'Unsafe Parking' On Northport Road: NYSDOT, Arlo Respond To Petition

NORTHPORT, NY — Some Town of Huntington residents are demanding changes to Fort Salonga Road/Route 25A in Northport, according to a petition. Their request has been heard.

The Citizens for a Sustainable Huntington group is requesting the New York State Department of Transportation and Town of Huntington to "stop the lawlessness, reckless, and dangerous parking conditions" on the route between Norwood Road east to Makamah Road in Northport and Fort Salonga. Residents felt cars parked on the shoulders of Route 25A is unsafe for other motorists and pedestrians, prompting the New York State Department of Transportation to take action.

"We urgently request the Town and NYS DOT to perform a comprehensive analysis of the unsafe parking and traffic flow in this stretch of 25A to formulate a comprehensive solution to ensure the safety of the public, motorists, and valets," Citizens for a Sustainable Huntington wrote.

The Town of Huntington does not hold jurisdiction over Route 25A, a state road.

The petition, created Feb. 9, has more than 90 signatures as of Wednesday.

"In response to concerns raised by local elected officials, the New York State Department of Transportation recently completed a traffic study of State Route 25A in the vicinity of Makamah Road and has installed 'No Stopping Anytime' signs in the area," Stephen Canzoneri, a spokesman for the state department of transportation, said. "Safety is always NYSDOT’s top priority and we will continue to monitor conditions in this area."

The stretch of road is by Arlo Kitchen & Bar, a restaurant at 1036 Fort Salonga Road, Northport. The restaurant uses valet parking.

Andrew Affa and Steve Squitiro, co-owners of the hospitality group that owns Arlo, said they were aware of the petition. Affa said the parking was an issue that the group had been "trying to rectify" since Arlo opened, and ownership has found a solution.

Arlo secured another lot for employee parking, which went into effect Monday. All cars related to Arlo will now be off of Route 25A, Affa said.

"We’ve tried to really create a beautiful restaurant for the community," Affa told Patch. "We’ve had a tremendous amount of community support. We’re not trying to ruffle any feathers. Honestly, we want a beautiful restaurant for the community to enjoy."

Arlo offers 190 seats inside its restaurant. Its parking lot has 58 spots, and restaurant ownership forged agreements for 70 more parking spaces across three additional lots. Valet drivers take customers' cars down a hill to one of the three additional lots if Arlo's main lot is full, Affa explained.

About a dozen Arlo employees had been parking their cars on the north side of Route 25A by Makamah Nature Preserve at 2 p.m. daily, Affa said. They leave at the end of the night and are escorted down the hill by a manager to ensure they are safely brought to their cars. No guest cars are parked on Route 25A, Affa said.

Conflicting call times had prevented Arlo employees from using one of the three satellite lots, as there were no issues around 7 p.m. when guest cars were valeted to those lots, Affa said. While the issue was with staff arrival time, the restaurant's arrangement with another lot solved the Route 25A parking problem on Arlo's end.

Affa and Squitiro said they are hoping to schedule an agenda item at a Town of Huntington Zoning Board meeting within the next few months, where they will ask for permission to extend their parking lot to secure more spaces for both employees and guests. Arlo currently sits on a 2-acre property.

Squitiro noted there are no parking signs on Route 25A.

"We don’t want to create a dangerous situation for anybody," he said. "We’re trying to resolve the situation where we can dig out the hillside that we own to extend our parking lot, obviously at our expense, to resolve all of our issues."

The additional parking lots would cost the restaurant upwards of $8K a month, Squitiro estimates.

"Which is an extremely high amount," he said. "We want to be good neighbors. We’re going to be there for a long time. We’re not greedy people. We're just trying to do business."

Affa said cars parked along Route 25A are not just from Arlo. Some cars are there for other businesses, he said. There is parking overflow from Makamah Nature Preserve on nice days, Affa said.

"We can not be responsible for patrolling cars that are either visiting the park or other businesses but any cars associated with Arlo will be removed from 25A," Affa said. "Arlo is taking the heat for all of this, because when we were building everything out, and it was just Steve and I pulling up to the parking lot, there was always a handful of cars there. I believe [the park] only has 12 spots, maybe. Most of those spots are in dirt and mud. The patrons of that park park on 25A, and we bear the brunt of it."

Affa said once Arlo has the means to have its employees no longer park on Route 25A, the community should shift efforts to contacting Suffolk County to add more parking spaces for Makamah Nature Preserve.

The Town of Huntington received a copy of the petition.

"The town understands the concerns regarding unsafe conditions in the area and surrounding the Makamah Nature Preserve," Huntington town officials stated. "We want to clear up any confusion surrounding the responsible authorities for this roadway and the preserve. The Town of Huntington has no jurisdiction on Route 25A, nor the Makamah Nature Preserve."

Route 25A is controlled by the NYS Department of Transportation, while the preserve is owned by Suffolk County.

"As always, we are committed to working with our state and local partners on improving safety issues throughout the town," Huntington officials said. "On behalf of our residents, and for the safety of all who travel that area, the Town of Huntington will notify the NYSDOT and Suffolk County about the safety concerns."

Neither the Suffolk County parks department or highway department immediately responded to Patch's request for comment.

People can contact the state at r10-rpic@dot.ny.gov or by calling 631-952-6929.