Asbury Park residents, business owners decry aggressive parking enforcement; council promises review

At the Asbury Park City Council meeting, a string of public comments focused on parking enforcement, with residents and business owners saying ticketing and enforcement practices are deterring customers and employees.

Several residents described close-timed citations and what they called selective enforcement. "The community feels like it's predatory, that it's oppressive," said Mike Arvello, who told the council he has three outstanding parking tickets and said the municipal fines budget appears to have been increased by 24 percent. Bianca Bertolli, owner of Lock and Shade on Lake Avenue, said her business alone brings in about $30,000 a year from hourly-parking clients and that customers sometimes receive large tickets after brief errands: "They walk out to their car to a $50 ticket because they're 2 minutes late." Both called for clearer rules and for accountability about how parking revenue is used.

Why it matters: Businesses said enforcement is reducing visits and imposing new burdens on employees; residents described quality-of-life harm and confusion about meter app glitches, malfunctioning meters and whether short grace periods are applied consistently. Council members repeatedly said the complaints warrant review and follow-up by staff.

Council reaction and next steps: Council members and the mayor asked staff to investigate specific incidents and ownership or operational issues affecting enforcement. "I think we should make it a formal policy," said Mayor Moore in a discussion about a formal grace period for meters; a different council member later said the city has already doubled the grace period but did not specify the current length. Council members urged residents to report individual incidents to police and code enforcement and asked speakers to provide addresses and contact information so staff can follow up. The council did not adopt a new enforcement ordinance at the meeting; members said policy options will be considered and reported back to the council.

What was not resolved: Speakers alleged a 24% budget increase for municipal fines and selective enforcement practices; council members promised to investigate but did not confirm the cited budget line or provide a timeline for formal policy changes. App reliability, meter outages and the city’s distribution of parking revenue were described as concerns but no financial reallocation or timetable was adopted at the meeting.

The council closed public comment after members moved and seconded to do so; several members reiterated they would follow up with staff and the city manager to address individual addresses and system problems.