Tuesday, July 12, 2016

How long to fix a light?


From the Times Ledger:

Residents on a Queens Village street are increasingly concerned about a streetlight they claim has not worked for months after repeated inquiries to city departments and Con Edison.

“It’s very dark, it’s pitch black at night,” Miriam Schiffman, 88, said while sitting in the living room of her home on 221st Street between 89th and 90th avenues in Queens Village. “It’s become a quality-of-life issue.”

Directly across the street was the street light in question, who Miriam and her husband Norman, 93, said had been out of service since March 4. Miriam said they immediately called 311, and learned two weeks later that the issue had been referred to Con Ed. Afterwards, there were several months of back-and-forths between 311, the NYC DOT and Con Ed. Miriam Schiffman said the couple reached out to the offices of state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Hollis) and Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens) for assistance.

A spokesman for Con Ed said it had contacted the DOT in April to tell the agency that the concrete foundation of the lamppost needed to be repaired before the utility could restore power. Norman Schiffman disputed the assertion, saying he believed there was no issue with the concrete.

As of Tuesday the light was still dark, but on Wednesday a DOT source said the organization was aware of the problem and the light would be inspected that evening.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

They'll fix it on their own time, not yours. That could take decades. :(

(sarc) said...

So?

How many bureaucrats does it take to change a lightbulb?

This sounds like a good joke.

Sadly however, the joke is upon us, We the People...

Anonymous said...

That's OK. I have called and called about the lights illuminating the section of the Van Wyck near Citi stadium, and they have still not been replaced in 2 or 3 years. It's quite dangerous driving that stretch of the VW at night. Also, the VW is more a series of pavement waves and holes than a smooth thoroughfare. I can't help but think this contributes to accidents. It's so easy to lose control of your car when you have to change lanes and there are deep ruts in the next lane or waves or deep potholes. We can send a man to the moon, but the VW has to remain, like so many other NYC streets, more hole than pavement?

Anonymous said...

The power of the pen... will it get fixed now that the press has the story? As for the Van Wyck near CitiStadium.... is that a power outage because of a generator? Ask the local community board why!

Anonymous said...

better thank your state and federal electeds for the lack of funding to our infrastructure and highways. also, yes this street's bad but you can't imagine how bad it is in a more urban, dense setting.

Anonymous said...

They contacted the office of Leroy Comrie? They'd have better luck burying a coin into the ground and hoping it grows into a money tree.

Anonymous said...

Thy'll be sorry when they get a new super glare LED light there.

Anonymous said...

I put in a complaint for the Oceania Street and the Horace Harding Expressway traffic light because the green light on the traffic light is barely visible in November 2015. Two weeks ago, they installed a new traffic light at Oceania Street and 53rd Avenue. You would think that since they were three blocks away, they would replace the bulb for the green traffic light also. Who knows how long it will take for them to come back to the area again. Nothing the agency does makes sense. Fixing the green light on the existing traffic light should be priority not installing a new traffic light.

Anonymous said...

The green light on Oceania and Horace Harding is actually working. If you are the first car you can see the green. Unfortunately, if you are not the first car and directly in front of the light, it appears out. Very dangerous because you can't see the traffic light as you approach and it is right outside a middle school. The problem is something besides the light bulb.

Anonymous said...

The Van Wyck lights near Citi Field have been out for years !

Rick D said...

I had a streetlight out on 87th Ave, a dead-end, and it apparently had been out for many years. It took over a year and at least 20 phone calls. There was no power to the pole, and that created a round-robin game of let's-pass-the-buck between D.O.T. and Con Ed.

Anonymous said...

I f you come across the triborough bridge into queens you'll see how dark it is. DOT said work wouold start July 205 on that 1/4 nile stretch. Still nothing......

Anonymous said...

LMAO!
How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, if the lightbulb is willing to change!

Anonymous said...

The queens boro commissioner has no clue . She started out as a spokeswoman for DOT, cronyism at its worst.you can't find an email address for anyone at DOT....... Very transparent administration.......

Anonymous said...

Does anyone from dot ever drive on the highways at night?? Missing and extremely worn pavement market and about 30% of lights not working .
Btw,can they install the new led lights level/ perpendicular to the street so we are not blinded?
Looks like a job for Help me Howard.