Town of North Hempstead residents who get into altercations with town parking enforcement officers in the next few months might find themselves in a television spotlight on A&E’s “Parking Wars.”

Camera crews of the cable channel’s half-hour reality series, which focuses on angry interactions between motorists and the people who give them tickets, will be tagging along with Town of North Hempstead parking enforcement officers for the next three or four months, according to Andrew DeMartin, town commissioner of public safety.

The show’s producers, who live in the New York City metropolitan area, were seeking suburban locations to shoot segments for the show, DeMartin said.

They approached the town four months ago about the prospect of shooting segments in the Town of North Hempstead.

“We’ve been doing mostly large urban areas. Our audience is interested to see how it’s done in other areas as well,” said Dan Flaherty, co-executive producer of Hybrid Films, which produces the show for A&E. “North Hempstead has sort of a good range of environments there. And they have a really great crew.” 

Flaherty said the show will probably be filming in the town on and off over the next few months.

“We just started this week so we don’t know what to expect yet,” said Flaherty, who isn’t sure how many episodes will be produced from the North Hempstead filming.

He said he was favorably impressed with the town’s parking enforcement officers.

“They’re interesting people who have a lot of good things to say about their job and why they do what they do,” Flaherty said. 

The “Parking Wars” producers initially contacted Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman directly about the project. When Kaiman referred them to DeMartin, DeMartin dispatched Shawn Brown, town deputy commissioner of public safety, to observe filming of the show’s segments in Providence, RI.

“We had some concerns that some of this was staged,” DeMartin said.

Once he was satisfied that the reality show legitimately filmed real-life confrontations with parking enforcement officers, the town agreed to let the “Parking Wars” producers proceed. The most heavily metered area of the town is Port Washington, DeMartin said, but tickets are issued for violating instructions posted on signs as well.

DeMartin expects the show’s producers will find ample opportunities to shoot material for the show. 

“Rarely is there a day where we don’t have an altercation with a enforcement officer. People just don’t like getting tickets,” DeMartin said.

Last year, he said, one of the town’s traffic enforcement officers was run over by a motorist angered at receiving a ticket.

Far from seeking negative publicity, DeMartin sees a chance to build awareness about the real purpose that parking tickets serve. 

“The upside for the town and division of parking is that the residents will hopefully see that parking enforcement makes for a safer town and a safer environment,” he said.

There is no contractual arrangement between the town and the show’s producers, but DeMartin said the show has offered in-kind remuneration in exchange for securing film rights in municipalities it shoots segments.

If the show makes an offer, DeMartin plans to request roof lights for the town’s eight public safety cars.