Massapequa Park Tests New Parking Regulation Technology

A trial of parking regulation technology, a new contract between Massapequa Park and Long Island Checker Cab Company, and the presentation of Coast Little League awards were among the many noteworthy items covered at this week’s meeting of the Village Board.

The big news out of the meeting was the possible solution to vehicles illegally parked in no-parking areas on Park Boulevard in the form of a new technology called Street Smart Automated Parking Solutions. The Village is engaging in a two-month, no-cost trial of the program to gauge it's effectiveness for possible future use.

"We have a few situations around the village where it's hard to monitor all the time," Altadonna said. "What this device does is it actually detects cars that are on top of it, and it will notify Parking Enforcement officers via cell phone to go over and remedy the situation."

Street Smart will be initially tested in front of near the intersection of Park and Clark Boulevard, where illegally-parked cars often clog the intersection. In addition, various handicapped parking spaces in the area will sport the Street Smart sensors, which are embedded in the pavement.

"We're not doing this to generate revenue," Altadonna said. "We're doing this for safety."

The Village also accepted a bid on a one-year extension of the contract currently held by Long Island Checker Cab Company as the Village's official taxi service, albeit with some slight modifications.

The "Free Rides" program, which provided no-cost transportation to all Massapequa Park residents within the Village last year, has been done away with, replaced by a straight $1.99 fee per ride. Seniors ages 60 and up still receive free cab service within Massapequa Park, however.

Mayor James Altadonna announced  the Village will continue their relationship with Long Island Checker Cab, who had wrestled away Massapequa Park's contract last year from former long-time taxi provider Yellow Cab with a lower bid.

"Last year, they were a new company to us, none of us knew each other, but they really did a wonderful job," Altadonna said. "We received maybe one or two complaints all year, which is far better than what we used to get before. We're happy to have them back."

Long Island Checker Cab will allocate a total of 10 cabs to the service of Massapequa Park.

Awards were also handed out to the Coast Little League 10 year-old Williamsport team in honor of their impressive win in the District, Long Island, New York State, and Mid-Atlantic Region Championships.

“When you get older and have children of your own, you’ll realize the sacrifices your parents made to keep you on the straight and narrow and improve in life and baseball,” Altadonna said to the young team members in attendance. “Those are the keys to success.”

Altadonna also discussed a security measure to curb nighttime loitering at To prevent unauthorized vehicles from parking in the Brady Park lot overnight, the entrance to the lot will be chained shut from dusk to 8 a.m. the next day. This measure will be conducted on a trial basis for six months, as which time the Village will evaluate its level of success.

The Board also approved an agreement with Showtiques Crafts, Inc. to coordinate the upcoming 2012 Street Fair.

The next meeting of the Massapequa Park Village Board is on Monday, October 17, at 8 p.m.