LOST IN THE MAIL: POSTAL WORKER SPOTS

Looking north on Hudson Avenue this morning at 7:55a.

After a brief war of the curb, Hudson Avenue homeowners and tenants last night became the latest on the East Side to win resident permits to park their cars.

The victory came at the expense of the 138 employees of the Red Bank Post Office on Broad Street, some of whom say the expansion of permits-only parking will only make it harder for them to find spots for their vehicles while they work.

The two sides butted bumpers at the bimonthly meeting of the Red Bank Borough Council over an ordinance that would replace the two-hour parking on Hudson between Harding Road and East Bergen Place with a residents-only restriction.

When residents complained that their driveways were frequently blocked, or that they couldn't park in front of their homes even late at night, groans and objections could be heard from a cluster of Postal Service employees who had turned out to oppose the plan.

"Nobody blocks driveways," said a postal worker who commutes from Aberdeen. "We're very aware that people live there." Another called the complaint "offensive," and asked for a check of police records to establish whether it was true.

But council members, led by Mayor Pasquale Menna, appeared dug in, blaming the post office for insufficient efforts to find parking alternatives. The post office reserves its own lot for its 53-truck fleet, and has an agreement with the nearby Verizon building to allow about a dozen employees to park there.

"I think the post office and the U.S. government, frankly, have to bear responsibility to find parking for their employees," said Councilman Mike DuPont. "The residents are entitled to their street."

"We'd love to help you out, but the post office has to bear some responsibility" to provide spaces for its employees, said Councilwoman Grace Cangemi.

The council's vote was unanimous in favor of the ordinance. Councilman John Curley was absent.

Permit parking was already in place nearby on Branch Avenue and South Street. Last August, it was extended to include all of East Bergen Place.

Postal workers, with no employee parking facility to use, say the squeeze drives them further into surrounding neighborhoods, or forces them to leave their posts every two hours to move their cars.

In their view, Hudson makes sense. The post office property backs onto Hudson, and workers contend that there are ample spaces along the street during the daytime hours that they need them. One said he frequently sees 100-yard stretches of curbing with no cars adjoining them. "This is totally unnecessary," he said of the change.

Referring to a host of environmental initiatives that DuPont had called for earlier in the meeting, postmaster Leo Nara said he didn't "understand the logic" of the ordinance.

"You're talking about 'green.' They have to go out four times a day and move their cars," he said of the employees. "How is that green?"

Another employee, citing his experience as a postal employee in the Hudson County town of Harrison, suggested the borough issue job-based permits to any worker who can produce a letter from his employer citing the need. In Harrison, he said, the permits cost $35 a year. Menna said he would consider the idea.

But when one employee said she often parks her car on Leroy Place, Menna replied, "I wouldn't be surprised if something happens on Leroy, also."

Here's the ordinance: Download hudson_permits.pdf

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Comments

[lurker]

I was in the Verizon lot the other day. It's huge and was empty midday. I suspect all their downsizing over the last 20+ years has left their lot largely unused.

[Dan]

Wow, 138 employees. I never would have guessed it was that many.

What about the parking lots at the Methodist and Christian Scientist churches that are down the block? Surely they aren't filled during post office business hours.

[Padrone]

Why don't the feds throw an extra $500K into the parking fund?

[SMF]

Padrone, you got to love the touch of irony in all of this.
Does the Red Bank Borough Council and the Red Bank Zoning Board actually hail from the same town?

[Red Bank Gal]

They should take the $200k that they got from Chubby's & BS & create some new parking for the post office. BETTER YET, the post office should propose building a NEW PARKING GARAGE, the town would approve that in a second!

[alicia]

Considering the Post Office starts its carriers at 7:30, that street doesn't look terribly overcrowded!
Verizon lets the P.O. use 10 spaces.
The churches that allow P.O. parking also limit the number of spaces.
There are postal workers who will retire before they qualify for a space!

[linda b]

"The residents are entitled to their street."

where was this concern when buona sera's expansion (1st AND 2nd) was approved. are the residents near buona sera's NOT entitled to their street(s)? it is even worse for our area because after 6pm (which is prime time for buona sera's and count basie patrons) street parking is no longer limited to 2 hours. so, people can park for as long as they lke. it's great having a friend come over and they can't even find a parking spot near my house!

and talk about parking right to the edge of the driveway! i'm sure that post office workers actually care about this and avoid doing so. however, many people that park in front of my house could care less if it makes it difficult for me to pull in or out of my driveway. it is very common to see one person get out of the car to "judge" if they are blocking my driveway or that of my neighbors. so, back to my qustion about buona sera's expansions, where was the concern for residents at that point?? ridiculous

[Dan]

The story in the Asbury Park Press mentioned that, according to the postmaster, "post office policy considers parking to be the responsibility of the employee." It's naive to think that the USPS bureaucracy will make a policy change to accommodate Red Bank. So the employees will have to continue to fend for themselves.

[PK]

ha...if the city could shake down the USPS for a "variance" they would have but unfortunately, for Pasquale & Co, they were trumped by the bigger bureaucracy.

also, I wonder any council memebers live on the efficted street???

[alicia]

will all these new parking restrictions be enforced for the Sheehan Classic? Look at all the parking tickets they can isssue then!!!!

[joseph]

bingo thats the answer if we tell everyone in the town to park in front of everyones houses they will support a parking deck to keep the customers and employees where they belong in a long term deck and traffic will be cut in half without all those ny plates circling for spots

[red bank]

good to see they got what they wanted, the post office can deal with the problem of parking the residents shouldn't have to suffer.

[Stephen M.]

I agree with linda b. It’s blatantly hypocritical to say the Hudson St. residents are entitled to their on-street public parking spaces, while the Planning Board just granted a HUGE parking variance to Boner Sera based on the available on-street public parking in the adjacent residential areas. Everyone can't be entitled. I live with an identical situation on Washington St., which is 2 hour parking for everyone except for those who display a residential parking permit. A lot of people going to the Hospital park in front of my house, and occasionally I have to park a block away, but there's always somewhere to park. I don't understand why they would have to restrict that huge street to residents only. I'm not a lawyer, but I think that would almost be illegal. That's a public right of way, not someone's driveway. The residents who live on Hudson St. don't pay property taxes for their on-street parking spaces. The entire town pays the taxes for that street. The "public" on-street parking spots should remain available to the public, if only for 2 hours.

[jack]

I live right on Hudson and never had a problem with them parking there. There was still plenty of parking on the street, they never blocked my driveway, and were gone before I get home. The 2 hour limit was fine to keep people from hogging the street. I don't understand how people think they can live so close to downtown and not have traffic and some (slight) parking problems, that comes with it.

I wonder if the town can claim eminent domain on all the disused private parking lots.

[Newcomer]

Agree with Stephen M. and Jack. I live on Leroy, which is right across Broad from the post office, and we don't have issues with on-street parking. We have the 2-hour limit on parking (unless you have a resident sticker) and it works out fine. The downtown streets, like Hudson and Leroy, should be available for public parking.

[jack]

I was just thinking there is another side to this, why is the post office on Broad St? I mean if they knew they were going to need parking for about 150 cars, why even have it in a place KNOWN to have tight parking?

I do see people running in and out of there all day, but I see alot of them drive up, run in, then drive off. If people are driving anyway maybe they can relocate it. How many really walk downtown to the post office, I'd be content with a mailbox there.

[resident]

while we are talking about parking in front of driveways- Patrons of Count Basie and Bueno Sera park in front on my driveway all of the time

but the worst offenders are parents whose children attend Red Bank Charter School. Little Timmy and Jonny cant walk more than 5 feet. Stop parkign in front of my driveway. How can you have a school with no parking?????????

[Now Civilized]

Can't you have someone towed away if they are blocking your driveway? That's got to cost the illegal parker a couple of hundred bucks, right? Granted, that's not even close to the satisfaction that one would get by slashing the offender's tires and then kicking his ass when he came back for his car. But then again, I guess we all have to grow up sometime, right?

[resident]

now civilized- i would have the police at my house everyday. sometimes mommys just sit and chat on there cell phones in front of my driveway. i don think they would like it if i did that in front on there homes.

[alicia]

to answer Jack's question.....the Postal service owns that building.
The post office has been on Broad Street forever. It was originally in the Garmany building, but moved to it's current location 40 or so years ago. I can look up the date if I have to. It isn't easy to find a building that size in a convenient spot. Next time you are in the P.O., look behind the window area, and get an idea just how large that building is. It handles mail for not only Red Bank, but also Fair Haven, Shrewsbury, the Oceanport secton of Fort Monmouth, parts of Tinton Falls, and parts of Middletown. If it was to be moved out of Red Bank, where would you send it? And, would you all want to change your addresses to another town?
The post office has been there since before parking was considered a problem,

[Uhoh]

WOW, 138 pissed off postal workers!!

I wouldnt want to go in that post office anymore, One might just snap.

[Chris]

I'm with Jack. I'm on Hudson and have never had a problem with the postal workers. Also, if someone had a car blocking their driveway on my street I would have noticed. I've never seen such a thing.

There is a problem when they were chased off South Street on to Bergen. Then it became hard to turn off Hudson because they blocked visibility.

I don't understand how these permits are going to work. If my dad comes to visit for a week where can he park his car? I don't have a garage or much of a driveway. And when people come home from work that have to shuffle cars in the driveway with the babysitter? And contractors and landscapers have to park in driveways? It's silly.

Parking has never been a problem on Hudson. It's speed and cut-through traffic that is the problem.

[MM]

Chris, I imagine that in addition to your permanent resident permit(s), you will also receive a temporary card/permit(s) that your babysitter, contractor, Dad, etc. can place on their dashboard that will allow them to legally park on your street.

[jack]

Alicia, I would move it to an office/industrial park off Shrewsbury or 35. I don't think it's impossible to move a post office, the only places that need to send things to them are other post offices. Or instead of moving, they can have an auxiliary office to house the trucks and most of the workers, then maintain the Broad St for the odd person that walks in to buy stamps or mail a letter. Do they really need to have that many people right on Broad St?

[going postal]

I live on Hudson Ave and I am opposed to the new resident parking plan. The real problem is lack of enforcement of the 2 hour limit. The borough will not ticket postal workers. We have called town hall many times and the postal workers get tipped off before the parking guys arrive so the only people who get tickets are the residents! I have two post office cars that sit in front of my home all day, six days a week. They also hog spaces in the Middle School parking lot. The post office facility is only big enough to handle local mail - regional mail for Middletown et al should be redirected. The post office was located here when the town was Dead Bank - nobody cared, property wasn't worth much and many Hudson Ave properties were allowed to be used for egress from Broad St churches and businesses. We need to protect residential neighborhoods from encroachment from the commercial district. The dumpster serenade and the horrible fence they were allowed to put up are other examples. Still, if the borough enforced the two hour parking limit, the problem might be manageable. I'll be interested in seeing if they enforce the new ordinance.