Got an e-mail this morning from someone complaining about a new valet parking area at the Palisades Center, in front of the Staples, facing the New York State Thruway.

Reporter David Schepp called over to the mall to check out the valet situation and he found that yes, indeed, there was a new area at that spot, in addition to those on Level 2 of the parking deck and in the underground parking garage.

“We moved the valet parking around a little bit,” mall spokeswoman Ann Marie Dell’Accio said.

Whether the valet area in front of Staples will remain after the holidays isn’t yet clear.

“That I’m not sure of yet,” Dell’Accio said.

What do you think? Should they keep it or can it?

Thanks for your feedback about the new Nyack meters, which I blogged about here last week. Readers wrote and called to tell me they were ticked off that the meters were installed with little notice and no signage, and that they got tickets anyway.

Nyack’s Mayor John Shields believes that new signs, installed Friday, will put an end to the meter mess. See story here: Nyack hopes signs will clear up confusion.

In a sorta mea culpa, Shields said: “I’m very sorry this happened. I know it’s a difficult transition period, and at this point there is nothing I can do.”

Read the story and tell me, what do you think of the apology?

The Nyack Parking Authority says it didn’t have to bid for $424,900 in new parking meters because Parkeon Inc. was the only company that met its needs by offering full credit card processing without the need for additional equipment and staff.

But leaders in the parking meter industry say it’s not true. Executives from other multi-space meter companies say they offer the exact same services as Parkeon and were shocked that the NPA said Parkeon was a “sole-source provider.”

The NPA isn’t the only culprit there. The village also bought two meters for $23,605 without competitive bidding. But only the NPA is named in a related lawsuit.

Read the story here: No bids for Nyack parking meters

I will continue to follow up on this story. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on this issue?

Burt Singer of Pomona always thought that more parking spaces should be available at Pomona Village Hall when it serves as a polling site. He thought many residents might shy away from casting their votes because of the difficult parking situation there.

Through his observation, Singer realized that on an election day, election workers seemed to take up most of the spots in the small Village Hall parking lot. He thought election workers should park their cars in other locations so that voters can use more parking spaces.

To make the plan work, Singer offered his help in giving lifts for election workers who park their cars at the Hindu temple’s parking lot.

Singer said Mayor Nick Sanderson gladly accepted Singer’s offer, and Village Clerk Lisa Thorsen would help Singer.
So on Super Tuesday, voters should have a better chance to find a parking spot at the village hall.

Nyack’s dollar-per-hour priority zone isn’t happening after all.

The Village Board decided last night to reverse its vote to increase in parking from 25 cents to $1 in busy parts of downtown along Main Street and Broadway. The board made its decision after getting a deluge of complaints from business owners and residents about the price hike. Read the story here.

Still, there will be some increase. The cost of meters will go up to 50 cents an hour starting sometime in January, whenever the village installs new muni-meters.

Could this be the end of the Nyack Parking Authority?

The NPA has decided to suspend all activity, for now. The NPA says it will not do business until it settles a legal agreement with the village giving it authority over the marina and parking – if they settle.

The NPA and Village Board have butted heads for months now. The mayor was angry that the NPA demolished a shed in the marina without village permission over the summer, leading to a spat over who has power over what. Some residents have also complained the the NPA acts without accountability to the public.

The mayor asked Nyack’s attorney and the Village Board to reexamine the NPA’s lease agreement and to think about curbing the agency’s powers.

The final straw seemed to come on Friday, when the mayor pulled support of a new dollar-per-hour parking rate after getting a deluge of complaints from merchants. Don’t think the NPA was too happy about that. The NPA has been pressing for the price hike and other parking changes all year long.

NPA announced it would suspend activity on Monday.

The Nyack Village Board’s decision to raise the cost of parking meters has sparked lots of a local outrage. People are complaining up and down Nyack that the increase — from 25 cents to 50 cents an hour, or one dollar an hour in the “priority zone” — is a bad idea. They don’t want to shell out the extra money.

This issue has been debated for more than a year and the price hike is supposed to kick in on Jan. 1. Seems a little late to weigh in now.

Oh, but it’s not. In fact, Mayor John Shields has been swamped with complaints and is rethinking his vote. On Thursday, he will ask the Village Board to repeal the $1 an hour increase, but keep the 50 cent hike in place.

The price hike is one of a couple of parking changes that have been debated back and forth. There’s been lots of talk, lots of fighting between the Village Board and the Parking Authority, and lots of confusion about what changes will take place and when.

Things are about to get murkier.

Twenty-five cents for an hour for parking? It was too good to last.

Come Jan. 1, drivers in Nyack will have to pony up 50 cents to park for an hour, and $1 for an hour in the busiest parts of Main Street and Broadway which the village is calling its “priority zone.”

The price hike became official last week after a vote by the Village Board, following a year of back and forth discussion and debate.

At least drivers won’t have to worry about lugging a bag of quarters. The village is installing new pay & display multi-meters, which will take bills, coins and credit cards.

Nyack officials say the price hike won’t deter visitors because the business district is so appealing. What do you think?

Parking. Any mention of word in Nyack will get a strong reaction — it’s practically a bad word in the village. Meters, a garage, employee parking , tickets and walking — all hot topics.

The Chamber of Commerce of the Nyacks recently threw its opinion into the heated discussion. Earlier this week, the Board of Directors of the chamber called plans for downtown parking “flawed� and asked the village board to delay any implementation until news signs are installed, employee parking arranged and advanced public notice given.

The chamber’s board unanimously passed this resolution at its meeting earlier this week.

It reads:

“Resolved that the proposed plan for downtown parking in its present form is flawed and its implementation should be delayed until the new ‘muni’ meters and signage are installed, alternate employee parking has been arranged and adequate information and advance notice has been provided to the public.�

A memo was circulated by the chamber executive director, Lorie Reynolds.

What’s the village board to do? Delay an already long process or proceed and anger a lot of business owners.

There’s always the status quo.

So, what do you think?

Other than traffic, parking tickets are the bane of so many driver’s existence. In Nyack, it can be a particularly sensitive topic.

In case anyone was wondering, reporters aren’t immune. While sniffing around Nyack Village Hall for some news, I foolishly parked in the 15 minute zone — those red meters — directly in front of the building, where, the parking agents are known to frequent.

I plugged the meter, but got nabbed because I got stuck sorting through some building files, which aren’t exactly pleasure reading. (Thursday there is a public hearing regarding the Blue Gate Development proposal — you can get all the details in the story at www.lohud.com.)

Not looking for any sympathy, but 12 bucks later, I’ve learned a lesson: When working the beat in Nyack, avoid those red meters. They’ll get every time.