Court: Suffolk responsible for Huntington county roads

Suffolk County is responsible for repairing, maintaining and reconstructing its roads within the Town of Huntington, according to a state appellate court ruling upholding a lower court's decision.

Last year, State Supreme Court Justice Paul J. Baisley Jr. found "highway law plainly and unequivocally places the burden of maintenance of roadways that are part of the county road system on the county," in response to a lawsuit filed in 2005 by the town.

Suffolk appealed that decision, County Attorney Christine Malafi said, on the grounds that it believes the judge "incorrectly looked at the law." She said the county will now seek to appeal to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals.

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"We feel that the case is wrongly decided," Malafi said. "It has a huge impact, not only on Suffolk County, but in every county in the state."

In its lawsuit, the town argued it maintained some county roads within its borders - including Ruland Road, Colonial Springs Road, Cuba Hill Road, New Highway and Deer Park Avenue - because the county refused to do so after Huntington formally asked Suffolk to take over maintenance responsibility in 2003.

Huntington town spokesman A.J. Carter said yesterday officials could not provide detailed cost estimates of basic maintenance such as snow removal and filling potholes, which the town has continued to do for public safety reasons since the 2009 ruling.

Carter added the roads at issue are in need of major improvements that cost millions of dollars.

In the latest ruling dated Oct. 19, four justices from The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, citing highway law statutes, rejected the county's contention that it is not responsible for the roads even though the county receives state money for their maintenance and repair.

That, the court said, leads to "the inescapable conclusion that the county has the authority and duty to repair, maintain and improve the county roads in question, while the town does not bear a statutory burden to maintain these roads."

Malafi said the original county road system was designed in 1929 by the state as a way to fund town roads.

"When the system changed to the county road system we now know, no county went back and took those county roads out, they just knew they were not the same county roads," she said.

Town Supervisor Frank Petrone said he believes the town will continue to prevail in court. "We've already been through two courts. There's logic in it, we have all the necessary documentation, I think it's very clear cut," Petrone said.