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
Comments (4)
Oh great, we killed some trees because this woman can't walk straight?
This woman has a valid complaint. I have contacted the town about the sidewalks on the other side of Stewart Ave in the same area, running from LaFayette St. to Central Ave. They are in very bad shape, broken with drop offs of up to 8 inches. The worst of it between Kearney and Stewart. My first complaint was 2 years ago and this has yet to be done. My 3 yr old fell once and thankfully wasn't hurt too bad. It's too bad that trees have to be removed to solve the problem but it is a hazard to all who walk along this road. If somone reading this post can assist in getting this done it would be greatly appreciated.
Correction to the last post....it should state "the worst of it between Kearney & Central" not Stewart. Thank you.
I just watched the video...
the curbs are "a little messed up" ...big deal...the snow plows mess up alot of curbs all over LI...okay great use more tax dollars to fix a curb only to have it destroyed in the next snow storm -btw- the ramp behind this women looks perfect to me
and why did ALL the trees along the parking lot have to be removed...the county will replace the trees...ha, how long will that take...and putting in young trees wont replace the mature ones which were there.
hey watchdog... the curbs in my area are all messed up too...Can you fix all 1,000 of them too?