Amityville mayor on blocked road: 'This is crazy'

With Route 110 still blocked south of Avon Place in Amityville three days after Irene downed a pole and utility lines there, frustrated village Mayor Peter Imbert Wednesday called on the Long Island Power Authority to clear the road.

“I’m not asking for power,” he said. “Just get this street open. This is crazy.”

The pole is tangled in utility lines, and village workers cannot remove it without LIPA approval; a large tree was also downed nearby. With the key north-south artery closed, he said, traffic has been backing up on nearby roads as drivers seek an alternate route.

The village has had to erect barriers and set out nightly flares. Imbert said he’d called the power company numerous times in recent days, hoping to get the road cleared, to no avail.

LIPA spokesman Mark Gross would not comment on Imbert’s statements, but added: “We are continually coordinating with nearly 100 villages, 13 towns, 2 counties and 2 cities to clean up those damage spots and restore power to our customers.”