Great Neck Plaza launches app to offer more parking options

Great Neck Plaza residents can stop hoarding quarters to pay for parking with the recent launch of an app-based meter service in the village.

The Parkmobile app can be used in the village’s three parking lots and may eventually be rolled over to the village’s approximately 1,200 street meters.

Mayor Jean Celender said the goal is to give residents more options, and to make downtown parking more convenient.

“It may not be for everybody, but it’s an option . . . especially with millennials used to using their smartphones for purchasing,” Celender said.

The free mobile app is available for iOS, Android and Windows, and non-smartphone users can also access the service by calling Parkmobile or visiting its website. The village has emblazoned its meters with Parkmobile stickers and posted informational signs in its parking lots. Through the app, residents can receive alerts before parking expires and extend meter time.

Though the village has yet to receive much community feedback, Celender said she has noticed an increasing amount of residents using the app.

Great Neck Plaza officials researched the system for several months, and the village joins a roster of Long Island municipalities, such as the Village of Patchogue and the Town of Huntington, that have adopted app-based parking.

The app has been integrated in the village’s patrols, and there will be no changes made to code enforcement, Celender said. Code enforcement officers will be able to monitor Parkmobile users who park within the roughly 350 spaces where the app is available, Celender said.