Heated Parking Conflicts at Village Shopping Center Near End

New Providence Borough Council passed a resolution at its Monday meeting that members hope will resolve contention over parking concerns at the Village Shopping Center—and a dispute over large signs threatening non-customers who park there will be towed, according to a published report.

Mayor J. Brooke Hern informed those assembled that he'd heard Urstadt Biddle Properties, which recently purchased the shopping center, wanted to resolve parking issues in downtown New Providence, said The Alternative Press.

Borough Council President Michael Gennaro announced that Urstadt Biddle was "off to a bad start." The councilman talked about an anonymous email supposedly sent to council members by a Westfield resident who said he was threatened that his car would be towed from the lot. After looking into the matter, officials determined that the writer and the address given were fake.

“It was fabricated to cause fear,” Gennaro said.

He was not alone in criticizing the center owner, the article said.

“It’s no way ... to solve the shared parking problem,” said fellow member Gary Kapner.

Councilman Armand Galluccio described the parking lot signs as an “eyesore.”

There is also conflict between merchants. While most business owners on South Street and Springfield Avenue have their own parking lots, Feathers Hair Salon and Avenue Deli, both on Springfield, do not, and their patrons use the Village Shopping Center's small lot.

After retreating into a closed executive session, the council voted to approve a Gennaro-moved resolution instructing its Economic Development Committee to lead the business community in working together to develop a shared parking solution.