Community Watchdog

The new left-turn lane in front of Rich Gallipoli's home in Melville forces him to lean into traffic to retrieve mail.

The Town of Huntington recently painted a left turn lane on my street for a planned traffic light at the corner of Republic Road and Marcus Drive. This new lane starts directly in front of my home, moving the southbound through-lane directly up to the curb. There is no longer a shoulder area or parking lane, and I now have to lean into traffic to retrieve mail from my mailbox. The turn lane has created a dangerous situation for me and my family. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone listened to the concerns expressed by Newsday and Gallipoli, and then reviewed the new traffic configuration with his traffic safety people.
As a result, “The markings [for the left turn lane] are going to be grounded out (removed) within the next week,” he said.

“There’s definitely a light merited, but...I’m not sure you need a turn lane at this point,” Petrone said. If through monitoring it’s determined that one is necessary, the town can find a way to incorporate it so traffic isn’t moved closer to the houses on Republic Road, he said.

The supervisor’s staff will also ask the U.S. Postal Service whether mailboxes for the homes can be moved farther back from the curb.

The town installed the left turn lane in November after employees from the adjoining business area sent a petition requesting one, town traffic safety engineer Gary Gil said. Based on recent traffic patterns and accident data from 2002, the latest year available to him, the left turn lane would make the intersection safer, he said.

Also related to this topic:

Olinto Parenti says its safer to move school bus stops from intersections.

Can you explain why children wait for their school bus at intersections and not in the middle of a block? I’ve been a member of my local fire department for more than 40 years and have responded to numerous automobile accidents, almost 99 percent of which occurred at intersections.

There are guidelines the school district’s Board of Education applies when mapping bus routes.

One rule is that bus stops be located a minimum of 100 feet before or after an intersection - not at the intersection itself.

“The problem is kids tend to inch toward the corner over the course of the school year,” said Shari Bardash-Eivers, Board of Education president for the Farmingdale School District. “Many times, bus stops are placed near an intersection if a street has a lot of parked cars, so the bus can pull closer to the curb. Also, if it’s a busy street, we don’t want kids walking far just to get away from an intersection.”

This school year, the Farmingdale district has 1,049 “corner bus stops” located at least 100 feet from an intersection, compared to 413 mid-block stops. This past fall, the district received 37 requests for stop location changes, compared to 58 in 2006.

In most cases, parents want bus stops moved to their driveway, which the district is happy to do if it means another student doesn’t have to walk much further as a result.

“We take each request for a bus stop change seriously,” said Barbara J. Horsley, the assistant superintendent. “If it improves safety, we’ll do it.”

Long Islanders interested in requesting a bus stop location change should contact their school district’s Board of Education or transportation department. If the request is refused, residents can appeal to the state Department of Education. Instructions are available online.

Also related to this topic:

A question about handicapped parking spaces being plowed in after it snows, making them inaccessible, garnered a bunch of reader comments – many echoing the sentiment of Bruce Blower, director of Handicapped Services in Suffolk County. Blower believes that property owners, not the people who do the snow plowing of parking fields, should be fined if they violate the law by blocking the handicapped spots. To that end, he’s trying to lobby state legislators for the change so police won’t have to “stake out” plowers to catch them in the act and can instead issue tickets to owners for violations.

Here are some excerpts from the reader feedback, and you can read all of the comments here, including the ones too disparaging to repeat.

--The simple solution is to fine the property owner then - even if that property owner is the town.

--I don't know why the property owner wouldn't be the one held accountable anyway. He/she is the one responsible for the lot to be cleared. If the owners started paying the fines, they would swith to a company that didn't plow in the spots.

And to all of you saying this is a non-issue: It is against the law to block a handicapped parking space. If you disagree with the law, contact your congresman. But to disagree with having a law, any law enforced is just silly. We have laws for a reason.

--Special privleges for the handicapped? You mean like job discrimination? The high price of presecription drugs? Chronic pain? Insensitive people who park in the cross-hatched areas next to the handicap spots. Those areas are for wheelchair lift vans who need space to load and unload. I can't tell you how many times I've people in wheel chairs unable to get into their vehicles because some inconsiderate dolt parked in the cross-hatched area. And there are degrees of disability as well. Some people with mobility problems only have them on bad days. I personally have a "good days and bad days" disability. I got rid of my license plate and got

Did you know you can preview the complaints and problems in Newsday’s Community Watchdog column before it’s delivered with the Sunday paper?

Our Wednesday, Thursday and Friday blogs feature a reader’s issue published on Sunday. Usually, there’s a video to go with it, too.

For those new to the blog or the column, the Community Watchdog helps Newsday readers navigate town hall or incorporated village. If you have a complaint or problem you’ve tried to get fixed and haven’t been successful, email watchdog@newsday.com, include your name, address and day phone number. We’ll try to help.

Nancy Metz of Oyster Bay wants a clear view of Mill Pond

Newsday Photo by Gwen Young

There’s a beautiful pond near my house in Oyster Bay. The owner of a local business has offered to prune there, but a letter of permission is needed to work on the property. I can’t establish who has jurisdiction and neither can the people at Oyster Bay Town Hall. You can’t see the pond because it’s overgrown with vines. I’ve had the runaround for six months to a year.

-- Nancy Metz, Oyster Bay

It’s no wonder Metz got the runaround. It took town spokesman Jim Moriarty, a government veteran, many frustrating phone calls over a couple of weeks to determine that U.S. Fish and Wildlife has jurisdiction over Mill Pond.

The agency is responsible for keeping the area as a wildlife refuge, which doesn't entail beautification.

Since the park area is small patch of land, with no public parking, only one park bench and is accessible primarily to area residents, the town most likely will spruce it up if given permission by the federal agency, Moriarty said.

He’s arranged a meeting tomorrow at the site with Metz, a town parks department worker and someone from Fish and Wildlife to determine what can be done to improve the area.

Della Greco of Baldwin wants a neighbor's yard cleared permanently

Newsday Photo by Gwen Young

For the past 23 years, I’ve been trying to do something about this junkyard/pigsty around the corner from me. The man has so much garbage and junk on his property - toilet bowls, gas tanks, wood, a ladder, old appliances - you name it. The Town of Hempstead keeps giving him summonses. It’s such a danger.
-- Della Greco, Baldwin

No matter what the town does within the limits of the law, this yard and house will probably never meet the standards of average Long Islanders unless the owner moves.

After we called the town earlier this month, building inspectors issued the homeowner summonses for illegal use/outside storage, lack of protective treatment on the home's exterior (siding or shingles), and another for not keeping the outside of the property in a clean and sanitary condition, town spokesman Michael Deery said. On Thursday, the town’s sanitation department issued additional summonses for litter and accumulation of debris. Those summonses were in addition to ones issued in June for similar problems.

Deery said the owner is due in court Thursday to answer some of the summonses.

It’s a chronic problem that dates to at least 1994. After summonses are issued or the owner is mandated to appear in court, debris is removed. Soon, it’s replaced with other debris. Greco would like to see a massive, once-and-for-all cleanup. But Deery said, “We have the power to issue summonses. We don't have the power to go onto somebody’s private property and take their possessions.”

The owner “has the same rights as any homeowner insofar as the enjoyment of his property, so long as what he does is not in violation of town building codes,” Deery said.

Fines for a first offense cannot exceed $500 and/or six months in jail, but can reach up to $1,500 for a third offense. It's up to a judge to decide how much the owner pays in fines or whether jail time is imposed.

Despite a population of 750,000 residents, there are only three or four properties within the township that are habitual eyesores for neighbors, Deery said. Town residents who have a similar problem on their block should call the town's helpline at 516 489-6000.

WATCHDOG WEIGH-IN:
Is there an eyesore in your neighborhood? Send your story, address and pictures to watchdog@newsday.com. We’ll blog the best here.

Also related to this topic:
*Town of Hempstead Town Code- Chapter 93: Maximum fines for violation of building code ordinance
*Newsday: Garden Detective: “Do you have a rotten neighbor?”
*Market Watch article: "Dealing with an Eyesore Next Door"

Carole Murphy of Hauppauge wants handicapped parking spaces kept clear of snow

Newsday Photo by Julia Gaines

I have a permanent breathing disability. During the winter months, I always have a problem with inaccessible handicapped parking spaces due to plows blocking them with snow. This happens in shopping centers throughout Long Island, including where I live in the Town of Islip. Why can’t local authorities stop this from happening?

--Carole Murphy, Hauppauge

While there is a state law that prohibits plowing-in handicapped spaces, the real problem is enforcing it, said Suffolk County’s Director of Handicapped Services Bruce Blower.

“The police officer must actually see the person shoveling or dumping snow into the space,” said Blower, citing New York State’s Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1203. “Since most plowers work at night when the parking lots are empty, it’s tough to enforce… I’ve only seen one instance in Suffolk County in which a violation was issued.”

That violation occurred about five years ago, Blower said, when a Smithtown plower repeatedly left handicapped parking spaces inaccessible throughout the course of the winter. To catch him in the act, a Fourth Precinct officer staked out a parking lot until 2:30 a.m.

The fine for such a violation is $50, and $200 for subsequent violations, which Blower says is not much of a deterrent to many large plowing companies.“They’re often getting paid thousands of dollars, so they’ll risk a $50 fine.”

Currently, Blower’s office is seeking to change state law so that property owners - not plowing companies - will be held accountable if handicapped spaces are blocked. Then police can issue a ticket to property owners, eliminating the need tocatch plowers in the act.

Blower said his office also sends notices to all Suffolk towns and plowing companies each fall reminding them to keep handicapped spaces open.

Suffolk County residents experiencing a problem with handicapped parking spaces should call the Office of Handicapped Services at 631-853-8333. The agency will contact the property ownerand request the handicapped spaces be cleared.

Also related to this topic:
*State Vehicle and Traffic Laws
*National Snow and Ice Data Center

Based on a reader question about the fire siren in Center Moriches, we asked whether you think firehouse sirens are still needed in the digital age.

There are no winning or losing answers, but from the close to 200 responses, there obviously are strong feelings on both sides of the issue.

This wasn’t supposed to be a debate about whether a paid system should replace volunteers, but that’s where some readers took the discussion. You can read all the comments on two Newsday.com Web pages: here on this blog, and here, where the story was posted after it ran in the Jan. 20 issue of Newsday..

Also, here are more unedited comments, sent to watchdog@newsday.com. Some writers chose to post anonymously.

With regard to the question posed in Newsday's January 20, 2008, Community Watchdog column I submit that the intensity of the alarm is a danger to anyone outdoors within several hundred feet of the siren. If the chairman, John Zlatniski, has been able to modify the times of operation of the sirens and limit them to fires only at night and has been able to function safely for the past four years then it seems the siren is an outmoded means of alerting responders.
--Frank Cibelli, Amityville, NY

I can’t speak for the rest of Long Island, but when I inquired of our local fire company, I was told sirens are “required by the insurance rating board”. When I asked to see proof of this requirement, I was told they would “get back to me”. That was almost 2 years ago, so I’m beginning to doubt the truth behind that particular answer.
This is the same fire company who, after they erected a 48’ tall auxiliary house in a residential, claimed:
1. They sent notification letters all of the 40 some odd homes directly affected, but they all seemed to have been lost in the certified mail.
2. They purposely withheld information about their plans, so as not to cause resistance.
They have just installed a new siren, higher on the house by some 8 – 10 feet, (total height now over 50 in a residentially zoned neighborhood).
Maybe they are trying to compensate?
--UNSIGNED

YES, alarms ARE still necessary.
How many times can volunteers be sitting around awaiting an alarm- they have personal lives- they may be in a location not to hear- etc. Many things can happen, and in the meantime, if this alarm were not to ring- YOU can be in needy person--
I get so disgusted when people complain - my son was -till he moved out of Nassau- volunteer fireman and EMT. How many times did that alarm go off in his room- and the whole house was awakened, but we knew it was a neighbor,friend,etc in need of help-
Rather than complain- why not get out and help
Do you have any idea what it would cost you in taxes if a PAID fire dept were to be - this will happen, as not enough willing hands—
--UNSIGNED

sidewalks popping up sirens at night gee to bad i have lived out in suffolk county since 1939. all the new comers want is a fantasy land. Sidewalks years ago always popped up because of the trees that lined them.So lets see cut down all the trees rip up the sidewalks and we will all be better off. Sirens at night ???
Same thing . lived with that -raised kids-am a volly. Raised my kids not coddled them. They could sleep in a
noisy enviroment and my grandchildren are doing fine also. Get with it and love the country you live in. Too
noisy move to Greenland
-- UNSIGNED

We asked for comments on this blog and in the newspaper's Sunday column whether readers thought firehouse sirens are still necessary in the digital age. Below are responses sent to watchdog@newsday.com. Nameless comments were sent that way. More than 150 additional comments were submitted after it was posted on newsday.com. Click here to see them. Also, more readers wrote opinions in the "Comments" link at the end of the story on the Community Watchdog blog below.

There are strong arguments on both sides. Feel free to add to the discussion. Thanks to all who took the time to send some thoughtful views and opinions.

People must remeber that we on Long Island are served by a VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT. NO ONE is sitting up at the fire house all the time waiting for your house to go on fire. Pagers and Cells don't always work as most of us already know. Most Fire Departments do not use them at night unless it's a big fire or they need more personnel to respond. So people who complaint about an occassional fire siren going off at night should say a pray and thank the good lord they weren't sounded for them or their loved ones. -- Bill Torio

I read with great interest your column on the need for fire sirens in todays modern age. I am a member of my district's Board of Fire Commissioners and believe that the sirens and/or horns still play an important role in alerting the firefighters and community of an emergency. Over the years we too have made compromises as to the time and length of the activations. From 6AM to 6PM we sound the siren for all alarms, from 6PM to 6AM we sound the siren only for structure fires, mutual aid calls, "unknown type" of fire calls, and for second alarms.(more help needed from our own department) The siren sounds daily at noon, which I have found that the community relies on the "noon whistle". As I mentioned before, the siren warns the community that an emergency is in progress and to watch out for volunteers responding to the firehouse and firetrucks that will be responding shortly thereafter. Another point to bring out is the fact if you happen to be the one calling in an emergency, it is very reassuring to hear the siren sound and know that your call for help is being answered by volunteers in your community and they will be on their way to help you. We also have pagers and text messaging to our members that have cell phones and wanted to partricipate. Both systems are not 100% reliable. Using all three methods gives us assurance that a response will be forthcoming. Also we have a backup generator at the firehouse that automatically operates in the event of a power outage and has full capability to power the firehouse and the siren. There could be times that it may be our only way to notfy our members. In this day and time it may be necessary to use the siren to notify the public of other emergencies. This would be similar to the Civil Defense system that was in place during the "cold war" years in the 50's & 60's. People need to know that when they move next to or close by a fire station or satellite siren that there are going to be times of activity when the sirens are going to sound or you are going to hear emergency vehicles leave the station. Hopefully those folks will get used to it and understand. Rich T. Bellport, NY

I suppose the person who lives next to the Fire House, hasn't lived there their whole life. I bet it's the whole " I just moved here and now I want to change everything " policy adopted by ignorant fools. First they will get rid of the fire whistle then next will be the sirens on the fire trucks, then it will be the pagers (that get us to the fire house and to the scene) that make that awfully loud noise. This must be the same type of person who complains that the Fire Department does not respond quick enough to their emergency.
Gee,, if I only had a fire whistle or better technolgy to alert me of a rescue maybe I could have responded to the Fire House, so the Ambulance could have made it to you quicker sir.
The worst part of all of this is that these ignorant people are trying to abolish the traditions and usefull tools that help the Fire Personnel; help these ignorant people.
-- Jeff

On an island of all volunteer fire departments, sirens serve to notify emergency responders that they are needed and notify the general public that emergency responders may be passing by and caution and right of way should be afforded these valiant servants of the community.

Joseph Cicio
(formerly of North Lindenhurst)

GIVE US VOLUNTEERS A BREAK.

IF YOU NEEDED EMERGENCY HELP AND AN EMT DIDNT HEAR HIS PAGER BUT DID HEAR THE SIREN YOU WOULD BE GLAD TO SEE HIM.
YOU WOULDNT WANT TO PAY US VOLUNTEERS FOR WHAT WE FO ON OUR TIME FOR YOU THE GENERAL PUBLIC. (UNSIGNED)

Nick Tsoupas of Center Moriches and his family, including his 3-year-old daughter who is startled by fire sirens at night.

Newsday Photo by Daniel Goodrich

The firehouse siren in Center Moriches is a big problem. It interrupts my sleep and my peace. I would like to investigate this siren practice because my 2-year-old daughter is always startled. Each responder has a pager.

--Nick Tsoupas, Center Moriches

Things aren't likely to change soon. The fire department already limits the use of its siren at night, according to John Zlatniski, chairman of the district's Board of Fire Commissioners.

Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., it sounds only for fires, an average of about once every two weeks. Before the policy was adopted four or five years ago, the firehouse sounded the siren for the 1,000 ambulance calls it receives annually, Zlatniski said. "We used to blow the siren at night for everything," he said.

Since the advent of pagers and even newer technologies, more residents have asked about the necessity for firehouse sirens said Suffolk County's Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner Joe Williams.

A handful of the county's 109 fire districts have stopped the sirens at night, a move that's determined by each district's Board of Fire Commissioners.

Williams said he does not encourage that practice. "Sirens are the most reliable method of alerting responders to an emergency," he said. "Cell phones don't always work...Neither do radios...The sirens are a great back-up method."

When an emergency is called in, Suffolk's Fire Control Bureau in Yaphank sends text messages and pages to responders and sounds the local siren. There are no local or state regulations regarding its loudness or duration. Williams said, "The only requirement is that all sirens be programmed to ring at noon as a test measure."

WATCHDOG WEIGH-IN:

Are sirens needed in the digital age? Comment here or e-mail watchdog@newsday.com. Results will be posted on this blog, newsday.com/watchdog.

Kay Torrisi of Bethpage has been calling for sidewalks on Stewart Avenue to be fixed for two years.

The sidewalks along Town of Oyster Bay commuter parking lot B7 in Bethpage have been pushed up in places by tree roots and need to be repaired. The parking lot is filled with potholes and needs to be paved. People are falling and getting hurt. My calls have been ignored for two years. I fell and got a hairline fracture on my left foot. We need someone to help us, please.

--Kay Torrisi, Bethpage

Our calls to town and county officials got things moving and after inspections by the town and Nassau County, six trees were removed Monday in preparation for a new sidewalk. When the weather warms up a tad, the concrete can be poured.

No one is sure why Torrisi’s calls went unanswered or why it took so long to be fixed, but this is one of the many areas on Long Island with overlapping jurisdictions. “It’s a county road. They’re responsible for the trees. Since the sidewalks abut the parking lot, that would be under our jurisdiction,” town spokesman Jim Moriarty said. “I went down there myself [after Newsday called]. There’s no question the sidewalks were in serious need of replacement.”

Ian Siegel, deputy county executive for parks and public works, said, “This is another prime example of the need for government consolidation. Too often, situations like this occur due to the multi layers of government.” After our call, “We sent our people out. They looked at it, it needed to be done” and the trees were removed Monday, Siegel said. The county also plans to replace the trees.

The sidewalk replacement will take about four days—one to remove the old slabs and about three to pour and set the new ones, according to Kevin Hanifan, a division head in the town’s highway department. But temperatures at night must be 32 degrees or higher so the concrete can cure properly. Potholes in the parking lot have been filled in, Hanifan said, and more permanent fixes will be made on a weekend when the weather is good and commuters aren’t parked there.

Also related to this topic:
*Town of Oyster Bay Highway and Public Parking Division

Marilyn Weissman wanted a "No Thru Trucks" sign in Oceanside

Photo by Howard Schnapp

There is a five-block stretch of Oceanside Road between Mott Street and Waukena Avenue that had signs at either end stating, “No Thru Trucking Over 8,000 lbs.” One of those signs is now gone, making it a road filled with school buses and garbage trucks. Commercial vehicles don’t belong on this street, because they are a hazard to children walking to and from Boardman Elementary School.
--Marilyn Weissman, Oceanside

The missing sign was replaced five days after we called the Town of Hempstead.

“That stretch [of road] is off-limits to big trucks,” said Edward T. Sieban, town board executive assistant.

Since the sign disappeared a year ago, our caller said the biggest problem has been large commercial trucks traveling to the town’s waste transfer station on Long Beach Road, which accepts mostly yard waste and metal goods that are then shipped to landfills or recycling plants, town spokesman Michael Deery said.

Our caller said she hasn’t seen much of a change in the road’s traffic since the sign was replaced last month, but she hopes trucks will start to use nearby Long Beach Road instead. If not, she said she may ask Nassau police to beef up patrols. “For now, I’m just glad the sign is up,” she said.

Town residents with sign problems can call the town’s help line at 516-489-6000.

Also related to this topic:
*Town of Hempstead Help Form
*NY DOT Restrictions for Commercial Vehicles
*Oceanside Civic Association

Readers are still offering opinions about the traffic signal changes made by the Town of Brookhaven at the corner of Hawkins and Boyle Roads in Selden, with most saying they favor the green arrow/green light left turn rather than the red/yellow/green arrow. Some, however, agree with Nicholas Caracappa, who led the opposition when he called us to complain about the changes.

Here’s what some have to say. Some of the responses have been edited for space and content. (See yesterday’s blog for additional comments.)

“The change has made the intersection much safer. I drive past there every day coming home from work and it is much less conjested [sic]. The traffic flows. I feel the change should stay as is.”

One of the Community Watchdog items in Sunday’s Newsday asked readers to weigh-in on whether traffic signal changes made by the Town of Brookhaven at the busy intersection of Hawkins and Boyle Roads in Selden made the area better or worse.

So far, the majority of readers who addressed the question (as opposed to taking side trips about related matters) say they liked the changes. Here are some of the to-the-point comments.

“I use the intersection of Hawkins Road and Boyle Road daily and was very happy when the Town finally figured out how to make traffic flow more smoothly by eliminating the red left turn arrows. Smooth traffic flow equals safety. This should be done at more intersections.”

“I think it is better.”

“The changes to the traffic flow significantly reduced the congestion and virtually eliminated people running the red turn arrow. I find it safer than it was.”

“I pass this intersection several times a week. I happen to like the way the new lights work. At one time I would speed up to make the green arrow, or I would speed up to the red light in an effort to catch the light before it turned green, so the arrow will turn green. Now I approach the light at a normal speed knowing I have the option to turn.”

One reader suggested installing speed bumps to slow down traffic, another said a traffic circle would help that intersection.

There also were readers who bashed civil service personnel and the highway department, which wasn’t the department involved.

Thanks to our readers who took the time to answer the question.

Nicholas Caracappa wants traffic signals on the corner where he lives changed

I reside at the busy intersection of Hawkins and Boyle Roads. This past year, the Town of Brookhaven increased the danger-level significantly by replacing the red-yellow-green left-turn arrows on the four-way traffic signals to green arrow/green light. That allows cars to make left turns into oncoming traffic because they have a continuous green light. There have been over a dozen accidents. That’s more incidents than the past 20 years combined. We have contacted the town several times. We have a petition. Still nothing.
-- Nicholas J. Caracappa, Selden

Town officials are steadfast: The changes have made the intersection safer, they say.

“The restriction of...the red arrow, with that volume of traffic, causes people to do dumb things,” like trying to beat the light, town spokesman Tom Burke said. A safer option, he said, is to give drivers “a safe turn with the green arrow and then an optional safe turn with the solid green light.”

Based on statistics culled from police reports and state reports, town traffic safety officials said the intersection averaged five accidents a year before the changes in March last year. After the changes, they said no accidents occurred at the intersection.

However, Sixth Precinct Commander Insp. Frank Stallone said department statistics for Hawkins and Boyle indicate 11 accidents in 2006 and 13 last year.
“I don’t see much difference” in the accident rate, he said.

Town and police numbers don’t match, Burke said, because the town’s traffic safety experts dissect the police accident reports and count only the ones that occurred directly at the intersection.

Stallone said officers generally indicate the nearest intersection where an accident occurs on police reports, including those that happen a short distance away. He described the intersection as “busy and complicated,” one that requires two school crossing guards.

Police defer to the town’s traffic experts, but Stallone called for a review of the changes because of resident complaints. The town “reviewed it and came back with the same result.” he said. “I’m not sure you can do anything safety-wise that will change that one way or another."

WATCHDOG WEIGH-IN: Who’s right? Is the intersection better or worse since the changes? Email comments to watchdog@newsday.com. Results will be posted on newsday.com/watchdog.

Also related to this topic:

*NY Department of Motor Vehicles-Traffic Control
*Selden Civic Association:

Goldman, Wednesday night, before the streetlight in front of his home was relit.
Newsday Photo by Ana P. Gutierrez

A crew of Verizon workers were working on my block to install buried utility lines and they cut the lines to the street lamp in front of my house, making the area around my house extremely dark at night. My wife almost broke her leg when she came home from work as she tripped walking up my driveway. Verizon says the Town of Hempstead has to fix it. I have contacted the town repeatedly and they say they’re going to do it. That was over a month ago. The street is dark and unsafe.

-- Alan Stewart Goldman, Merrick

The streetlight should be working by the time you read this.

When we talked to town spokesman Michael Deery last week, he said Goldman’s complaint to the town on Dec. 18 was being resolved and that Hempstead officials would meet with Long Island Power Authority workers on Wednesday.

Late this afternoon, Deery said, “a trench was dug, a new cable was laid and LIPA, we believe, has energized the circuit. That would mean the light should be on this evening.”

It wasn’t a simple fix. “We had to go through a process known as ‘one call’ to ensure there are no other utilities in the area, and having them marked so you don’t create further damage,” Deery said.

“It was actually the feed cable, so a trench had to be dug. It wasn’t merely the connection at a light post, which can be done very quickly.”

Town residents with a streetlight problem can call the town's hotline, 516 489-6000 or email the town with details.

Also related to this topic:

*Town of Hempstead Emergency Services for street light outages, flooding and other problems:
*Verizon Customer Support
*South Merrick Community Civic Association
*Newsday: “Neighbors feel unsafe on dimly-lit street” (Dec. 16, 2007)

I live in the Town of Islip. Pond Road, between the LIRR and Peconic Street, has not been maintained except for one or two repair spots since I’ve lived here, going on 25 years. But if you drive one block north into the Town of Brookhaven, many streets in Lake Ronkonkoma have had new blacktop - some more than once. Why won’t the Town of Islip pave my street?
-- Kevin Cunningham, Ronkonkoma

Town of Islip officials say based on an evaluation of Pond Road, isn’t in bad enough shape for resurfacing yet.

“This road exhibits no major issues, only normal wear and tear, and did not meet the criteria for paving as per our annual evaluation,” town spokeswoman Catherine Green said. In 2006, the town paved more than 40 miles of roadway. Figures for last year were unavailable.

Photo by Howard Schnapp

The town uses a one-to-10 evaluation system based on the severity and frequency of potholes, cracking and road-base condition. Roads with a one-to-five rating in poor condition are repaved. Roads that rate six-to-seven or fair-to-good are patched or receive other maintenance measures. Roads in the 8-10 range are not scheduled for repair.

Pond Road is rated six. Green said town streets are reevaluated once a year. Residents who feel their road is due for paving can contact the town’s Central Service Unit at 631-224-5600 or email the Department of Public Works at dpw@townofislip-ny.gov.

Also related to this topic:

*NY Department of Transportation, Pothole Reporting
*NY DOT Current Projects, including L.I.
*Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Association

Our Community Watchdog column tries to help Long Islanders who have tried long and hard without success to resolve problems or complaints that should be fixed by the local municipality in charge.

But we believe there are many L.I. residents who manage to fix their own problems or complaints, and we’d like to hear how you did it.

What steps did you take? Whom did you contact? How long did it take to for it to be fixed? What's the best tip you can offer your neighbors?

Please share your success stories by commenting to this post, or email watchdog@newsday.com. Helpful problem-solving suggestions sent by email will be posted here.

Is your garden club or youth group looking for a piece of land to call it’s own? The Town of Brookhaven has an offer that comes close. There are already 20-25 parcels owned by the Town of Brookhaven that are tended by private not-for-profit groups. Most are developed for youth sports, but other not-for-profit organizations are invited to tend a piece of town-own land if they’re willing to take on full responsibility.

“The parties involved have to keep their end of the bargain,” said town spokesman Tom Burke. “If they’re not taking care of it in the proper fashion, certainly we’re going to revisit” the agreement. The town charges no rent and the group assumes all liability and maintenance. Agreements between the group and the town generally run 10-15 years, Burke said.

Any qualifying group that wants to improve a piece of undeveloped land should call Parks Commissioner Jim LaCarrubba at 631 451-6100, or visit the Town of Brookhaven Web site for names and numbers of other park personnel.

Residents of the Leisure Village retirement community in Ridge have taken town-owned passive parkland adjacent to their property and turned it into a members-only area for its garden club, with a fence and padlocked gate. If it’s a public park, I want to get in there. The Town of Brookhaven should kick them off the property.

-- Cliff Williams, Ridge

Sorry, Mr. Williams. Based on the town’s agreement with the garden club, its members do have exclusive use of the land they’ve been tending for more than 20 years, even though it’s located in the 50-acre Capt. Jonathan Bednarek Park.

The club is one of 20-25 organizations in the Town of Brookhaven with similar agreements, town spokesman Tom Burke said.

“In this case, it was an acre or two on an undeveloped piece of land,” Burke said of the garden club’s area. “In exchange for their investment of time and money, we allow them to control access,” he said. That means, unless Williams has permission to go into the garden club area, he’s tresspassing.

Other organizations that have exclusive use of town-owned land include the North Patchogue-Medford Youth Athletic Club, the Patchogue-Medford Youth Soccer League, Shoreham-Wading River Little League and Sachem Athletic Club.

Any not-for-profit organization can adopt a piece of unused town-owned land, Burke said. In addition to maintaining the property, the group must assume 100 percent liability for the improved area, Burke said.

“This is a huge win-win,” Burke said. “Land that would lay fallow is being developed for kids in the community…at no cost to the town. They do all the work and maintain all the liability.”

Also related to this topic:

*Town of Brookhaven field permit application form
*Town of Brookhaven field permit application form instructions

I need your help to get a “CURB YOUR DOG” sign. I’ve lived here 45 years and dog owners use my property as a doggie toilet. Polite reminders have led to many nasty confrontations. Since last February, I’ve written the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County Department of Public Works, but nothing’s been done. It’s not a pleasant job to have to do the cleanup.

-- Harold Kolher, North Woodmere

Five days after our phone call, the Town of Hempstead installed the sign Kohler requested in front of his home. Workers attached the sign to a streetlight pole.

Any homeowner experiencing problems similar to Kohler can request the signs by calling the town’s helpline at 516 489-6000, spokesman Michael Deery said. If a pole needs to be installed, the town must first determine whether there are any underground cables on the property. “In most cases, it’s not a problem at all to put up the sign,” Deery said.

Also related to this topic:

*Newsday: “Dog friendly parks and beaches on Long Island”
*Town of Hempstead Complaint Form
*Good Pooch “Dog Walking Etiquette”

We’ve been fighting with the Town of Oyster Bay for two years and not getting anywhere. There are distribution centers operating on the former Grumman site, close to a residential area in Bethpage. Businesses there operate all night and violate town noise ordinances. The are backup beeps all night long. It’s ruined our quality of life and nothing is being done about it. The owner has tried to work with us but we still hear the beeps.
--Kathy Chiddo, Bethpage

Everyone is frustrated with this issue, but town officials say they’ve taken measures to reduce the noise levels from two new distribution centers at that site so the businesses won't add to the on-going problem.

While our caller believes that the town’s noise ordinance is being violated at night when 600-900 tractor trailers enter the complex of warehouses for the U.S. Postal Service, Goya foods, FedEx and other businesses, the town says there are no violations based on inspections conducted since 2006.

“We hired an outside consultant who did tests there,” Planning and Development Commissioner Jack Libert said. “The final analysis of his report is that there is some noise there but it does not rise to the level where they’re breaking any laws or violating any codes.”

The property owners have tried to help by shutting off a buzzer on an entrance gate, he said. Chiddo said the owner’s efforts have helped in the past, but the fixes are only temporary and the noises created by tractor trailer back-up beepers, horns and air brakes return.

Town efforts have included sending inspectors to the site to take noise samples at different times of the day and night, several times. The levels, Libert said, “were sufficient to create a small nuisance but did not violate the town’s noise ordinance.”

Libert said steps taken by the town for the new warehouses include the construction of more than 1,300 feet of sound wall between the buildings and the LIRR tracks that separate the industrial area from the residential streets, but he knows Chiddo will still be unhappy with existing noises and wants to find a way to help.

“If it doesn’t violate town code, maybe town code needs to be fixed,” he said. “We’re going to keep trying…I know it’s a disturbing problem for her.”

Also related to this topic:

*Oyster Bay Town Codes
*Noise Pollution.org, a non-profit organization with noise-related resources

Healthy, happy New Year wishes from Newsday's Community Watchdog team.

May all of your problems/complaints be resolved this year.