Cedarhurst weighs license plate cameras for parking enforcement

The Village of Cedarhurst board of trustees held a public hearing on Oct. 13 on a local law that would authorize camera-assisted enforcement in municipal parking fields. The proposal would let the village monitor how long cars stay, verify payment and enforce parking restrictions, according to the Nassau Herald.

Mayor Benjamin Weinstock said the license plate readers will not issue tickets on their own. Someone still has to observe an infraction. He gave the example of a car that pays for two hours and is still there after that: the system would flag it, and the driver would then receive a ticket. Weinstock said the board wanted to make sure the village code gives a valid basis for such tickets, since the current code refers to parking meters.

For now, the plan covers Parking Field 10, off Central Avenue on Washington Avenue, which was renovated in May. Individual meters were replaced with a single terminal. The total cost of the system, including cameras, kiosk installation, programming and staff training, is just under $90,000, paid from the village's parking bank, which is funded by developers granted parking variances. Drivers registered on the Sentry Mobile App would be billed automatically through their plate. The village is considering extending the system to 10 other lots with more than 2,000 spaces combined.

No one spoke at the hearing, but residents contacted the paper with concerns, including a Woodmere driver who worried a camera could photograph a car before its owner had a chance to pay. The source does not say whether the law has been adopted or when the cameras would go live at Field 10.