Southampton Town Reserves Parking for Veterans & Military

At the October 27 Southampton Town Board meeting, the entire board—Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, Councilwoman Julie Lofstad, Councilman John Bouvier, Councilman Rick Martel and Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni—co-sponsored and approved a resolution designating five parking spaces throughout the town to be reserved for use by veterans and active military.

“As the son of a father who served in World War II and Korea, I’m happy to support this,” Schneiderman said as he announced his co-sponsorship of the resolution, the first of its kind in the Hamptons.

The five parking spaces, each designated with a new reserved parking sign, include one at Southampton Town Hall, one at the Bridgehampton South-West Municipal Parking Lot, one adjacent to the Hampton Bays Post Office, one at Southampton Youth Services and one at the Southampton Town Parks and Recreation Department. The preferred spaces are located near but not necessarily adjacent to handicap spots. And the funds for the creation and installation of the five reserved parking signs, $266.40 in total, are being drawn from a Parks Maintenance Repair Building G/L.

While five spaces in all of Southampton Town may not seem like very many, the board expressed interest in expanding on this resolution in the future and encouraging local business owners to do the same. “We’re hoping that maybe other privately owned areas would like to do it, and we can certainly expand it on other town properties if we decide to do so,” Lofstad, liaison to the Veterans Affairs Committee, explained during the meeting,

In honor of Veterans Day, the board will unveil the first of the newly reserved parking spaces and signs at Southampton Town Hall on Tuesday, November 10.

This resolution is the latest display of the Southampton Town Board’s commitment to the appreciation of veterans. Those who served are already entitled to free town beach parking permits, tax exemptions and many other services.