#13953
REMINDER – WEDNESDAY AUGUST 25TH AT 7PM
HACKENSACK ZONING BOARD SPECIAL MEETING
CITY HALL 3RD FLOOR AUDITORIUM AT 65 CENTRAL AVENUE
We have just learned from our Prospect Avenue friends who live south of Central Avenue that, in addition to the street parking which since earlier this year had been banned on both sides of Prospect Avenue from Essex Street to Atlantic Street, the ban is now going to be extended farther north. Those living nearby to Hackensack Hospital have no handicap, resident or guest parking along Prospect Avenue. Let’s not forget Pineles’ offer to remove 4 parking spot in front of the proposed Bergen Passaic Long Term Cute Care Hospital so that 44 foot tractor trailer trucks can back into their driveway to make deliveries and their ambulances will park/idle there as they do at Prospect Heights when there are no deliveries.
At the end of the July 28th meeting I approached Richard Malagiere, Hackensack Zoning Board Counsel, to inquire as to when the residents will have the opportunity to question the City of Hackensack’s traffic expert. He told me on August 25th. Here is an opportunity for you folks who live south of Central Avenue to express your concerns regarding traffic and parking in the area.
Please come to the Wednesday, August 25th Hackensack Zoning Board Special Meeting at 7 pm in the 3rd floor auditorium of City Hall located at 65 Central Avenue.
We originally posted this parking ban article here on January 25, 2010:
NORTHJERSEY.COM
New parking ban sparks controversy
Friday, November 27, 2009
BY MARK J. BONAMO
Hackensack Chronicle
MANAGING EDITOR
The Hackensack City Council voted to ban parking on Prospect Avenue between Essex and Atlantic streets earlier this month, sparking protest from some residents.
According to city officials, the new restrictions, which are not yet fully in place pending the establishment of parking signs, will improve traffic flow in the busy area in the immediate vicinity of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC).
However, some residents believe that the ban on parking in the affected area will leave local residents without both free parking and handicapped parking.
Furthermore, the move to eliminate parking in the neighborhood is part of the February 2008 developer’s agreement between the City of Hackensack and the hospital, an accord that has caused much discord in city politics since its inception.
City manager explains move
At its Nov. 10 meeting, the council voted 4-1 to approve the final adoption of the ordinance establishing the Prospect Avenue parking ban, with neophyte Councilman John Labrosse providing the only protest vote.
City Manager Stephen LoIacono believes that the new law will allow traffic to flow more smoothly around the medical center, the city’s and Bergen County’s largest employer.
"Once we do this, we’ll be able to relieve the congestion that is always around the medical center, especially when there are changes of shifts," LoIacono said. "We’ve recently picked up 120 spaces at the new hospital parking garage, so we will more than account for any loss of spaces on the street."
"Every time I go to the medical center, I always try to park on Prospect because parking in the garage is more time consuming," added LoIacono. "In the last five years, maybe twice I was able to find a parking spot. It’s disingenuous to think that someone who lives in the area is routinely parking their cars on Prospect because there isn’t any parking available. Visitors to the medical center are using all of those spots currently, including the handicapping spots in the area from what we’ve observed. We will find a way to accommodate people who need handicapped parking. But you’ll never convince me that you’re taking parking away from residents here."
Neighborhood resident opposes decision
But city resident Regina DiPasqua, who lives close to the medical center and who spoke out against the new Prospect Avenue parking ban at the council meeting, disagrees with LoIacono’s assertions that the parking situation in her neighborhood will not be adversely affected.
"I live two blocks from the affected parking area, and they are expecting people to pay to park in the garage. That’s not going to happen," DiPasqua said. "Right now, they get two hours free in my neighborhood. Then, they haven’t made enough provisions for handicapped people. How could they do that?"
DiPasqua believes that the local parking situation will deteriorate further when the parking signs reflecting the new law go up within four to eight weeks.
"People will not be able to park, they’re not going to have any recourse, and they’re not going to be happy," she said. "People who can get handicapped spaces might possibly have some recourse if they can get such a space, but I don’t know where they are going to put them. For example, there is no place to park on Atlantic Street, right around the corner, because it’s not wide enough. What is the plan here?"
Developer’s agreement with HUMC surfaces again
Apparently, the plan to eliminate parking on Prospect Avenue between Atlantic and Essex streets was put into motion more than a year ago because of an agreement made between the Hackensack city government and HUMC.
A developer’s agreement signed between the City of Hackensack and the medical center in February 2008 specifically stipulates that "parking on Prospect Avenue shall be banned on the west side" of the street from its intersection with Essex Street to a point nearly "100 feet north of the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Atlantic Street."
The aforementioned 120 spaces in the hospital’s parking garage were provided to the city as designated public parking in the same agreement.
The February 2008 developer’s agreement between the city and the medical center proved to be a sore point in city politics most of last year.
The agreement allowed for a one-time, $1 million payment to be made by HUMC to the City of Hackensack in exchange for permission to build a new cancer center.
However, the agreement also mandated the transfer of the city’s daytime ambulance service from Hackensack Fire Department (HFD) command to a private service hired by the hospital, resulting in the firing of eight city emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who served under HFD command. Despite strong protests from the EMTs and their supporters, the EMTs were replaced by the beginning of this year.
DiPasqua admitted that this detail disturbed her.
"Did the government know that [the new parking ban] was part of the agreement, and they wouldn’t tell us? Or did they not know? Why didn’t they mention this?" said DiPasqua. "The developer’s agreement has affected many lives. The city has given away jobs. They’ve given away parking. How many other developer’s agreements are there that we don’t know about?"
"Who is running Hackensack?" asked DiPasqua. "Is it the hospital? Or is it the city government? It just makes you wonder."
But regardless of the contents of the developer’s agreement, City Manager LoIacono firmly believes that the new Prospect Ave. parking ban is a move worth making.
"This is a decision that is entirely based on safety and traffic," LoIacono said. "That’s all we’re talking about here. This move makes a lot of sense."
E-mail: bonamo@northjersey.com
