MONTICELLO — If you want to park on either side of Nelshore Drive or Spring Street on any day that isn’t Sunday, the Village Board wants you to think again.

The first to speak during the public hearing was Yakov Mandelovics, who acknowledged the ongoing parking issues on Nelshore and how much it has bothered the surrounding neighbors.

“I understand, on the other side, by creating such a law, it’s not a solution because people will still need to come for the services to pray,” said Mandelovics. “If we say that you can’t park on both sides, the problem is just going to get bigger. It’s not a solution.”

He proposed a compromise  to allow parking on just one side of Nelshore during service times, and prohibit parking entirely at all other times.

“Just in times of services you should be able to park on one side. It will be a partial solution, but it will not be creating a bigger problem,” he said.

He also referenced a previous discussion about Spring Street, where there had been an understanding that Sunday parking should be permitted during services, but not at other times.

“If Nelshore can get the same thing during times of services, and at other times, I think it’s fair to say no parking on both sides of the street.”

Village Attorney Michael Sussman followed up by noting that on the Sabbath, driving is not permitted. Mandelovics confirmed this.

“When you say ‘services,’ what services are people allowed to drive to?” asked Sussman.

Mandelovics clarified that the issue wasn’t the Sabbath, since no one is driving then. Rather, the problem occurs on regular weekdays, when people drive to pray at the synagogue on Nelshore.

When asked for specific times, Mandelovics said the parking need exists in the mornings between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., and in the evening around sunset. Resident Chaim Cohen later specified that this meant a half hour before sunset and 50 minutes after.

Trustee Theodore Hutchins emphasized that the proposed Local Law is based on safety concerns.

“If you drive down Spring Street, it’s a one-way street, and folks are parking on both sides,” Hutchins said. “It affects people’s ability to get through. God forbid a safety vehicle or fire truck has to get through, they can’t.”

“Even if you made it one-side parking on Nelshore, two cars still couldn’t get through. I don’t think it’s an issue about services or anything else. The concern is safety. It’s about making those streets accessible for the public, as well as for emergency vehicles like fire trucks and police cars.”

Mandelovics acknowledged the safety concerns, but questioned whether this law would actually solve the problem or simply create a new enforcement challenge.

“If it’s a safety concern, then all streets in the Village should be in play here,” he suggested. “There are other streets that have the same safety concern, and there’s no such law.”

Cohen pointed out that Spring Street is a one-way street because there isn’t enough space for two vehicles to pass, while Nelshore is “much wider.”

“It’s a very weird situation, even in an emergency, where you have two vehicles and one cannot move to the side so that the fire truck can pass,” Cohen explained. “Unlike Spring Street, where there really isn’t enough room for two vehicles to pass. If there were such a law on Nelshore, people would park on both sides by mistake, which creates a bigger problem.”

Trustee Gordon Jenkins echoed Hutchins’ concern about emergency access and the Village’s liability.

“As we sit up here at this Board speaking,” Jenkins stated. “Now [that] I think [about it] the Village would be liable because we just said it’s a liability. What happens if there’s a fire and someone dies? We’d be held liable because we know there’s an issue.”

“We can’t sit here and go ‘wait until it happens’ and then someone dies and then go ‘oh we should’ve done something.’ It’s not personal this stuff, it’s just [about] the safety.”

The Local Law was unanimously adopted with a motion made by Hutchins and seconded by Jenkins.