Community Watchdog

Maybe we're all too impatient.

We got a call from a woman in Lake Ronkonkoma who complained that for the past two years, a manhole cover at Barbara Road and David Lane in the Town of Brookhaven was set into the road too low. Passing cars kept hitting it like it was a pothole.

Our caller contacted the Town of Brookhaven highway department several times but was getting any response. Finally, last week, workers came and fixed the problem. Two years later.

Is that a reasonable response time? Maybe there were emergency situations that kept workers away for that long. Maybe two years is considered a short time period for municipal responses. What do you think?

We have complaints from residents throughout Nassau and Suffolk about roads that need to be repaved, crumbling sidewalks and curbs that need to be fixed and frustrations of readers who have been trying to get the work done by the town where they live.

This is especially true in the Town of Smithtown. Probably 95 percent of the homeowners who contact us complain that their roads are in really bad shape, but their road isn’t on the list for immediate paving.

When we spoke to Highway Superintendent Daniel Ryan on a related issue a while back, we learned that even if you make it on the “to do” list, it can take years before your street will be paved because of budget limitations.

Newsday reporter Stacey Altherr had a story on Newsday.com May 16 that indicates things might be any better for a while.

Whether or not there’s a political agenda, it’ll be taxpaying homeowners who have to put up with the results.

In Smithtown, that might mean yet another paving season will pass without their ragged roads being repaved. Someone should tell the elected officials that what most of us want is for our quality of life issues - including paved roads where needed - to be taken care of by the person in charge regardless of the political affiliation.

So many of the complaints we’re receiving are from homeowners who say their sidewalks and curbs are in serious need of repair or replacing, or from residents who feel their streets need repaving.

Readers in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties are bothered by these problems.

If you feel the streets and sidewalks on your block need to be addressed, contact the department in your town and ask whether there are plans for your neighborhood when the paving season starts this spring. Be sure to point out any dangerous conditions caused by the need for repairs. Jot down the name of the person you’ve talked with, their direct line telephone number the date, what was said and when you should be hearing back from someone. Your area may not be slated for repairs, but if a dangerous condition has developed, the town is more likely to squeeze in the work even if it's not on a master plan.

In most towns, the highway department is responsible for the work. In Smithtown, the parks department takes care of sidewalk repairs. Click on the town links at the left for telephone numbers.

Based on emails to watchdog@newsday.com, readers welcome road-paving projects, especially on their block.

One town, the Town of Hempstead, has a listing for some of the planned road projects for the first half of this year. Click here to view the page. Seems like a nice idea to let residents know when to expect the pavers to come through.

Q.I have been getting the runaround from the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department with problems facing residents of Oakwood Avenue and Glenwood Avenue in Miller Place. I have sent two petitions signed by the residents requesting the roads be repaired and have received nothing but promise after promise. This has been going on since 2004.

Jeannette A. Rogan, Miller Place

A.The good news is Oakwood Avenue is now on the town's priority list of roads slated to be repaved, Highway Superintendent John Rouse said.

The damper is that streets on the priority list can take up to two "paving seasons” before the job is done. Sometimes it takes even longer because of variables involved, Rouse said. Funding, weather, equipment breakdowns, prep work that includes tree trimming and brush clearing, the condition of driveway aprons and curbs and more all contribute to whether the road is done on schedule.

Oakwood has yet another hurdle to clear. It's one of the many roads in the area where water runoff feeds into Woodhull Landing Road, which has had major drainage issues. Those issues have to be solved before the surrounding roads get new asphalt.

Rogan's patched and repatched road isn't eye candy, but "It's not a safety issue," the highway commissioner said. While the homeowner‘s request "is not unreasonable... we will not be resurfacing those roads until all the drainage issues in the area are resolved. We do not want to resurface a road only to tear it up prematurely to repair a drainage problem,” he said.

Brookhaven residents who want their roads, driveway aprons, curbs or other highway department work done can call the town's hotline,631-451-8696.

Also related to this topic:

A homeowner in Miller Place has been trying to get her road and a neighboring street paved for the past three years. In Centereach, a water runoff problem has been exacerbated by asphalt berms installed across the street. A driver in Huntington says the intersection of Little Neck Road and Route 25A is dangerous because vehicles block the "box" where the roads meet, hampering her field of vision.

These are some of the complaints coming by email and phone calls to Newsday’s Community Watchdog column.

I’ll be working to help you navigate town or village government and find out why neighborhood problems are taking so long to fix.

If you have a problem or complaint, please email the details to watchdog@newsday.com or call 631-843-2700.

Include your name, address, daytime phone numbers and the Town where you live.

I’ll do my best to help.

Gwen Young