Community watchdog: Storm drain gets right cover

After complaining to the Town of Babylon about the large amount of water that collected in my driveway when it rained, the town finally installed a new storm drain. That took care of the water, but they put the wrong cover on the sidewalk. It's the kind that covers the road drain. They said they would come back with the solid cover. That was more than two years ago. Also, there's also a tree in my front yard that was marked for removal about five years ago, and it's still there. Meanwhile, limbs have fallen and damaged cars, and I'm afraid someone will get hurt.

Tony Dallo, Deer Park

One problem down, one to go. Shortly after we sent a picture of the sidewalk cover to town spokesman Tim Ruggeri, he showed it to the Department of Public Works. "DPW saw that it's not the cover that belongs there, and it has been replaced," he told us. And for the record, "That was the first we heard about it. . . . It never got back to us that it needed to be changed, but as soon as we found out, we responded."

The tree may have been marked for removal five years ago, Mr. Dallo, but the town has no record of it. Your call in December was the first complaint that was registered, Ruggeri said, and it's been put on the town's list to be inspected this spring.

The town's Office of Performance Management at 631-957-7474 logs complaints from residents.

Verizon fixes hole in street

 Last fall, our development had all the roads ripped up and repaved. A few weeks later, Verizon came in and opened up various parts of the street. We have been living with a large, deep hole on our property since before Thanksgiving. Calls to Verizon customer service out West somewhere has only gotten us a small credit to our bill, but no help. We have called Verizon many times and have also contacted the Town of Brookhaven and have not gotten any help. We cannot understand why Verizon has opened up these areas but has no one working on them. This is a dangerous situation.

Jane Mueller, Coram

Verizon heard you loud and clear, Mrs. Mueller, because crews fixed the problem before we could call John Bonomo, our press contact at the company.

The projects vary and delays can be caused by weather or other problems but in general, "After we've finished our work in a particular area, we'll ask our contractors to go back as soon as possible to provide a temporary fill and patch," Bonomo said. "Then, when we are sure no additional telecom work needs to be done, and when several jobs can be joined together, our contractors will do permanent fill and completion with concrete."

Call 800-VERIZON for any problem concerning the company.

Traffic light needed at library exit

The exit of Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library feeds onto Broadway, a very busy street with no traffic signs or signals there. It is difficult to make right turns from the parking lot, and left turns are impossible. I'm a senior citizen who regularly uses the library. Is a death necessary before a traffic light is installed?

Gertrude Herman, Woodmere

You never know what the future holds, Mrs. Herman, but you'll have to continue using extreme caution when leaving the library. That driveway is considered private property, so if a traffic signal were to be installed, it would have to be funded by the library, and not Nassau County, which controls Broadway. (The county, however, would have to approve the installation.)

In the 1990s, the library's board of trustees ordered a study to determine whether a traffic control device should be installed at the driveway, according library director Susan O. de Sciora. At the time, the volume of library traffic wasn't high enough to warrant installation of a traffic-control device, she said. Traffic volume hasn't changed much since then, however, the library board is expected to discuss the possibility of a new study, de Sciora said.

Mike Martino, spokesman for the county's Department of Public works, said the county hasn't studied traffic congestion at the library per se, but left-turn lanes will be installed at some intersections on Broadway to help ease traffic congestion. A start date for the project hasn't been determined.

Town of Hempstead spokesman Michael Deery said the town has expressed concerns about the county plan because it would eliminate about 100 on-street parking spaces. "There is no other substantial municipal parking in the downtown area," he said.