Elmont Residents Hopeful New Regulations Will Put An End To Parking Chaos At UBS Arena
ELMONT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Nassau County residents who live near the new UBS Arena are eager to see if brand new parking regulations will improve the parking chaos on event nights.
As CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis reports, all was calm outside houses near the new home of the Islanders on Monday, but it's a much different scene on game nights in video captured by residents.
"We see thousands of cars, people. It's a total nightmare," said homeowner Sheikh Islam.
"It was horrible. I was trying to get out my car and literally I just hit another car because it was so crowded," said homeowner Jannath Nova.
Nova said it has gotten so bad she's considering moving.
"It's hard for us who are living here," Nova said.
The arena opened in November with a lot of fanfare, along with the LIRR's new Elmont station. But right now, trains are only going in one direction, and the arena's parking garage has not yet opened, leaving fans flooding neighborhood streets, and concerned community members turning to the Town of Hempstead.
In an emergency meeting last week, town officials voted unanimously to put new parking restrictions in place. Signs were quickly changed from limited parking to no parking anytime, except with permit.
State Assembly member Michaelle Solages hopes to expand to other impacted neighborhoods.
"There's legislation that's needed on the state level to ensure that all the blocks outside of the current area are covered under the residential parking zone," Solages said.
Many of the restrictions are now in place on the streets off Hempstead Turnpike, including Wellington Road, where Islam lives.
"I'm a little bit optimistic," he said.
But he's waiting for the next game to see what happens, and ultimately, completion of the parking garage to bring peace back to his neighborhood.
"And hopefully they can properly maintain the crowd and maintain the traffic," Islam said.
DeAngelis reached out to UBS Arena and got no comment on the parking situation. However, the parking garage is expected to open in late March or early April.
Violators can be ticketed, but it's up to Nassau County police to enforce. The Nassau County Police Department said officers will be intensifying patrols on residential streets, and enforcing restrictions.
The next Islanders game at UBS Arena is on Wednesday night, so we'll see what happens then.
