ACCORDING TO JIM / STREET CUTS
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In a previous effort, a blog post called “Road Warriors,” I catalogued the long, strange trip that led to Pave, Baby, Pave, our successful effort to increase the number of lane miles re-surfaced in our borough. It was a story outlining more than a decade of mismanagement, as the previous occupant of the office of the Mayor thumbed his nose at basic physics and math, eschewed re-surfacing, and tried to band-aid us with pothole “repair.”
Our roads crumbled, like the recycled asphalt product they were mended with, into third world status. |
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But if Pave, Baby, Pave was a movie, it would have a pretty frightening prequel – perhaps we might call it Street Cuts: The Rise and Fall of Our Roads. And street cuts, like some gruesome Walking Dead zombie, has risen yet again and stalks us relentlessly.
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Because it was street cuts that began our decent into driving hell. “Street cuts” is the name we give to the patch job done in the wake of underground work performed by developers, plumbing contractors, gas and electric utilities, cable operators and other entities that wish to, or need to, work below our streets.
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As you can imagine, in the loosey-goosey era of over-development that existed before the Growth Management Task Force, and with townhome development exploding, our streets were constantly under the assault of jackhammers and backhoes. Of course, those who broke it were obligated to fix it – and there were rules governing how, rules that the Department of Buildings, who issued the Building Permits and Certificates of Occupancy, were duty-bound to enforce.
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The problem was, however, that the DOB had options.
They could insist that the repair be made according to code – half the width of the street plus five feet.
Or they could, if they wished, accept less than that.
And, if they saw fit, they could waive the requirement altogether.
They could insist that the repair be made according to code – half the width of the street plus five feet.
Or they could, if they wished, accept less than that.
And, if they saw fit, they could waive the requirement altogether.
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So before Mayor Bloomberg decided to simply avoid investing in our roads, we were beset by builders and developers who, seemingly at every turn, were digging up our streets and re-paving in the most haphazard and inconsistent way – and they were not held accountable. This was the problem then: builders, developers and agencies were exploding streets before the ticking time bomb of non-investment ever had a chance to. Then came a series of winters about which I think Siberian natives might have nightmares, and those of you who drive here don’t need to be reminded of the results: pothole purgatory.
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Pave, Baby, Pave gave us some very much-needed relief, and still continues to do so as we finally make headway paying back the re-surfacing debt Bloomberg saddled us with. But with apologies to our forefathers, the watchwords of the day now must be:
“eternal vigilance is the price of a smooth ride.” |
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I don’t think many folks know this rule about freshly paved streets,
simply because you’ve seen very little evidence that the rule is ever followed:
simply because you’ve seen very little evidence that the rule is ever followed:
Let me stress this existing rule:
No street opening activity shall be allowed, except for emergency work or as authorized by the Commissioner,
in a protected street for a period of five years.
No street opening activity shall be allowed, except for emergency work or as authorized by the Commissioner,
in a protected street for a period of five years.
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Just so we're clear on this: The term "protected street" means a street which has been resurfaced or reconstructed within five years prior to the date of application for a permit.
Like so many other rules, this one is broken routinely. There are reasonable exceptions, of course, as in the case of unforeseeable emergencies, but otherwise, anyone who wishes to cut into a protected street “must demonstrate that the need for the work could not have reasonably been anticipated prior to or during such construction.” It is the success of Pave, Baby, Pave that resurrects this issue from its oft-forgotten past. With so many lane-miles having been re-paved recently, and through our strenuous efforts many more to come in the upcoming years, street cuts that would have been considered a minor annoyance in the past now sting us like a collective slap in the face. We, all of us, who have endured such terrible road conditions for so many years, do we not deserve a brief respite to enjoy our freshly-paved asphalt streets, unmarked and smooth as a bobsled run? |
Councilman Matteo and I have announced a plan – a legislative plan – to if not completely rectify, at least severely limit the degradation of protected streets. This plan will include a notification requirement so that we don’t learn about plans to cut into protected streets after the fact; institute a new curb-to-curb standard so when emergencies on protected streets do occur, the best possible fix is made; and also require curb-to-curb resurfacing in those instances on all streets – protected an unprotected – where multiple buildings are constructed next to each other and multiple cuts made.
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UPDATE: June 22, 2017
I recently participated in a meeting at City Hall attended by Deputy Mayor Shorris’ Chief-of-Staff, DOT, DDC, Con Ed, and National Grid officials, in order to further discuss the issue of street cuts. I discussed our borough’s concern, some potential solutions and conveyed my apprehension about the universe of emergency permits issued by DOT on protected streets, which are those that have been resurfaced in the last 5 years. DOT, for their part, outlined their belief that re-paving one-half the width of the street + five additional feet (our suggested solution) in lieu of trench restorations, would not effectively address concerns related to sinking trenches and potential potholes. They believe that once the surface is disrupted and the macadam is no longer functioning as one monolithic unit, there is a higher probability that the restored area will fail. The agency also stated that most of the trench failures are due to improper backfilling procedures and the lack of a concrete base. To address these concerns DOT has implemented the following:
When you fight a battle and win but fail to defend the ground you’ve gained, you run the risk of giving it right back again. When your opponent is a plethora of city agencies and utilities, vigilance must be kicked up to a higher plane – a much higher plane. These cuts – some big, some small, are all damaging to the long term health of the street, not to mention the suspension system of your car. We are determined to protect the investment made in our roads as part of #pavebabypave. The current status quo is not working. This nearly two decade quest continues… |
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UPDATE: June 22, 2018
Exactly one full year has passed since my last update to this rant, and I wish I had better news; despite our seemingly unending efforts, the scourge of street cuts goes on unimpeded. We have challenged the city time after time over the issue of their willingness (or lack thereof) to demand a better and more thorough job of restoring our streets after they are cut into by city agencies, contractors or utilities. But try as we might to get through to them, this travesty, this waste of Pave, Baby, Pave money, continues unabated. Back in April, in an effort impress upon the city the severity of this problem, CM Steve Matteo and I had a summit with Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin and NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, whom we took on a “street cuts tour.” That day they saw first-hand the travesty of recently-paved streets scarred with two foot wide trench restorations every ten feet down an entire block; dozens of Nat Grid valve-replacement backfills that are doomed to eventual failure; manhole covers with half-assed patch jobs on freshly re-surfaced roads; and countless “restorations” resembling zig-zags, jigsaw puzzle pieces and assorted abstract shapes that defy credulity. And just a few weeks ago, we met with new National Grid New York State President John Bruckner and members of his team (responding to a letter sent to him from Councilman Steven Matteo and me) at Borough Hall to discuss their role in our ongoing battle for better streets. We had a frank – and I hope fruitful – discussion, and Mr. Bruckner sounded like he understood quite well our concerns. My fingers are crossed that he and his team will take what they heard from us and turn it into actionable steps that will result in a better restoration process, which will lead to better roads. We’ll use everything at our disposal to attack this problem, including phone calls, meetings, letters, tweets and social media posts with photos and videos to ensure that we will not be ignored; and the longer this goes on the louder we will get. I am going to keep going to the body, like Robert Duran, until the Mayor's Office compels their agencies to step up their game. This is a complete disgrace, and we won’t stand idly by as the hard-earned taxpayer dollars the Mayor has allocated to Pave, Baby, Pave, are wasted - one street cut at a time. |
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UPDATE: March 2019
Since our last update in June of ’18, much has happened in our efforts to address the ravages of the improper restoration of street cuts. During City Hall in Your Borough last summer, the NYC DOT, DEP and DDC vowed to collaborate to protect freshly-paved streets from utility work – and when work is absolutely necessary, to restore the streets quickly and effectively. DOT Commissioner Trottenberg said “Borough President Oddo has rightly held City agencies to account around the frustrating practice of freshly paved streets getting cut open for utility work,” and let me tell you, that kind of candor is refreshing, indeed. She went on to say, “However, if and when the streets are cut open, we will also make sure they are restored to as good as new.” OK; we’ll hold her to that. One of my pet peeves has been the lack of coordination between agencies, so I was happy to hear the DEP Commissioner, Vincent Sapienza, say that his agency was committed to it. “Coordinating water and sewer repairs with our partners at DOT and DDC makes sense and we look forward to continuing that work in 2019.” As I said at the time, we need to be injecting common sense into a process that has lacked it badly. When you cut up a freshly paved road you are actually undercutting the credibility of city government, and we need to update and improve all other processes that involve the integrity of our roads. So here’s what has been happening: 
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The DOT and DEP began a pilot program of actively coordinating the milling of roadways with the inspection and repair of DEP’s water and sewer infrastructure. After the roadway is milled - but before it is resurfaced - DEP crews will inspect catch basins, fire hydrants, sewers and manhole covers, making any necessary repairs. This will hopefully go a long way toward reducing the likelihood of newly resurfaced streets needing an emergency street cut for the repair of water or sewer infrastructure. This pilot will remain in place during the upcoming 2019 paving season.
For their part, the DOT has implemented new rules that provide specific guidelines to utilities. The new rules lay out the ideal geometry of a street cut, which is straight and square, the proper way to backfill a cut, and the appropriate type of concrete to use. According to the DOT, after training DEP in these methods, DOT’s inspections revealed a marked improvement in work quality and durability. Here’s another interesting innovation: the DOT and DEP coordinated several projects, working jointly to restore DEP street cuts. That coordination allowed the agencies to work with DEP hardware and DOT paving equipment on the same project, and they intend to increase these joint opportunities. And putting more eyes on the prize, the DEP also hired additional supervisors to coordinate restorations. Nat Grid, Staten Island’s main provider of natural gas, will be sharing its multi-year capital plan with DOT. With this knowledge, the agency and the utility will certainly be able to improve coordination and planning. New protocols have been put in place to allow contractors and utilities to enter their applications directly into DOT’s permit management system, including the aforementioned Nat Grid, who converted from a previous internal system to the NYCStreets permit system in late November. Con Edison did it back in late 2017. A peek at the DOT’s website tells us that, on average, “utilities hold 80% of street opening permits in the five boroughs, with private contractors and plumbers responsible for 20%.” And finally, DDC claims to have improved the oversight of its own road restoration projects by adding additional inspections that actively review road conditions on each project. They are also working with contractors to add a coat of temporary asphalt, which should result in a smoother ride until final restoration and paving occurs. |
As I’ve said before and will no doubt say many times again: the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
But this time, we appear to have assembled all the right ingredients.
But this time, we appear to have assembled all the right ingredients.
