Construction for the project took place during most of the Fall 2024 semester and has recently been completed. Newly slabbed concrete extends across the field as sidewalks and light fixtures illuminate the walkways at night for a photogenic view of the university’s architecture.
During the renovation, however, students voiced concerns about the campus’s parking lot not being addressed.
“It could be better,” Cheyenne Garcia, a commuter student, said. “There could be more space for parking. It’s tough to find parking. Takes quite a while to find it.”
“At times, I have 11:40 a.m. classes,” said Dillion Osorio, another commuter student. “So I gotta leave an hour before my class to find a spot. Sometimes, I’ll look around for a spot for about 20 to 30 minutes. Sometimes, I’m late to class because of that.”
The congested parking lot has become a growing concern among students and faculty in recent years. Many students arrive for their classes only to find the parking lot—stretching nearly 1,400 feet long—already packed to capacity at peak hours.
Drivers are then forced to park further away from campus buildings either at the bottom of the main parking lot, on the university’s basketball court, or in “H Lot”—an extension of the main lot—which sits at the bottom of the hill adjacent to the Hudson River.
An average walk from H Lot to the campus’s Main Hall takes about four minutes, while walking to Victory Hall—which is at the top of the hill—takes roughly seven.
This leaves room for students to run late to lectures.
“I think it’s pretty stupid parking in H Lot,” said Lilliauna Tepper, a residential student. “It’s pretty far when you’re in Founder’s Hall because it’s on the opposite side of campus.”
Charlie Rodriguez, a commuter student, also commented after pulling into campus.
“ I just parked all the way down,” Rodriguez said. “Walking up that hill is like a struggle, especially when it’s hot.”
The Ardsley-on-Hudson train station is a 12-minute walk from Victory Hall. Students can take a path to the station connected to the parking lot.
Alyssa Benbengo, a residential student, described her experience with that section of campus.
“It’s a little unsafe,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll come back to campus late going to the field hockey house. That’s basically by the train station by the woods. Not for nothing, but I’m a 19-year-old girl walking by myself. I’m a little scared sometimes.”
The inconveniences have left students questioning whether the campus has outgrown its current infrastructure.
“ I feel like there’s enough space to build more parking spaces and more advancements with that,” Garcia said.
“I don’t know if they could add more spots,” Osorio commented. “But I’m not sure how they could fix it because it’s just a lot of commuters…”
Other students suggested different parking lot sections should be designated for commuters and residents.
“They should let us residents park at the entrance instead of H Lot,” Tepper said. “The commuters can park over there. Or just let us park wherever we want.”
Others agree that commuters shouldn’t have the right to park near the residential areas.
“I don’t think commuters should be able to park wherever they want, especially by the dorms,” Benbengo said. “I live in the dorms, and having to walk so much further to get to my car when I’m here all the time, and they’re barely here, is a little inconvenient.”
Rodriguez believed Mercy could improve their parking by making the new lawn smaller.
“I don’t know if they would be able to take more of this spot, like the land that’s here,” he said. “Probably add a few more parking spots, maybe?”
