Snowplowing issues ignite a storm
A snowplow makes its way through the falling snow onto Middle Country Road in Centereach Sunday. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
Cleared walks? Not after plows return
I live in the Town of Oyster Bay. After spending all day shoveling our 90-foot sidewalk and driveway, we were exhausted but satisfied that we saved a few hundred dollars by not paying for snow removal. At 3 a.m. the next morning, I heard a loud gigantic snowplow making several passes up and down my block.
I thought, “Finally, a complete street clearing” [“Storm preparation meets cooperation,” Editorial, Feb. 25]. But out my window, I saw huge amounts of snow obliterating all my hard work with icy, impenetrable, white boulders. The next morning, it was impossible to clear it with a shovel. I called the town; someone would be dispatched. No one showed up.
After four hours, a neighbor’s friend and I cleared most of it. It cost 100 bucks.
My neighbors across the way left their cars on the street, and the plow driver rewarded them for doing the wrong thing by avoiding their cars, left unscathed.
— Melinda Griggs, Bethpage
My landscapers cleared my property and sidewalk. They charged $200 and they did a great job. I was especially concerned about the sidewalk for safety reasons and to avoid a summons. At 3 a.m. the following morning, the Town of Oyster Bay decided it was a good time to dump snow piled high back onto the sidewalk and all over my property. Does the town get a summons for this?
— Fonda Leibowitz, Plainview
We have lived in Ronkonkoma for 40 years and have never experienced such poor service from the Town of Islip snowplow crews. We are in our late 70s, and I am disabled. After shoveling the end of our driveway, a plow blocked it with almost 38 inches of snow! We had to hire someone to remove it.
— Rosemary Nicoletti, Ronkonkoma
Considering the high property taxes Nassau County residents pay, is it asking too much for plowing only along curb lines? Instead, they create barriers at the foot of driveways that for homeowners of a certain age, it is nearly impossible to clear.
— Rose Syms, Oceanside
One night after the blizzard, a crew of laborers came through our community to shovel us out. If we need any more evidence to support our immigrants, this was it. They do the hard work we’d rather not do.
— Mary Negra, East Setauket
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