An ordinance that will change the hours the public may park in the lot behind Kearny Town Hall off Chestnut Street was unanimously adopted at the Feb. 25 meeting of the governing body.
Under the new law, which has already taken effect, residents will now have to wait until 8 p.m. weekdays before parking in the lot. They’ll need to vacate the lots by the same 7 a.m. the next morning.
The changes do not affect weekends.
First Ward Councilman George Zapata, the chairman of the council’s Ordinance Committee, says the change in time became necessary based on comments made to him and Mayor Carol Jean Doyle by volunteers who serve on various boards and organizations that meet at Town Hall.
“We knew there were plenty of volunteers who serve on boards who have difficulty finding parking on meeting days,” Zapata said. “When members come to meetings and they’re impeded from finding a place to park, it deters that volunteer spirit that so many of our resident have. So we knew we had to do something to change this.”
Zapata says he, Doyle and Town Attorney Jim Bruno tossed around several times at which to begin allowing the parking. The thought was 7 p.m. was a bit too early — and 9 p.m. was a bit too late — so the consensus was to go with 8 p.m., for now, and to see how it works out. Most town meetings begin no later than 7:30 p.m.
Now, the next important part of the new law will be how it is enforced and how the public will be made aware of the new adjustments. One way is through this very story. But Zapata says more is needed and says he believes physical signs in prominent spots in the lot, fliers on windows of cars parked in the lot at night, one of the town’s mobile-digital signs or a combination of all of those will be needed.
“We are working with Chief Scott Macfie to decide the best route to take,” Zapata said.
Zapata also says it is his hope those who violate the new parking regulation don’t end up having their vehicles towed. Instead, he suggests warnings, initially, then summonses for repeat offenders. He also suggested Town Hall’s internal security officers be responsible for monitoring the lot for enforcement purposes.
In the past, when the spots were needed for meetings, cones would be put up to block residents from entry into the lot from Chestnut Street. But often, folks would simply move the cones to park. With the new law in effect, the hope is folks will comply without the need for punitive measures.
Another update to the Kearny e-bike ordinance?
Meanwhile, Zapata says he is working with the aforementioned Doyle, Macfie, Bruno and others to further extend the town’s new e-bike ordinance that took effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Zapata says the big issue now is what to do with confiscated bikes — and there have been quite a few since the new law took effect. The councilman says he’s been looking at best-practice ordinances from all over the country and so far, the best one he’s seen was either in Virginia or West Virginia.
The most important aspect of all of this is how to store the bikes and how to dispose of the often-dangerous lithium batteries that power the e-bikes.
“We want to do what’s environmentally responsible and safe,” Zapata said, noting currently, the bikes are stored on Arlington Avenue, outdoors, at Moran Towing.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.