Babylon hires Check Valet to help with traffic, parking at Tanner Park summer concerts
The Babylon Town Board has approved the hiring of Check Valet to coordinate traffic at summer concerts at Tanner Park in Copiague. Credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas
The Town of Babylon will begin using a parking management company to handle concert traffic at Tanner Park in an effort to save money and manpower.
The town board last week approved the hiring of Check Valet, based in Patchogue, at a rate of $30 per hour per worker, with a total contract maximum of $15,000. The company will be used to coordinate traffic at Copiague’s Tanner Park for summer concerts, which can attract thousands of visitors.
Gerard Gigante, Babylon’s public safety commissioner, said the town has to use grass fields to accommodate all the concertgoers, and drivers have to be directed to spots in order to create orderly rows. The town uses about a half dozen park rangers and bay constables to do the job, along with about another half dozen for patrols, Gigante said. This often leads to overstretched staff and overtime expenses, he said.
The town became aware of Check Valet after seeing the company at the Long Island Family Festival at Tanner Park, run by the Copiague Chamber of Commerce. The town received a proposal from the company for the concerts and the cost was cheaper than using town staff, Gigante said. The company will provide six employees for a four-hour period, he said.
“It’s going to cost us less and we won’t have a staffing issue anymore,” he said.
The town will still use “a handful” of staff to patrol the venue and help direct traffic at the entrances, exits and certain “choke points,” Gigante said,
The town’s free summer concert series will start at Tanner Park on July 1 and go through mid-August, according to a schedule the town released. The town can also use the company for other events as needed, Gigante said.
Donna Farina, president of the Copiague Chamber of Commerce, said the group’s popular festival attracts about 20,000 people from Friday to Sunday every fall. The chamber had, in the past, used its members and their families to direct traffic.
“It was too much for us, so we started to look into hiring a company,” she said.
Check Valet has worked the last two festivals, Farina said.
“They did a great job; we were very pleased,” she said.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 31: 'Walk with Joe,' flag football and more On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," take a lap with the Middle Country athletic director, Jonathan Ruban checks in with the Copiague flag football team and Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
Sarra Sounds Off, Ep. 31: 'Walk with Joe,' flag football and more On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," take a lap with the Middle Country athletic director, Jonathan Ruban checks in with the Copiague flag football team and Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week.
