Community Watchdog

Our Sunday column in Newsday focused primarily on conditions at the LIRR station in Hicksville. Judging by many of the comments posted with the story readers want to let off steam or just rag on other bloggers.

We appreciate feedback, but we''re also hoping to hear from commuters who have real issues with the LIRR station they use every day. That means we'd need your name, address and day phone number. The best way to do that is by email. Our address is watchdog@newsday.com. Let us know which station you use and what the problem is.

Thanks.

A reader who saw that the Town of Islip town board recently passed restrictions on when garbage cans and how long they can stay at the curb, wrote this comment:

"No one listens to the Town of Hempstead codes...no full trash cans at the curb before 7pm the day before...cans must be removed no more than 3 hrs after being collected."

it's about enforcement. The towns can have all the codes they want, but if their not enforced, what good are they? Of course, it's a double-edged sword. We all want enforcement because they're directly related to our quality of life. But it's the same with traffic laws - there are so many drivers who violate them because there isn't enough personnel to enforce them.

Long Island has changed over the years and so have the people. There was a time when people were considerate of their neighbors, when they didn't throw garbage from their car windows, when they didn't run stop signs and red lights. It seems that many "newcomers" have changed the rules.

Better enforcement might help. But adding more personnel on the state, county or town level to make a real difference almost always means higher taxes.

I
Graffiti on a vacant building was painted over after Anthony Persico complained about the neighborhood eyesore.
Newsday photo by Karen Wiles Stabile

live in Bohemia and there’s a large amount of graffiti at an unoccupied store along the south side of Sunrise Highway. It’s an eyesore and is visible from the busy road. The owner has been notified, but the graffiti is still there. Is there anything we can do?
--Anthony Persico, Bohemia

Within a week of our call, the property owners - Sid Farber Enterprises Medford - sent a crew to paint over the graffiti facing Sunrise Highway.

The property has been a magnet for graffiti since the store became vacant last year, officials said. They said they’ve covered up the spray paint multiple times.

“I’ve honestly lost count already,” said property manager John Donnelly of the paint jobs. “We cover it up and a few weeks later it’s back. I blame the parents. They don't teach their children respect for other people’s property.”

Although the owners have been attentive to the problem, there is no town code requriing storeowners to clean graffiti because that would “punish owners who are victims of a crime,” town officials said. Instead, the town “encourages” owners to clean affected areas as soon as possible.

Michael R. Ebert

There was a fire in the house next door 14 months ago. It’s been vacant since and nests of bees and raccoons have settled in the garage, a few feet from my house. Police have been called because kids drink in the back. It’s been a mess. I’ve called a million different people but the Town of Hempstead won’t do anything. I thought they’d knock it down and clean it up because it’s a hazard.
--John Druckman, Seaford

The town had told Druckman it would take about a year from the time of the fire before they could fix this problem, but it’s taken longer than that because officials have been trying to balance the needs of neighbors and accommodate the elderly man who lost his house.

Town spokesman Michael Deery said the town has the power to order a demolition but has not done so because the homeowner first said he wanted to rebuild and needed to submit plans for his permits.

The town waited for the plans, however, the man apparently didn’t have insurance on the house and didn’t have the money to rebuild. When the town inquired about the property, he then indicated that he planned to sell. There’s a broker’s name on the house but no sale has taken place, Deery said.

“We are continuing to work with him,” he said. “We’re hoping if he’s looking to sell the property that might bring about an amicable solution.”

Town press secretary Susie Trenkle said it usually doesn’t take this long for the property to be remediated because most people have insurance and the town expedites permits to rebuild after a fire.

However, if action isn’t taken by the homeowner and the house needs to be demolished, the town can begin legal proceedings that would lead to demolition.

Town residents with similar problems should call 516 489-6000.

Thomas Joseph Jr. and other residents of East Farmingdale say their one community park has been in need of renovations for years.
Newsday photo by Gwen Young

Sometimes blog comments can be annoying because people vent about things that have nothing to do with the issue that’s discussed.

That’s not the case with opinions voiced about the item posted here Thursday and published in yesterday’s Newsday concerning Michel (pronounced Michael) Park in East Farmingdale. (See comments below on the item with Thomas Joseph Jr., president of the local civic association.)

Obviously, East Farmingdale residents feel this park has been long-neglected and are frustrated because it’s taken years for the one park in their community to be refurbished.

In the hundreds of e-mails, calls and snail-mail we’ve gotten about problems, the question that comes up most often is “Why is the neighboring community taken care of, while ours is neglected?” It’s the same question, whether readers are writing about sidewalk, road and curb repairs, litter cleanup, lighting problems and other quality of life issues. Most people seem to think the disparities in services have to do with who you know. If there’s a town official living in the community, that’s the place that will receive attention.

I’d like to think that’s not true, but I have no explanation to explain the differences

For people in East Farmingdale, who obviously care about their hometown and it’s little park, I hope the Town of Babylon will move quickly to give residents what they’ve been promised.

We’ll post pictures here when the renovations are finished.

Guenter Bier says his European friends laughed at the broken utility pole, but he saw it as a serious problem.
Newsday photo by Gwen Young

For several years now, there is a broken pole on the western side of corner Woodbury and Bethpage Roads in Hicksville. The lower part is gone and it just hangs on a piece of rope tied to another pole! Our visitors from Europe took photos to show how much our infrastructure is run down here. Every time we talk, this subject comes up and causes big laughter, but it is a serious matter. Perhaps your help will do something about it because I do not know the owner of the pole.
--Guenter Bier, Hicksville

A few days after we called the Long Island Power Authority, workers removed the broken pole.

“We took care of it,” LIPA spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said simply.

We’ve heard from many readers who complain about old utility poles that need to be removed. Like Eugene Murtha of Babylon, who says there are so many old poles that haven’t been removed after new ones have been installed in his community, that they’re an eyesore. But he doesn’t know which utility to call.

And many of our readers say they get the runaround, with LIPA and Verizon pointing at each other.

Actually, there’s a pole etiquette between the two utilities.

“There is an agreement between the two utilities,” Flagler wrote in an email. “The utility that removes their equipment [wires] last is responsible for removing the pole,” she wrote. “To determine responsibility for poles requires a tracking of the work performed on the pole. The best way for homeowners to get poles removed is to call one of the utilities and have them make that determination.”

The LIPA hotline for pole removal is 800 490 0075. The Verizon number is 800 483-7988.

Where are all those little signs on the roads coming from? Driving around Long Island, they seem to be popping up everywhere. Signs the size of a sheet of paper with advertising for everything from weight-loss programs to new roof construction. They’re stuck into the grass medians with wires that are attached. Not pretty.

Are these signs legal? Do you need a permit to place them there? Would people who don't like them get into trouble if they removed them?

They’re not the size of billboards, but does anyone find it annoying to see them helter-skelter along the roadways?

Alex and Kathleen LePore say freight trains stored by the Deer Park Avenue overpass ruin the look of their community.

Graffiti-laden freight trains used by the New York & Atlantic Railway are constantly parked over the Deer Park Avenue-Route 231 LIRR overpass. It’s a major eyesore in our community. All we are asking is that the cars be moved off the overpass farther down the tracks to eliminate the eyesore. Our contacts with the company have gotten us nowhere.

We called New York & Atlantic Railway President Victor Paul who said he’ll instruct workers to move cars as far east as possible in an effort to ease the eyesore. If 10-11 cars are stored, they should clear the overpass. But if more cars have to be stored there, they will be visible.

Deer Park is his place of last resort for storing freight cars, used only when all other storage areas provided through NYAR’s contract with the Long Island Rail Road are filled.

Paul said if there are special events being held in the community, such as a parade, he will try to have the trains moved temporarily for aesthetics and return them when the event is over.

The number of cars stored on L.I. mirrors the economy, he said. The slower the economy, the more freight cars stand idle.

LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto said in prepared statement, “The LIRR has had discussions with the New York & Atlantic Railway on the issue...in response to concerns raised by residents, elected officials and Newsday’s Community Watchdog. The LIRR and NYAR are exploring alternate locations for the storage of these freight rail cars and, in the near term, the NYAR is preparing protocols for the storage of the cars to the east and/or west of the trestle.”

Related sites on this topic:

We received the letter below in response to a Community Watchdog item that appeared Jan. 27 in Newsday. The complaint involved a home in Baldwin whose owner has been given summonses by the Town of Hempstead for excessive trash around the yard and other code violations. We didn’t name the homeowner in the column.The letter has been edited so that he remains anonymous here, and for length. The photo of Greco appeared in the column.

Dear Gwen Young,

After reading the Community Watchdog complaint by Della Greco... I felt compelled to write an neighborly response. I have known the owner of the property for years as a fellow resident of Baldwin. I have employed him to do odd jobs, as well as consulting with him on antiques and restorations. And while [he] may be one of the town’s more colorful characters, I have always known him to be an outstanding individual with an incredibly wonderful attitude about life and living.

He sees art and beauty in Americana and in our past. His home restoration project is a labor of love, and with many long term restoration projects time and patience is required. While Ms. Greco may find the property in disarray at times with wood, ladders, and old appliances lying about, these objects she gripes about are really unrestored gems from Long Island’s past.

All construction projects are messy. But this property is not dangerous and it is not a “pigsty” inside or outside. [The owner] has come a long way in completing his dream house; that of an 19th century homestead, but more time is required.

Unfortunately time may be running out for him. He has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and is now in poor health and suffering from the ill affects of the cancer and the aggressive Chemotherapy treatments he is currently undergoing.

As neighbors we certainly find it easy to complain and easy to pass judgment on our fellow neighbors. Their lawns are not cut. Their children are too loud. Their property is messy. There is always something to say, to gossip and stew about - that is in our natures. But in times of emergencies and strife we do have the ability to come together for the better. To that end, I have offered [the owner] help in getting his work site in shape, for him and for the community in general. The help he needs, but that he can no longer do by himself.

Perhaps if we all stopped complaining about problems and got out there to offer our support we might just accomplish something positive in the end.

I urge Ms. Greco and all [the owner’s] neighbors to rally behind him and lend a neighborly hand. It’s so easy to complain and to hide behind a letter, and I guess even harder to lift a finger to actually help somebody out. It would be a win, win for all of us!

Alan Matlick
Baldwin

Unrelated to this topic:
Thanks to the NY Giants for a fantastic Superbowl!

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"