Early A.M. Noise, Commuters' Parking Irks Residents

Early morning work-related noise from a local business and commuters parking illegally were issues raised by some South Broome Street residents at Tuesday's Lindenhurst Village Board meeting.

"I wake up every morning to engines running at 4:30 a.m. – it's disheartening," said Lisa Huber, a S. Broome Street homeowner. "The area is a disgrace."

Huber said a nearby business, Dine-Rite, has been using a Broome Street garage and area close by to continue work on the company's line of restaurant furniture. Huber and another resident, Nancy Melillo, complained the company's workers start work before sunrise, waking up their neighborhood with loud machinery and music, among other complaints. According to the residents, fire marshalls told the company they were not to work out of the garage area; an order, the two say, the company has ignored.

In addition, Lindenhurst Village laws prohibit the use of loud machinery in an area such as this, close to a residential community, at the house alleged.

"I don't want this for my daughter," said Melillo.

No representatives from Dine-Rite were present at the meeting and a call placed was not returned.

If the noise was not enough, Huber and Melillo also brought a parking war to the attention of the board. The residents said commuters ignore a "No Parking from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m." sign on the street, blocking driveways and creating havoc for the neighborhood.

"I left a note asking a few of the drivers to please go somewhere else," Huber said, presenting the board a note. The response, allegedly from the driver, was an obscene reference.

"We've tried everything we can," said Melillo. "[The drivers] block our garbage cans and I had to spend my own extra money to pay for a missed delivery because they parked in a place they should not have."

Melillo presented the board with various photographs she had taken over the past week displaying the state of Broome Street, showing tight parking and other problems stemming from the businesses on Hoffman Avenue.

Mayor Thomas Brennan promised changes and results immediately.

"Our code enforcement officer is in at 7 a.m. and I will make sure he checks this area," Brennan told the women. A fine for parking in a No Parking zone, he said, could cost the drivers double the LIRR parking lot permit fee.

In addition, Brennan said he would look into extending the No Parking hours for South Broome Street and other nearby areas, as well as look into the noise complaints from the neighboring businesses.

"I will promise you they [enforcement] will be out there tomorrow," Brennan said.