If you’ve tried to get something done in your neighborhood but have basically been ignored after writing or calling officials about the problem, you’re not alone.
As Newsday’s Community Watchdog editor, that stuff happens to me, and my husband, too.
For instance, he called the town highway superintendent about a street sign that couldn’t be seen from Jericho Turnpike because of overgrown shrubs. The last time the weeds grew so high and obstructed the sign, my husband, a very patient fellow, called the highway chief and explained the problem.
The superintendent said since the sign was on Jericho, a state road, he didn’t have jurisdiction, but he would forward the complaint to the right party. Within a week, the sign was visible again.
This year, Mr. Community Watchdog followed the same pattern and called the highway supe. That was in early June, and again, he was told the request would be forwarded.
Fast forward to mid-October and nothing had been done. A state work crew was there the first weekend of the month, but that was to clear the storm drain. The trucks blocking traffic from the right lane were parked right under the shrubs that were obstructing the sign.
Stopped there for a traffic light, I rolled down my window and asked if they were going to cut back the bush so the sign would be visible. A very nice state Department of Transportation worker in a day-glow vest said, “That’s a town sign, you need to call the town.”
I politely told him that the town said since the sign was on a state road, the state had to take care of our complaint.
The nice worker said he was actually with the sign division in the DOT and “we don’t do street signs, that's up to the town.”
So what’s a Long Islander to do? My husband and I thought the street name should be visible because there’s an animal shelter on our block and there are plenty of drivers unfamiliar with the area who look for the street sign.
When I called DOT spokeswoman Eileen Peters asking her to clarify which agency was responsible, she made it clear: Problems on state road are handled by state DOT workers.
So while the DOT worker on the drain-cleaning detail was very polite, even he didn’t know the way the system works.
