fee was charged. We thought we would get to the bottom of this seeming injustice and asked the Westchester Mall about its policy.
“Parking is at a premium in White Plains and, in virtually all instances, operates on a paid system, as is the case at The Westchester,” the mall responds. “The parking garage is available to anyone in the White Plains area who wants to park there and is not limited to shoppers at The Westchester. The hours of operation for the garage are Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“The parking rates are $3 for up to two hours; $5 for up to 5 hours; and $8 for up to 24 hours. Those who leave the garage within five minutes of arrival will not be charged the $3 fee.
“As an added convenience, the garage is available approximately one-hour before the majority of retailers at The Westchester open for business, which provides access for mall walkers and employees as well as others who need a location to park while visiting the White Plains area."
