Community Watchdog

Jon Jacobs wanted the streetlight in front of his home replaced to ward off vandals.
Newsday photo by Thomas Ferrara

The streetlight by my home has been out for a month. I reached out to the Town of Huntington, but nothing has been done. Our property has been vandalized three times in the past year.
- Jon Jacobs, East Northport

The day after we contacted the town, workers repaired the burned-out light. However, officials said they were unable to find any record of Jacobs’ complaint.

"This is not to say that it wasn't reported to the town, but the report may have been placed in another department and never got to the street-lighting division," Stephen F. McGloin, director of the town's Transportation and Traffic Safety Office, said in an email response.

Huntington doesn’t have an inspection schedule for its 20,000 or so streetlights and relies on residents to call in defective ones. To report a broken light, town residents can call 631-351-3259.

MICHAEL R. EBERT

Joe Evans has been trying to get lights on Northern Boulevard fixed for nearly four years.
Newsday photo by Gwen Young

I have been trying to solve this issue going on four years. There are a dozen or so streetlights on the north side of Northern Boulevard that borders the Village of Munsey Park in the Town of North Hempstead. The lighting along this stretch is in major disrepair. Not only are a majority unlit, most fixtures are broken or missing. This leaves a heavily traveled roadway dark, including the area in front of Munsey Park Elementary School. The Village of Munsey Park denies ownership. North Hempstead Town Councilman Wayne Wink told me he didn’t know who owned the lights and the town wouldn’t fix them. No municipality will assume responsibility but many would benefit from the repair of these lights.
Joe Evans, Manhasset

North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman is stepping up to handle this issue. He’s arranged a meeting between the town, the Village of Munsey Park and the Long Island Power Authority May 13 to discuss what to do with the lights, town spokesman Justin Meyers said.

The back story on the lights, according to Kaiman’s research, is that at some point, the former LILCO transferred the lights to local municipalities. But under state law, the town isn’t allowed to own lights within an incorporated village.

So, in 1999, the town notified Village of Munsey Park officials that they needed to take ownership of the lights or contract with the town to maintain them, or they would be taken down. Apparently, no agreement was forged, but the lights weren’t removed.

“It might make sense to take them down, then put up new lights,” Kaiman said. “It’s not a big deal for us, but we can’t do it without authorization from the village.”

Kaiman said the town eventually would also reach out to the villages of Flower Hill and Roslyn Estates, which also have streetlights on Northern Boulevard that aren’t working.

In Wheatley Heights, the street lights on Linden Street between Perry Lane and Main Avenue are much dimmer than the others in my neighborhood. They’re soft, almost pink. Now it gets dark early and I don’t feel safe because the area isn’t properly lit. The Wheatley Heights Civic Association has complained to the Town of Babylon several times. The town said they’re aware of the problem, but nothing’s been done.
--Cassandra Coles, Wheatley Heights

The nights are brighter on Linden Street.

When we called the Town of Babylon earlier this week, officials told us the low-pressure sodium lights that produce the dim light on Linden would be replaced within the next few weeks with brighter bulbs. By Friday night, civic association members said, the bulbs had been changed.
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The upgrade is part of an on-going conversion that will affect roughly 24 percent of the street lights within the Town of Babylon, spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter said.
“The reason there are low-pressure sodium lights on Linden and other streets is that those were considered more energy-efficient in the 1970s,” Baird-Streeter said. “Today, high-pressure sodium is just as efficient...This should help with the lights’ intensity and brightness.”
Town of Babylon residents with neighborhood lighting problems can call the town’s Department of Public Works at 631-957-3161.

Also related to this topic:
*U.S. Department of Energy (Low-pressure sodium lighting)