Village budget under review; closing gap a problem

due to lower assessments

by Carolyn James

In an effort to crackdown on drivers who illegally park their cars in the CVS parking lot on Broadway in Amityville, the property’s owners have decided to give them the boot. They’ve hired a company to put a wheel jam on the vehicles, forcing them to pay $82 for the release of the vehicle.

Amityville Village Police and officials are researching the issue to determine whether the move is legal and what can be done to both help resolve the problem of the store operators who say drivers are using their lot to park there all day, taking valuable spots away from their customers. In addition to the CVS Drug Store the shopping center has a Dunkin Donuts, a Teachers Credit Union, a pizza parlor and health facility there.

The property owner, Leonard Shapiro, declined to comment on the decision to take the action. However, Amityville Village Police Chief Woodrow Cromarty, said he was told that they believed they were operating under the Town of Babylon’s Booting law.

"In fact, the Town’s law doesn’t apply in Amityville," said Cromarty.

The Village Police have booting powers and have used the method to force scofflaws into compliance, but that is under the strict supervision of the police department.

That Town’s law sets down the criteria under which private property owners can boot or tow vehicles that are parked illegally on their property. The law was drafted after the town received numerous complaints from residents who said the booting personnel were abusive and unresponsive. These car owners also said they were forced to pay charges for both the booting and the subsequent towing of their vehicles.

Babylon set down regulations that require that companies hired to boot vehicles charge in excess of what is legally posted and that the company have a written contract with the property owner. That contract must be filed with the office of the Town Clerk, together with a schedule of fees.

In addition, the company cannot boot a vehicle unless it is illegally parked such as adjacent to a fire hydrant or an emergency exit or handicapped parking spot. They also cannot boot a vehicle when it is occupied by an individual or a live animal. The company must release the vehicle within 30 minutes of receiving a request and payment.

Suffolk County also has a law to permit property owners to tow away cars that are illegally parked, but prohibits booting.

"Right now everyone—Village officials, the Police Department and the Village Attorney—are researching this," said Mayor Peter T. Imbert. "Obviously there is a question here of jurisdiction that has to be resolved and we have to decide what we can do to protect the public."

One resident complained to police that his vehicle was towed because he was allegedly parked in a handicapped zone.

"It was late at night and pouring rain outside," said Tobin Sihpol, whose vehicle was booted. "There was no sign in front saying it was a handicapped zone and the striping on the street was worn out. You couldn’t even make out what it was."

Sihpol paid the cost to have his car released, but called Amityville Village Police. When they responded, they told the tow truck operator that since there was no sign posted, the driver could not be held responsible for parking there. The tow truck operator gave Sihpol his money back.

"Anyone who knowingly parks in a handicapped zone should pay the price," said Sihpol, "but I honestly could not even see that it was a handicapped spot."

Sihpol said he was just glad that the tow truck operator took the police officer’s word and gave him back his money. "It was a little annoying, but at least I didn’t have to fight them on the issue. Then it would have been a nightmare."

Imbert said, that he’s been told that the tenants in that shopping center have had a real problem with drivers who park there illegally. And, he added, with the new Walgreen’s going up, it’s likely the owners of CVS want to be able to compete and not have customers driven away by the lack of available parking spots in their center.

"That may be what is fueling the decision by the property owner to take this strong action," said Imbert.

He added that at present, the company must at least file for a permit to operate a tow truck in the Village, though they are not required to meet the stricter demands that are placed on tow truck operators that are placed on the Village’s roster for responding to accident scenes.

The Village is expected to take up the issue within the next few weeks.

In other business, the Village was to meet this week to discuss the new Village budget, which Imbert said is currently undergoing some final work. Once again, the Village is expecting a drop in its real property assessments, something that the Mayor said came as a surprise to him since building and development in the Village has been increasing.

"With the figures we have now, it appears we are losing $118,000 of assessed valuation in the Village, which is no small thing," said Imbert, who will be reviewing the numbers with the Village assessor, as well as working to reduce next year’s spending proposal. "I can’t understand, with all the building we have going on how assessments are dropping."

Imbert said that part of the problem could be the large number of grievances filed by property owners over the past year and that the issue is something he and the Village board will have to review.

"It will not be a very popular move, but we may have to consider reassessing the entire Village," he said. "We can’t continue to raise the tax rate as a result of these grievances because that means that people are not paying their fair share."

The budget must be approved under state law by May 1.