516-972-6988

  June 7, 2016

   

Supervisor Anthony Santino, 

Councilwoman Erin King-Sweeney and            

Councilman Gary Hudes

Town of Hempstead                            

One Washington Street 

Hempstead, NY 11550    

                       

Re:      Rehabilitation of TownRoads

 

Dear Supervisor Santino and Councilpersons King-Sweeney and Hudes:

 

We write regarding the poor condition of our roads.

 

Range Drive, Merrick.

First, the Town must address the hazardous conditions of our most dangerous roadways.  The vast majority of roads in Hempstead's 34 hamlets have not been repaved in over 50 years and are in horrendous condition. Patchwork repairs, cracks in the road, potholes and poor water drainage are apparent throughout our community. Residents complain that water gathers at the side of these roads, causing the curbs and driveways to crack, crumble and deteriorate. Years of neglect left these roads in very hazardous conditions, causing properties to flood, motor vehicle damage, physical injuries and mosquito infestation from stagnant water.  We are asking the Town to take immediate steps to rehabilitate its most dangerous roads.

 

Third, some residents complain that Hempstead's plows damaged their roads and curbs.They claim that their curbs are crumbling and falling apart because of these plows.  Residents are outraged that they are now being told that it is their responsibility to repair the curbs that the Town's plows have damaged.  We are submitting photos of curbs that were damaged by your plows and ask that the Town fix them.

 

Fourth, we pay among the highest taxes in the country. Residents would like to see their tax dollars spent in their best interest. We understand that approximately 68% of our tax bill goes to our schools. However, we are concerned about the 14% that we pay to the Town of Hempstead and the services it provides with our tax dollars. There are approximately 163,000 households in the Town of Hempstead's 34 unincorporated hamlets. A small percentage of our taxes are paid to separate and distinct special taxing districts for sanitation, fire protection, lighting, parks, parking lots, etc., but most of the revenue the Town receives from taxes is earmarked for other services.

 

How Hempstead spends our tax dollar is no laughing matter. Hempstead's credit rating has been spiraling downward over the last few years. Although we applaud Supervisor Santino's early attempts to reduce its $26 million discretionary spending budget, we find it alarming that ANY of our tax dollars are being spent at the discretion of a department head in the first place.

 

Further, we believe too many of our tax dollars go toward mailings. Approximately $3.347 million dollars is spent on postage for 96 different self-promotional mailings (excluding mailings for official correspondence).  Labor and machinery costs for those mailers are estimated to cost about $2.2 million with an estimated $1.8 million for salaries alone. These estimates do not even include the millions of dollars in paper costs.

 

Residents overwhelmingly prefer that our tax dollars be spent on paving our roads, rather than on mailings or discretionary expenditures. Please consider foregoing all mass mailings for at least one year and

cut ALL discretionary spending to lessen the burden these road improvement projects would have on taxpayers.

 

Fifth, the Town's investigation, tracking and selection process for road improvement projects is clouded in secrecy and there is no tangible plan for future road projects. Residents are frustrated that, year after year, they receive form letter responses with tracking numbers that give them no means to track their requests.  We are asking the Town to post all complaints on its website so that a resident may track the progress of their request. 

 

Sixth, the process for choosing road projects is seemingly arbitrary and sometimes, political.  In Bellmore, for instance, residents complain that Hempstead had begun a road rehabilitation project, paved Brody Lane and then stopped - never returning to complete the project. Legislator Rhoads lives on Brody.  We submit two photos - one of Brody Lane and one of the very next block, Wynne Lane.  Road projects cannot be doled out as political favors.

Further, the roads in most need of repair are often only one block long with few voters residing on those streets. Our council persons must protect the integrity of all our roads and assure that rehabilitation projects be based on need.

 

And last, the Town has no tangible plan for future road improvements. North Hempstead and Nassau County, for example, have Five-Year Capital Improvement Plans that are posted on their website. We are, therefore, requesting that the Town develop its own Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan so that residents will know if and when their road will be paved.

 

We are attaching a list of 78 roads in our community that we are asking for full rehabilitation. We are also submitting  upwards of 200 petition signatures and 35 letters that residents have gathered from their neighbors for over 20 roads in our community. Please conduct a full investigation of each of the 78 roads, take immediate action to repave those deemed most dangerous and schedule road projects for the other roads over the next five years.

 

Residents spend much of their hard-earned money on the upkeep of their homes. We are asking that the Town prioritize our tax dollar to budget for road improvement projects. 

 

Thank you for your courtesy and cooperation.  Please keep me updated as to the status of this request.

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.

 

Very truly yours,

Claudia Borecky, President