Council Member Joseph Borelli (R – South Shore) is demanding that the New York City Department of Transportation not issue a single additional residential sidewalk summons for a hairline crack until the sidewalks at Huguenot Avenue, Veterans Road East and Arthur Kill Road are repaired.

The Huguenot Avenue, Veterans Road East and Arthur Kill Road corridor serves as a de-facto park & ride for commuters, and hundreds of area residents walk in the street at that location because it lacks a proper sidewalk. Borelli’s office specifically identified this intersection as being unsafe for pedestrians; first, as part of a comprehensive traffic and pedestrian improvement plan he proposed on November 24th, 2015. DOT was again notified about a lack of sidewalks and broken sidewalks on January 11th, 2016; and finally, on June 9th, 2017 Borelli once more e-mailed DOT to fix this same sidewalk.

In addition to those requests, Borelli has also had numerous conversations with officials at DOT about this condition. Further, Borelli’s predecessor Vincent Ignizio had advocated for pedestrian safety improvements at the site during his term in office.

Council Member Borelli has already dispatched his south shore clean team to trim the weeds, cut down and remove poison ivy, and pick up litter and debris in the same location because the city is not maintaining it and the conditions are posing a health hazard to commuters and pedestrians.

“I dare them,” said Borelli. “I dare them to try to justify writing a single residential homeowner’s sidewalk violation for a hairline crack when this is the state in which they maintain their own sidewalks. The city’s own walkways should be the gold standard by which private property owners are judged. Instead of violating some senior citizen’s chipped curb, causing thousands of dollars in mandatory repairs, perhaps they should first get their own house in order, and I suggest they start with the location that happens to be the busiest express bus stop on the south shore.”

The properties referenced are Block 6110, Lots 625 & 32 and Block 6169, Lot 37, in addition to the New York City sidewalks beneath the 440 overpass on Arthur Kill Road.