Street Lights Out On Northern Boulevard For More Than A Year As Officials Argue Over Who's Responsible
ROSLYN ESTATES, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Some Long Island residents are angry that street lights on one of Nassau County's busiest roadways have been out for more than a year.
They've been trying to untangle red tape to figure out who's responsible for maintaining street lights on Northern Boulevard, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Friday.
Street lights shine on busy Northern Boulevard through much of Nassau County. But there's sudden darkness on the road in Roslyn Estates.
"It's absolutely a safety issue. I mean, it's dark," said Annmarie Cerrone, president of the Strathmore Village Civic Association.
The burning question: Who's responsible for changing burned out lightbulbs?
"We are just getting a runaround from everybody," said Cerrone.
"How many government workers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" said Rich Bentley from the Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations. "It takes a year and it's still not done."
"I have never run into this bad of a government quagmire," Bentley said.
After countless calls and emails, civic leaders say no one has taken responsibility.
State Route 25A winds through multiple jurisdictions.
Mayors CBS2 spoke with said they've never been responsible for the bulbs.
The New York State Department of Transportation said their policy requires local governments to maintain street lights, leaving this one stretch in Roslyn Estates in a stalemate.
Village officials said they've never done it and won't until the DOT tells them when the legal obligation was transferred to villages.
"I think it's shameful. Why don't they just rectify the problem and work out the red tape later on?" said Cerrone.
In Flower Hill, the village next door, local officials changed three bulbs "in the interest of public safety." It cost $1,500.
"It's going to be an issue anywhere there is a state road," said North Hempstead Council Member Veronica Lurvey.
Who is responsible? Lurvey dug deep and believes the confusion dates back decades to Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO).
"It seems to me that whatever the predecessor electric authority was, when they got rid of their street lighting program, there was some confusion at that point," Lurvey said.
"It's horrible. It's showing that our 18 levels of government are just not working together and the system is not working," said Bentley.
Stephen Canzoneri, a state DOT spokesperson, sent CBS2 the following statement:
Local municipalities are responsible for maintaining lighting along state highways unless NYSDOT determined the lighting was necessary on that highway when it was built, such at the Long Island Expressway and state parkways. Impacted municipalities have been maintaining and energizing this lighting since it was installed. We look forward to continuing conversations with the village to assist in resolving this issue.
Roslyn Estates village officials declined our request for comment.
Residents said maintaining street lights is one of the most basic responsibilities of local government. They want a definitive ruling from the state so it doesn't take a year of red tape to change a lightbulb.