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Greenport conducts 45-day paid parking test

The Village of Greenport is in the midst of testing out paid parking on Main and Front streets with a 45-day trial period, during which no enforcement will take place for those who fail to pay.

The village’s official newsletter notes that residents should be aware that “this is only a test and motorists will NOT be cited if they do not pay during this time period.”

The newsletter said that the trial is part of “what will be a larger study on parking and traffic management in the village.”

Greenport will collect any parking fees that visitors unaware of the test pay during the trial period, Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi said in an interview this week.

“We’re beginning this test for folks to see what the adoption is before we actually start enforcement,” he said. “We didn’t want to launch and start enforcement immediately, until we have a cohesive plan of what to do and how to roll it out in a larger manner and during peak summer months, which is what we’re intending to do for next year.”

The Park Mobile system that’s being tested provides drivers with three ways to pay: by using the Park Mobile app, scanning an on-site QR code or paying by text.

Greenport’s actions follow those of other East End towns and municipalities. Sag Harbor instituted paid parking in 2021 and has since collected $250,000, with less than 1% of that coming from the 11963 zip code, the East Hampton Star reported in April.

Since April, the East Hampton Town Board, the East Hampton Village Board and the Village of Sag Harbor have all expanded their use of paid parking through the Park Mobile app, according to the Star, which also reported in June that paid parking was beginning in certain areas of Montauk.

Greenport Village officials in previous administrations have considered paid parking in the village, but never implemented it.

In 2021, Park Mobile was the target of hackers, who stole account information for more than 21 million users, including emails, birthdates, phone numbers and license plate numbers, according to the company. In a “small percentage’ of the cases, home addresses were stolen as well, a company spokesman told security reporter Brian Krebs at the time.