It's Official! We Have A Parking Captain! But "How The Heck Were We Supposed To Know?"

If, like me, you've been wondering who is supervising the city's ambitious new paid parking system since HPD flipped the switch early this year, there's no need to wonder anymore.  Just as I assumed all along, the person who we are all counting on to make the parking system a smashing long-term success is the second-in-command at HPD, Captain David Miller, the same fella I've been somewhat facetiously referring to lately as Parking Captain (or PC) Miller.  I'm afraid it's not a joke anymore. But, really, in the grand scheme, it is a joke. It's got to be!

I came across the evidence yesterday on the sidewalk in the 300 block of Warren outside a city parking lot when I noticed a uniformed and armed David Miller receiving a real time repair lesson from a kiosk technician who either works for the kiosk manufacturer or is a contractor for the manufacturer.  The kiosk was open the entire time, and there was a lot of pointing by the technician while Miller peered inside and nodded several times.  They were there for at least 10 minutes, though something tells me it was a whole lot longer.  Captain Miller's city-issued, all-black vehicle (the color most prone to crashes) was parked nearby in the lot with its flashers on and engine idling.  The service technician's white pickup, with Connecticut plates but no identifying logo or information on its sides, was parked on the street and was also idling.

According to public information available on the website of SeeThroughNY, HPD Captain David Miller's salary last year was $151,736, though I don't know if this was his net or gross income.  According to city records I received last year, prior to Miller taking on the role of Parking Captain, his base salary was $135,912.  Discrepancies between stated base salaries and those seen on SeeThroughNY typically have to do with the accrual of overtime pay.

I will continue to repeat it at every appropriate opportunity, and now is another one of those times.  In April or May of 2023, after former HPD police chief Ed Moore gave his thanks and goodbyes during his final informal council meeting, he tacked on a few observations and concerns regarding issues he saw coming the city's way.  He felt obligated to help the city out, and one of those concerns had to with parking.  Ed basically warned us to keep parking out of HPD's hands.  Let HPD stick to law enforcement, he added.  Wise words, albeit unnecessary, one would think.  

Armed with a bucketful of new knowledge
about the inner workings of our $10,000
parking kiosks. Someone had to do it!

ALAS, EVERYONE IGNORED ED'S WORDS OF CONCERN, INCLUDING HIS SOON-TO-BE REPLACEMENT, LIEUTENANT MISHANDA FRANKLIN, AS WELL AS THE LIEUTENANT WHOM KAMAL JOHNSON CHOSE NOT TO TAKE ED'S PLACE, DAVID MILLER.  THE POSITION OF HPD CAPTAIN WAS SOON CREATED FOR MILLER, PERHAPS AS A CONSOLATION.  (Why else would it have been created?) 

Perhaps right now mayor Ferris is working on creating another new official position for David Miller, that of Parking Captain or possibly Parking Supervisor.  What exactly will that position's salary be and how much time will the position require of the Parking Captain/Supervisor?

The question that begs to be answered is how on earth we can expect anyone to properly and effectively supervise our new paid parking system full time if that supervisor has another full-time job to do and be paid for.

This morning, on my way to the Farmer's Market, I came across a middle-aged couple who had just exited their car parked in front of the DMV at 6th Street.  I noticed their Connecticut license plate and what seemed like their lack of effort to pay for their parking space.  Not far beyond their car, I got their attention and asked them if they were at all concerned about their car being ticketed.  The husband responded, "Do we have to pay?"  He was clueless, as was his wife.

Before answering the question, I asked them if this was their first time visiting Hudson.  "No," the husband replied. "We were here maybe a year and a half ago."  His wife nodded in agreement.

"Do you remember the parking meters along this street?" I asked.

They both said that they did, though only after a short pause to think about it.

"Well, the meters were replaced this year with signs," I replied, pointing to the scannable paid parking sign 8 or 9 feet up the lamppost directly in front of their car.  "That's the city's new parking payment system that replaced the meters."

The fellow from Connecticut immediately (and unsurprisingly) replied, "How the heck were we supposed to know?"  His wife, with that WTF look, chimed in, "Yeah!"   The husband asked, "Is it an app?"  I told him that it was.  They both thanked me, returned to the front of their car, looked up to the sign, he got out his phone, and it took them at least 3 minutes to pay for their parking space.  I know about how much time it took because I watched them navigate Hudson's new paid parking system while standing at the corner with my folded umbrella in hand since the rain had let up for the time being.

Also this morning, nearly 24 hours after I witnessed PC Miller learning all about how the insides of our parking kiosks operate, I checked the one kiosk for the 700 block of Warren, the one that's been DEAD for at least the past 9 weeks, perhaps as many as 12.  Guess what?  PC Miller still hasn't fixed it!  Perhaps he's waiting for a salary raise before getting his fingers dirty inside that kiosk.  Or maybe he's waiting for the right time to put that kiosk out of its misery with a few bullets from his pistol.  Let's hope so!