Bad repaving job causes flood probs

“I’ve never seen such a bad repaving job,” state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said. “Now, you’ve gotta wonder, who’s watching this? Is DOT coming out and seeing what this contractor did? Are we going to pay them? Because I don’t think they should be paid.”

In some places the tar is two inches above the curb, according to Avella aide Paul Graziano, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, and is an urban planning and historic preservation consultant.

Graziano remembers when the city conducted a similar project about 15 years ago. He said the street ended up being about two inches higher then it had been prior to that time. It started causing some flooding issues.

“And at that time they were kind of sloppy with the work that they did, but this time, they barely milled the street at all,” Graziano said. “And they raised it two inches above where it was prior to that, so now the street is higher than the sidewalks [in some places].”

Graziano said in order to try and rectify the problem, he started pulling up some of the asphalt with a screwdriver and a hammer before it cooled to take it off the cobblestone curbs. “It’s abominable,” he said. “They just slopped [the tar] over. ... They threw it on the grass. It’s a disaster.”

Scott Gastel, a spokesman for the DOT, said in an email that, prior to the repaving, the roadway and curb were flush, and the project restored that. Though a matter of public information, the agency would not reveal the name of the contractor.

Avella said he plans to formerly request that the DOT have the project ripped up and re-done, that the contractor not be paid for his unsatisfactory work and that any other city jobs he’s done be inspected.

Avella also suggested that the repaving be done at a time when the weather is better, so the asphalt has time to cure and settle. Avella said he wondered whether the contractor received a bonus to get the job done early and rushed through the work.

“This is totally unacceptable,” Avella said. “The taxpayers, the homeowners, certainly did not get their money’s worth with this job.”

Graziano said he and his parents, who live next door, have had to place small boulders on their lawns near the sidewalk, in order to prevent cars from accidentally parking on the grass since there is no curb to guide them.

Tyler Cassell, president of the North Flushing Civic Association, said when he drove down the street recently after it rained, he noticed severe ponding.

“I could have splashed people on the sidewalk for two blocks here,” he said. “It was up on the ribbon strips, it was on people’s driveways. It’s causing a hazard.”

When the contactor used a milling machine to dig around a gas pipe, which protrudes slightly out of the ground, he cracked it, said resident Judy Troster.

She said she had to call ConEdison, because there was a gas smell. Utility workers came out and fixed the pipe, but the DOT didn’t fill in the hole completely and cars were hitting it. After that, the agency put an orange traffic cone on top of it.

“I called up the city and the city said you have to fill out forms and whatever,” Troster recalled. Avella said he would get her contact information and his office would work closely to help her get the problem spot fixed properly.