Just whose decision it was to end commuter parking in front of Pathmark has become a matter of finger pointing and frustration.
According to the township, the decision came from A&P, which owns the Pathmark store and parking lot. Others say they have reason to believe East Brunswick instructed the supermarket to force commuters out, so that those commuters will use the town’s new $32 million parking deck, helping to pay for it.
Commuters who park at the Pathmark lot, which has been in use for decades, lashed out at the township administration during Monday night’s Township Council meeting, saying they were told by A&P representatives that the township sought to discontinue the free commuter parking at the Route 18 and Racetrack Road lot.
An estimated 150 commuters park there on weekdays to get NJ Transit buses to and from New York. Recently, they found fliers on their windshields telling them they can no longer park there, as of Oct. 1, which is the same day the new Transportation and Commerce Center (TCC) parking deck opens at Route 18 and Tices Lane. The fliers advised the commuters to park at the TCC.
Many commuters feel that the township was behind the parking ban, attempting to boost revenues to offset the debt incurred for the TCC. The seven-story parking deck will have 1,681 parking spaces, and replaced the old TCC lot, which had 1,130 stalls.
A&P has not commented publicly on the matter. A spokeswoman asked to be reached via e-mail, but sent an e-mail to the newspaper saying she had “no other information” at this time.
One commuter, Jacquelyn Rein, said during Monday’s meeting that she spoke with an A&P representative, who told her that the Pathmark store received an e-mail from the township’s finance department. In the e-mail, the township reportedly indicated that the new TCC would soon be open, making this a good time to tell commuters they can no longer use the store parking lot. She said she was told the e-mail came from township Finance Director L. Mason Neely, who is head of the town’s parking utility.
Later in the meeting, Neely responded that he did order the e-mail, but that he told A&P it was the company’s decision whether to allow parking. He said the e-mail was in response to a request for information, though he did not elaborate on that. He also noted that he had not heard back from the company.
Neely said he merely told the company what the township was doing in terms of opening the new parking facility.
Rein said the township was, in fact, trying to coerce A&P, and in turn, the commuters who park there.
Mayor William Neary said he sent A&P a letter asking that commuters be allowed to use the parking lot for an extended period of time, but he had yet to receive a reply as of Monday night.
Meanwhile, commuters continued to rail against the township for what they felt was a manipulation.
David Baskind said he asked an A&P representative about the flier, and was told the supermarket had nothing to do with it. Another representative, he said, agreed with him that the parking ban would not be good for business.
No one addressed the possibility that the A&P may have wanted to rid itself of liability associated with commuters using the lot, or the fact that the property has been advertised for retail use.
Another commuter, Matthew Walker, said he heard a story similar to the one Baskind relayed — that the township asked for the parking ban.
Neary wrote in a Sept. 12 letter to commuters that it was A&P’s decision to ban the parking at Pathmark, saying the grocery chain has decided “to utilize the property for a higher and better use.” He reiterated that statement on Monday.
“The private property owners made the decision,” Neary said.
Neary told commuters in the letter that the township offers monthly parking permits at the TCC and Neilson Plaza to residents for $25 per month and nonresidents for $55 per month. Daily parking will be available for $4 per day on the sixth and seventh levels of the new parking deck, he said.
Councilman David Stahl told the Sentinel he does not believe the commuters who park at Pathmark were given enough time make arrangements.
“They need a longer time period,” Stahl said, adding that telling someone to park at the TCC is not a cure-all solution, especially because the new facility will have some glitches when it first opens.
He noted that the number of people parking at the Pathmark skyrocketed after the Home Depot closed, and the parkers have gone outside the designated spots.
But Stahl said he was upset about the idea that it may have been the township that prompted the parking ban.
During the meeting, Councilman Donald Klemp, who like Stahl is running for mayor, said he was also very upset to hear that Neely sent A&P an e-mail saying it was a good time to ban parking.
Stahl said he contacted the A&P, but representatives refused comment. He said he wants the store to allow commuter parking at least through the end of 2008.
“Hopefully A&P will reconsider, even allowing them to stay permanently,” he said. “Maybe everyone can find a way to co-exist.”