Community Watchdog

Barbara Hubner says evergreen trees overtook the sidewalk in front of a residential development on Pulaski Road and should be cut back for pedestrians. Town of Huntington says homeowners are responsible for clearing the walkway.
Newsday photo/Gwen Young

There is a stretch of sidewalk on Pulaski Road in front of the Huntington Country Farms homes on the Huntington Station-Greenlawn border, where evergreens are completely covering the sidewalk. Mothers with young children, pushing infants in strollers, have to walk out in the grass and it makes pushing the strollers difficult. They walk east from an apartment complex to the Dolan Family Health Center and a local park. I work in a large medical office west of that area, and we have patients walking here who need to use that sidewalk, too.
--Barbara Hubner, Huntington

When Town of Huntington Public Safety Director Bruce Richard heard about the problem through our call, he sent an inspector to the property.

“It’s a legitimate complaint,” he said. “Huntington Country Farms is responsible for cutting back the shrubbery off the sidewalk, and we will be sending them a notice of violation, asking them to take care of the problem.”

Richard said, “They'll be required to cut [the evergreens] back. We give them two weeks to comply, and there are other steps we can take if they fail to comply.”

That includes having town employees do the job and charging the homeowners for the work.
For years, he said, the town took care of sidewalks within its boundaries, but in 2006, a town board resolution transferred that responsibility to owners of property adjoining the sidewalks.

Call the Department of Public Safety-Code Enforcement at 631 357-3167 for blocked sidewalks and other quality of life complaints in the Town of Huntingotn.

Our Aug. 24 column about the broken elevator at the Town of Huntington parking garage at the LIRR station prompted this email from Steve of New Hyde Park:

Dear Watchdog:

You were way too nice to the town of Huntington on the elevator issue. Did Huntington ever hear of the words "Service Contract"? I bet the individual repair policy costs far more than a "Service Contract."

Who, in their right mind, would ever put ordinary elevator repairs out to bid? This is another example of why Long Island has so many issues. Costly schools, out of control Fire Services, libraries that serve only a few people, scandalous water and sewer districts.

Steve

Dennis Anderson wanted the elevator at the Town of Huntington parking garage fixed quicker than the four weeks it took to be repaired.
Newsday photo by Gwen Young

How would you like to do a story for those of us who are handicapped, commute on the LIRR and use the Town of Huntington parking garage? I am one of those unfortunate ones. The elevator in the North Parking Garage is often broken and this time, it has been out since July 21, forcing me to use the stairs. I wrote to the Town Supervisor on Aug. 4 but haven't received a reply.
--Dennis Anderson, Huntington

The elevator was fixed after we called the town, but we can’t take the credit.

However, we can explain in three words why it took four weeks to get fixed: Government moves s-l-o-w-l-y.

Town spokeswoman Fran Evans provided this timeline: The elevator was reported broken July 23. The next day, the elevator service used by the town assessed the problem. On July 25, it sent the town a repair quote and that same day, the town's General Services department drew up a requisition for the repairs. It was approved on July 30 and the company got the go-ahead. Parts arrived Aug. 11. Work was started that day and completed Aug. 13.

Repairs by outside contractors don’t happen overnight because procedural steps have to be followed, Evans said.

But down the road, there may be a solution. The General Services department is making a recommendation to the town board to provide more handicapped spaces on the garage level that leads directly to the train platform so anyone who is disabled won't have to use the stairs. That's actually the same suggestion that Anderson made in his letter to Supervisor Frank Petrone.

“We’re looking at other ways to make sure that if the elevator is broken, it’s not an inconvenience for people with special needs,” she said.

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Readers have contacted us about streetlights in their neighborhoods that need to be replaced. Here's a list of town links that should help you get a light replaced on your block:

Lida Russa is tired of looking at this vacant building near her Huntington Station home.
Newsday photo by Daniel Goodrich.

Every day, I look at the eyesore on the southeast corner of New York Avenue and Olive Street in Huntington Station. For years, it’s been surrounded by garbage, discarded shopping carts and advertisements — all at the gateway of downtown Huntington. What happened to the proposed improvements from two years ago?
— Lida Russo, Huntington Station

Huntington officials agree with Ms. Russo that the area needs a makeover. But it will be at least another year until the corner gets the public plaza promised in 2006.

A key element is finding a tenant for the parcel behind the blighted right-of-way.

Starbucks was in negotiations to take over the vacant building, but the struggling coffee chain dropped out of the deal in late June.

“Now we’re back to square one,” said Joan Cergol, of the town’s Economic Development Corporation. “I can understand why residents are frustrated.”

Still, the town will move ahead next year on the plaza plans, which include benches, lighting and landscaping. “The purpose of the plaza is to attract an anchor tenant,” she said. “We want this to be a public gathering area.”

The project is part of the Huntington Station rehab project. The first phase included new brick sidewalks, decorative lampposts and landscaping on Route 110 from Academy Place to Railroad Street.

--Michael R. Ebert

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

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.

Denise Scollo and other Town of Islip residents would like her neighbors to take in their garbage cans instead of leaving them at the curb.
Newsday photo by Michael R. Ebert

Why doesn’t the Town of Islip have any regulations that prevent residents from leaving their garbage pails at the curb everyday? It’s an eyesore. It seems other towns have time restrictions. Hypothetically, residents can leave trash at the curb all the time under the town’s current system.
-- Denise Scollo, Bayport

Other Islip residents have contacted us about this same issue.

Islip town code doesn’t have time restrictions for removing empty garbage cans left at the curb, but trash-filled pails can’t be left there “for days on end” under the town’sDepartment of Environmental Control guidelines.

Officials said if filled cans are left curbside for days and neighbors complain, the town’s DEC investigates the matter and follows up on a random basis to ensure the trash isn’t left at the curb indefinitely.

In 2007, a total of 10 litter-related fines were issued to homeowners.

“The town finds this to be the most effective solution,” said Chris Andrade, commissioner of Islip’s Department of Environmental Control. “At this time, the Town Board believes that amending the town code to place time restrictions on the curbside placement of garbage cans is an inefficient modification.”

By comparison, a number of local towns - including Babylon and Huntington - place time restrictions on the curbside placement of garbage pails. The Town of Babylon, for example, prohibits placing full cans at the curb before 1:00 p.m. the day before collection, while Huntington prohibits curbside placement before 6:00 p.m.

Islip residents with concerns or complaints about garbage cans in their neighborhood can call 631-224-5640. Calls can be anonymous.

Michael R. Ebert

UPDATE: In our June 15 column, we reported the Town of Islip had no time restrictions on placing garbage cans at the curb. However, town spokeswoman Catherine Green said that based on our inquiry on behalf of some homeowners, the town board adopted a resolution June 10 that states cans must be placed at curbs no earlier than 4 p.m. the day before collection and removed no later than noon the next day. Penalties start at $50.
Michael R. Ebert

The new left-turn lane in front of Rich Gallipoli's home in Melville forces him to lean into traffic to retrieve mail.

The Town of Huntington recently painted a left turn lane on my street for a planned traffic light at the corner of Republic Road and Marcus Drive. This new lane starts directly in front of my home, moving the southbound through-lane directly up to the curb. There is no longer a shoulder area or parking lane, and I now have to lean into traffic to retrieve mail from my mailbox. The turn lane has created a dangerous situation for me and my family. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone listened to the concerns expressed by Newsday and Gallipoli, and then reviewed the new traffic configuration with his traffic safety people.
As a result, “The markings [for the left turn lane] are going to be grounded out (removed) within the next week,” he said.

“There’s definitely a light merited, but...I’m not sure you need a turn lane at this point,” Petrone said. If through monitoring it’s determined that one is necessary, the town can find a way to incorporate it so traffic isn’t moved closer to the houses on Republic Road, he said.

The supervisor’s staff will also ask the U.S. Postal Service whether mailboxes for the homes can be moved farther back from the curb.

The town installed the left turn lane in November after employees from the adjoining business area sent a petition requesting one, town traffic safety engineer Gary Gil said. Based on recent traffic patterns and accident data from 2002, the latest year available to him, the left turn lane would make the intersection safer, he said.

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