More than two months after the Newport Mall raised its parking fees, Jersey City officials continue to protest the new rates without reaching an agreement.
Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham has requested that Newport Mall implement a parking validation system for shoppers. Such a system would separate the locals to come to shop at the mall from commuters who use the same parking lot and pay for more hours there when they catch the PATH train to the city.
Mel Simon, owner of Simon Properties, the company that manages Newport Mall, submitted minor changes to the new rate structure on Feb. 23 that do not reflect the mayor’s requests.
“Newport Centre wants to strike the correct balance between with parking charges at the Mall,” states a letter to Cunningham from Francis Schiller, an attorney representing Newport Mall. Schiller did not return calls to The Jersey City Reporter.
Instead of validated parking, the new rate structure resembles the same one in use now, merely reducing the fee charged for parking between four and five hours. Rather than the $10 fee proposed for that time frame, the mall has agreed to $8, and expanded the time period to be from four to six hours.
The other increases, first put into effect Jan. 1, did not budge. They include an increase from one to two hours from $1.50 to $2.25; from two to four hours increased from $2.25 to $3.75; and an increase from six to 24 hours from $20 to $22.
City officials have said that raising parking fees without proper notification was a violation of a city law. The mayor originally waved a $1,000 per day fine in the air as a threat. Other than getting Simon Properties to discuss the issue and make the recent change, the threat has not had a profound effect.
“It’s unacceptable,” said Stan Eason, spokesperson for the mayor. “It didn’t provide a remedy to the key issues that the mayor found troublesome.” He said the mayor would continue to negotiate a better deal.
“We’re not asking them to part the Red Sea,” Eason said. “We’re asking for something relatively simple.”
Cunningham recalls the incentives and tax breaks he voted in favor of when he was a council president in the 1980s and Newport Centre was initially getting off the ground. Describing a $40 million Urban Development Action Grant and several low-interest loans, Cunningham said that Newport Mall, which benefits from a 3 percent sales tax because it has been designated an Urban Enterprise Zone, should pay heed to the city’s demands.
According to John Hedge, general manager of Denison Parking Inc., the increases are designed to compete with other parking lots in the area who also cater to commuters. Although Denison Parking Inc., manages the parking lot, it was not responsible for the increases, Hedge said in an interview in January. Hedge believes that Newport Mall falls into the same category as a mall in Manhattan because of the urban environment. Therefore, being charged for parking should be considered routine, he said.
In addition, he argues that the cost of maintaining the three-level lot with 3,650 spaces exceeds the operational costs of open lots in suburban malls. He noted several structural, employment, and operational costs that have made increases necessary, including a new $400,000 operating system for the tollbooths.
The City Council, which has proposed issuing a resolution condemning the parking increase, has waited for the mayor’s talks to end before deciding whether or not to take action.
“I don’t think we’ll do anything until the mayor says we can’t go any further [with negotiations],” Councilwoman Mary Donnelly said. She said that there should not be a fee for shoppers at all, and, if one is necessary, it should not exceed $2 per day. “I’m still boycotting it until a reasonable solution is found. Certainly this is not a reasonable solution to the city of Jersey City and the surrounding communities. To me, you’re hitting the hardworking people.”