Steven Spielberg movie shoot means free parking in downtown Huntington

Metered street parking on downtown Huntington streets will be free on Tuesday, an effort aimed at making up for disruptions in town associated with a Hollywood production by director Steven Spielberg.

On Friday, Supervisor Ed Smyth announced parking lot closures and on-street parking bans due to the filming in downtown Huntington. Considering the closures and disruption to motorists, Smyth said Sunday he ordered a fee waiver at street parking meters for one day.

"There are going to be so many production vehicles taking up parking spaces in the unpaid lots so we want to create some unpaid accommodations elsewhere and the simplest way to do it is to waive parking fees for the day," Smyth said.

A February article in Variety reported Spielberg is working on an unnamed "UFO-related" movie starring Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson and Josh O’Connor.

The on-street parking ban is from 6 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, town officials have said.

Locations where parking will be banned, according to the town, are: New York Avenue between East Carver Street and Elm Street, on the east side of the street only; Elm Street from New York Avenue to Nassau Road; New Street from Main Street to West Carver Street;  West Carver Street from New York Avenue to Prospect Street; and Green Street from Main Street to West Carver Street.

Parking lots on New Street and for the former Chase Bank on the corner of New York Avenue and Gerard Street will be closed Monday, starting at 6 p.m. to Wednesday at 6 a.m., town officials said.

Smyth said the production company will be using those lots for trailers, trucks and equipment.

Metered parking in downtown Huntington is $1 per hour with a three-hour maximum.

Smyth said there are about 500 metered parking spaces in downtown Huntington that bring in about $1,067 in revenue a day. He said the parking fee holiday on Tuesday for any available spaces will not result in a loss of revenue to the town.

He said the maximum amount the town can bring in a day is about $5,000 a day if all the parking spaces were occupied at all times they are available.

"The fee that we are collecting from the production company is three times that," Smyth said. "They are paying to use some of those parking spots, not all of them. When the town rolls out the red carpet for a production it’s not free, the company pays the Town of Huntington fees based on the services they need."

Parking Lot 22 at the Huntington Long Island Rail Road Station will also be closed all day on Tuesday, town officials said.

Smyth said he was not at liberty to disclose any more about the movie than what is already publicly known.

"I only know I’m not starring in it," Smyth said, adding they had been sworn to secrecy about the production coming to town until recently.

In 2023, the town created the Office of Film & Television to attract production companies to Huntington.