A business that offers expediting for New York State Department of Motor Vehicle services has opened a new office in Island Park.
HC Reg Service at 3942 Long Beach Road is owned and operated by Joan Cohen, who saves her clients time and money by allowing them to avoid the often difficult and frustrating exercise of the long-dreaded visit to DMV offices.
“The DMV gets a bad rap, but the reality is their staff is professional and service driven,” Cohen said in a company statement. “The problem is the number of drivers they need to serve during the day is overwhelming. That means a trip to the DMV can cause stress, frustration, and the loss of a workday. That’s where we come in.”
Cohen’s clients include executives, fleet owners, ride-share drivers and others who would rather tend to their businesses than spend time at the DMV.
One of her clients is Ed O’Toole, principal of the Edwin J O’Toole Insurance Agency in Long Beach, who believes he and his family members have literally saved thousands of hours by relying on Cohen’s services.
“There are seven of us here who all refer our DMV issues to Joan. Her services have allowed us to stay in front of our clients instead of driving 45 minutes to DMV and then waiting for our turn,” O’Toole said, adding that Cohen “always provides guidance and advice to our clients. We call her the DMV guru.”
A longtime entrepreneur, Cohen has many years of expediting experience. She also owned the Hope’s Land of Candy sweetshop in nearby Oceanside for several years, which closed recently.
Cohen’s expediting fees vary based on the request, ranging from same-day car registrations of $85 to $45 for same-day plate surrenders. For her customers it is a function of “what is my time worth” and how complicated is the transaction at the window that could send you home empty handed with the instruction “come back tomorrow.”
But there are some services she can’t offer.
“There is no way around the fact that obtaining a driver’s license, or related form of ID, requires you to be physically present at the DMV,” Cohen said. “Those identification documents have become nothing less than mandatory for many situations so there is no substitute or no stand in for that specific visit to the DMV.”
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