Parking conditions at the Merrick and Bellmore train stations is atrocious. And the snow certainly hasn’t made the situation any better. 

As president of the North Merrick Community Association (NMCA), several members have asked me for their help in remedying this situation. I speak especially on behalf of the disabled. They report that snow is often cleared from the general public spaces and dumped in the handicap parking spaces. Several disabled and elderly individuals claim that it is dangerously hazardous for them to get around in these severe winter conditions. To add the burden of having to brave a long walk along these icy sidewalks, streets and parking lots is unconscionable. 

This severe winter has brought attention to the problems that exist all year long for commuters who take the trains at the Merrick and Bellmore train stations. People claim that there are insufficient parking spaces. Some people must rely on friends and family to drive them to the station because they know that they would not be able to find a space. Others go in to work earlier just to find a spot and then wait in their offices for an hour until it is time to start work.  And others find that there are no spaces left after 7 a.m. and find no alternative, but to park in a paid lot, take a taxi or park far away and risk an expensive parking ticket.

We pay high property and parking district taxes and we should not be subject to a difficult commute. Legis. Dave Denenberg, D-Merrick, and his commuter council have been fighting this issue for years.

Dave Denenberg has been standing at all the train stations in his district twice a month for ten years, giving notice of his bi-monthly community meetings and making himself available for constituents who have concerns that they would like Dave to address. 

As I often stand with him on many of these cold mornings, I can attest to our unofficial poll that about 15 percent of the commuters who use the Bellmore and Merrick trains do not live in the Town of Hempstead. Some come from Suffolk and the Town of Oyster Bay to get a cheaper fare. They travel early when traffic is light and easily find parking spaces at these two stations. That’s because Bellmore and Merrick are the only two stations on the Babylon branch that do not have resident restricted parking spaces.

Legis. Denenberg and I formed the LIRR parking lot committee to find solutions to this problem. The committee is comprised of Denenberg’s legislative commuter council and concerned commuters. In researching documentation that the NMCA requested from the Town of Hempstead, we believe we discovered a way to restrict parking so that Town residents could purchase permits to park in a portion of the parking lots at the Merrick train stations.  Since Bellmore commuters experience similar problems, we are also requesting documentation to determine if similar restrictions could be implemented at that station as well.

Permits to park in the lots at the Wantagh and Seaford train stations cost only $3 annually. We expect that the permits for Bellmore and Merrick will cost the same amount. We are looking to restrict only a small percentage of the parking spaces at the Merrick train station lots. The majority of the parking spaces will remain open to the general public.

Although the Town has resisted permit parking at the Merrick and Bellmore stations, the LIRR parking lot committee is optimistic that, with the help and support of the community, we will successfully find solutions to the parking problems at the Bellmore and Merrick stations. 

Claudia Borecky is an unpaid, opinion columnist for Merrick Patch. If you have something to say, feel free to contact your hometown Patch for opportunities.