As Greenport heads into its first full summer with expanded paid parking, new signs are going up downtown — and so is the frustration among some year-round residents.

Village leaders say the program is meant to manage seasonal congestion, improve turnover in busy areas and raise money for much-needed road and sidewalk repairs.

But residents who live downtown say they are being asked to pay like visitors just to park near their own homes.

That frustration surfaced at the Village Board’s May 28 meeting and spilled online over the weekend after Trustee Mary Bess Phillips posted a timeline of the paid parking program in the private Facebook group Let’s Talk Village of Greenport, prompting residents to question the changes and call for some kind of relief.

“Year after year, we have watched designated parking availability for downtown residents diminish,” Greenport’s Josh Perry said at the hearing. “The revenue generated by residents who are just looking to park near their own homes is a rounding error compared to what summer visitors bring. To impose this burden equally on the people who live here 365 days a year without any accommodation is not a balanced policy.”

Village officials, meanwhile, have defended the expansion as a way to make visitors help pay for long-delayed sidewalk, street and curb repairs without placing the full burden on property taxpayers.

Ms. Phillips said metered parking is a “fair” way to generate the revenue needed for infrastructure repairs, and that the village’s tax base cannot shoulder the costs alone.

“If visitors use our streets, sidewalks and public spaces, it is only fair that they help pay to maintain them — so residents are not left carrying the entire burden,” she told The Suffolk Times on Tuesday. “This is not the only answer, but it is a responsible step toward making the improvements our community has been asking for and deserves.”

Many year-round residents have called for some kind of break, such as a parking permit, a reduced rate from the $3.50 an hour rate or other accommodation.

Mr. Perry, who works for the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets, said given the cost of housing, it’s already difficult to attract and retain a workforce willing to live and work in the area. He said adding a daily parking fee “makes that challenge for businesses significantly harder.”

The debate spilled over online following a timeline Ms. Phillips posted Sunday describing the program’s development from early planning through a September 2024 pilot and the current expanded paid parking program.

In the online comments on Ms. Phillips’ post, some residents criticized the paid parking program as a money grab. The concern has also moved beyond Village Hall, with an online petition seeking to reverse or change the program. As of press time, it had more than 110 signatures.

This season brings two newly metered parking lots — off Main Street and Adams Street — costing $3.50 an hour, with the village collecting 85% of that money. The other 15% goes to ParkMobile, the app used for the lots. Front Street from Third to Main Street was already paid spots, as was Main Street from Center Street to the Claudio’s parking lot.

Metered parking is in effect daily from Memorial Day through Columbus Day from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The village launched a pilot program in the fall of 2024 on Main Street and Front Street. While creating the 2025-26 budget, Greenport officials advanced planning for the full program, with revenue projections, mapping and public outreach components.

A March 18 document shared by Ms. Phillips listed a mix of proposed metered and non-metered areas, including several lots or spaces that would remain unmetered. The document listed the end of Second Street, the lot behind the IGA building and spaces from Dime Bank to the alleyway by Noah’s as not metered.

The newly constructed Long Island Rail Road and Hampton Jitney lot is also free for 72-hour parking, as is the smaller lot in front of the new ferry queue and the East End Seaport Museum.

The Village Board approved hiring two part-time parking enforcement personnel to assist in monitoring the paid parking as part of the new budget. Southold Town police also enforce parking and traffic violations in the village.

Village treasurer Adam Brautigam said paid parking in the 2025 fiscal year brought in roughly $23,650, while it only ran from August to October 2024, and for a few weeks at the end of May 2025.

This fiscal year, the first full year with paid parking, has brought in about $104,000. The total includes Memorial Day weekend, where revenue totaled $4,519 from Friday to Sunday, according to Mr. Brautigam.

Paid parking projections for fiscal year 2027 are around $165,000. The village’s fiscal year runs from June 1 to May 31.

If paid parking were eliminated and the lost revenue replaced entirely through property taxes, Mr. Brautigam said the village would need to increase the tax levy by approximately 11.3%.

The current average residential tax bill is $1,223, and the average commercial tax bill is $2,746, he said.

Ms. Phillips said the village had also previously approached the business community to explain that the expansion was needed because Greenport had to find another way to generate income for roads, sidewalks and curbs in need of repair.

“There’s got to be an offset. Do we up the taxes because we have to keep bonding for it and pay interest money,” Ms. Phillips asked, “or do we, as we become a tourist destination, take advantage of the parking fees that could be generated from this?”

Mr. Perry said residents are not asking the village to abandon paid parking altogether, but to create some kind of accommodation for the people who live and work downtown year-round.

“We understand the village’s need to generate revenue for infrastructure and standard services, and we absolutely support that goal,” Mr. Perry said. “What we’re asking for is fairness. To offer no accommodation, no permit, no relief, no reduced rate for those who live and work downtown year round is … unjust.”

The post Greenport paid parking sparks resident pushback over permit relief appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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