Smithtown swaps beach stickers for digital passes

In Smithtown, park and beach stickers that for decades were a summer staple are now relics of a bygone era.

Since switching to a mobile pass system at the start of the season, the town has issued more than 16,000 permits tied to the new platform. Registration for the program, Smart Pass, requires a $5 per vehicle charge that's waived for veterans and seniors 65 and older.

The program replaced stickers the town required for residents to visit parks and beaches. The stickers featured a logo of Whisper the Bull.

The switch was designed to curb fraud and save on the annual cost of printing up to 30,000 stickers, town officials have said. Some residents had shared them with nonresidents, putting a crunch on parking at popular beaches, officials have said.

Smithtown officials said the change would result in $200,000 in savings. The program now allows town enforcement staff to scan license plates to confirm access instantly, according to instructional videos the town published online.

The town board adopted the Smart Pass program in April. In early 2024, the town board sought to impose a $30 fee for town residents, but the plan was withdrawn following opposition.

A sampling of park and beachgoers in Smithtown last week told Newsday that they are embracing the shift.

Rachel Muncan, 36, of Kings Park, who was visiting Callahans Beach in Fort Salonga, said she prefers the mobile pass. “It’s nice to not have to worry about" the stickers, she said.

"It’s just connected right to the car, it scans our plate, and I’m fine with it,” Muncan said. “It’s easy for me, you don’t have to go into the office. So that was great.”

Jen Lapolla, a Nesconset resident who was visiting Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve in Commack, said while she liked the physical sticker program, she believes “people pawn [stickers] off for sure.” She said she understood why the digital program would ensure compliance.

While sitting with friends at Long Beach Town Park in St. James, Jessica Wourgola, 40, of St. James, said she was glad to see the sticker program go. She hated scraping the sticker from her car window, she said.

“It’s five dollars for access to any park and beach that you want. I think that’s pretty fair,” she said.

Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said in a statement: “As expected, the rollout has been smooth and impactful, streamlining the process, strengthening safeguards against fraud and restoring fair access to our parks and beaches."

As of July 17, the town had issued 16,033 resident parking permits via Smart Pass, according to numbers provided by the town. That number includes 5,256 seniors and 441 veterans.

Town spokeswoman Nicole Garguilo noted Smithtown sees registrations rise as people begin to frequent the town's concerts and summer camps. The town has issued "warning reminders" to residents that have yet to register their vehicles with Smart Pass, she said.

The Town of Huntington adopted Smart Pass in spring 2024. 

Huntington Town spokeswoman Christine Geed said that "with anything new, it was a little slow getting off the ground, but is now very well received by our residents. Especially the seniors and veterans, who are free and only have to register once, not annually, as long as they do not change their license plate number." There are more than 20,000 residents enrolled in Huntington's program.