NUMC Presents Short-Term Plan to Alleviate Parking Woes

Parking problems at (NUMC) continue to be a concern to East Meadow residents who live in the area.

Arthur Gianelli, President/CEO of NuHealth, addressed an audience of local residents, politicians and police officers on Monday evening about the problems NUMC’s current parking issues - which began after its in June - are causing in the community and what they are doing to remedy the  of employees parking in the local neighborhoods.

He said that the main concern they are currently working on is to move from using the “stackers” to other parking alternatives. Gianelli said he toured the hospital’s campus and identified locations were they could create surface parking.

“It would be enough to offset the need for the stackers and to therefore decompress the pressure on this campus and make it easier for people to park,” he continued.

Phase one of the project will require the demolition of several buildings to create surface parking by Dec. 31. These buildings are in disuse and will create 308 parking spots. Phase two will continue into January and provide another 120 spots. Additionally, employees who work in the G building are currently being moved to NuHealth’s campus at A. Holly Patterson in Uniondale, which will free another 70 parking spots.

Gianelli further explained that, due to excessive pension costs, the hospital’s workforce is by 175 employees. Another 77 employees took an incentive offer to retire in October. He said that this was not done for parking reasons, but it will create more spaces at NUMC.

“When you have all of that together, you are creating significant parking capacity that more than offsets what was available in the parking garage and certainly more than offsets the stackers,” Gianelli said.

“What I first wanted to do was make sure that the problem I have caused since June – and I will take – that we reverse,” continued Gianelli, adding that once the short-term solution is in place then they will “look into fixing the other issues.”

Some residents stated that they were interested in resident parking permits for specific streets in the area, in part due to the crowded nature of street parking and in the area and the fact that they were now receiving parking tickets in front of their homes.

Patty Glacken, a 22 year resident who lives on the south side of Hempstead Tunrpike, said that the parking concern has become a quality of life issue. She added that she is not sure it resident parking permits will help, but she “hopes it does.”

Town of Hempstead Councilman Gary Hudes said that if residents want parking permits for this area, it has to be initiated on the state level. Hudes added that he and Legislator Norma Gonsalves, R-East Meadow, would forward the residents’ letters to the appropriate state representatives with their respective cover letters attached.

“It is something that is going to take time to resolve,” Gonsalves said. “I think it is a good idea for us to pursue the state in getting resident stickers, but that could take two sessions of the state legislature to get done. We are willing to try everything."

Gianelli agreed to hold another meeting in January to revaluate the situation.

“Once we do what we are doing, in a couple of months, if people are still parking in the street there is something wrong with them,” he said.