Eastchester REVIEW THE
March 10, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 10 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Tuckahoe to introduce Pango parking app By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer
Ashley Anello brings the ball up the court during Eastchester’s Class A championship tilt with Somers. The Tuskers edged the Eagles 49-48 to claim the program’s first-ever Section I crown. For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith
State and county lawmakers consider Uber laws By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer While New York state lawmakers reconsider a law that would allow mobile-based ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft throughout the state, Westchester County could precede that law, as lawmakers here consider their own law. Ride-hailing services have been operating in New York City since May 2011, picking up riders who request a ride via a mobile app which automatically charges customers through a debit or credit card. But riders and drivers have not been able to legally utilize popular ridebooking apps like Uber and Lyft anywhere outside of the five boroughs.
However, Westchester, New York City’s closest neighboring county to the north, may soon look to become the exception to the statewide rule. County Legislator Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat who plans to run for county executive this fall, recently proposed legislation that would allow ride-hailing services to legally operate in Westchester. Currently, drivers of such vehicles are only allowed to travel through Westchester if either the pickup or drop-off location is in New York City. The proposed county law, which was recommended to the county Public Safety and Social Services Committee on Feb. 13, would require drivers to submit to background checks and maintain at least $1 million
in liability insurance, and for the app to display a photo of the driver’s face. “The main concerns are things that have to do with licensing,” Jenkins said. “But another fiscal consideration is the amount of money that goes to municipalities that have taxi and limousine commissions [TLCs] locally.” He said that the county is seeking to draft a law that would allow ride-booking services in its municipalities without negatively impacting the revenue that they make through taxi medallions and similar fees administered by TLCs. If ride-hailing becomes legal in the county, providers would still have to receive individual approval from some municipalities which have TLCs, including White Plains
and New Rochelle. Currently, luxury ride-booking services such as UberBLACK are allowed to operate in those cities as long as they are sanctioned by the city’s TLC. Drivers who do not have that permission could face hefty fines. According to Jenkins, the county can fine up to $2,500 to drivers who illegally pick up riders at the Westchester County Airport. But during a Feb. 13 county Board of Legislators meeting, Jenkins suggested that those fines aren’t issued as frequently as they should be. Jenkins sponsored a similar county bill last year, but the bill never made it out of committee. He said they tabled the discussion at the time because a similar UBER continued on page 8
Tuckahoe plans to soon launch a smartphone-based app that will make it easier for drivers to locate and pay for parking in long-term spaces throughout the village. According to Village Administrator David Burke, Tuckahoe plans to make its long-term parking meters accessible through Pango—a mobile app which allows users to pay for parking remotely—by March 15. Drivers who park in the designated Pango spaces can pay for the space through the app by typing the meter number into their phones. The app can send notifications to users whose parking is about to expire, and allows those users to pay for extended parking without walking back to their cars. The meters will, however, continue accepting coins and Cash Keys, a device that drivers can load money onto to pay for parking instead. But, according to police Chief John Costanzo, Cash Keys are getting more difficult for the village to obtain. “The problem we’re having with our [Cash Key] vendor is that they’re not supporting that technology anymore,” he said. So, the village looked to its neighbors for a more contemporary technology. Tuckahoe is not the first local community to integrate Pango into its parking infrastructure. Bronxville introduced Pango in late 2015 as part of a continued effort to make parking more userfriendly there. Burke said that Tuckahoe considered several similar app providers before deciding on Pango. “We looked at Pango about
six months ago,” he said. “They showed us their new app and it’s more user-friendly.” In November 2016, Pango released the fourth version of its app which includes Pango Save, a new feature that notifies drivers who are moving a parked car from a space which has time remaining on the meter, and allows them to pay only for the time they use. The app also indicates where Pango-friendly meters may be available, cutting down on the time spent driving to find a parking space. For now, the village will only allow pay-by-app parking on long-term parking meters scattered in lots throughout the village. According to the village website, long-term parking includes 100 spaces on Columbus Avenue, four spaces on Oak Terrace, eight spaces in the Underhill lot, four spaces on Main Street, two meters on Thompson Street, and the center isle of the Lake Avenue parking lot. According to Costanzo, those meters will be marked by stickers and signs. “Each meter will have its own Pango sticker on it with instructions, so there’s not going to be too many signs,” he said. Meanwhile, the village is also looking to bring the technology to the rest of its parking meters. “We’re trying to do it in stages,” Burke said. “Long-term parking was the easiest one to do.” As of press time, the village has not released a timeline on when it expects the remainder of the village parking meters to be accessible by Pango. According to Burke, Pango did not charge Tuckahoe to integrate PANGO continued on page 10
INSIDE Q&As with Tuckahoe village board candidates Starts on page 6.