ISLANDIA, N.Y. (AP) — Have a complaint about potholes or trash? Take it up at village hall. Just don’t email. Or call.

A village in the New York City suburbs is no longer allowing people to make complaints electronically after town officials say they’ve been besieged by online grievances that have turned out to be unfounded.

Islandia on Long Island now requires complaints be submitted in-person at the village’s government offices.

The new policy, which was adopted last month, even prevents residents from using its online portal for complaints, though a village spokesperson told Newsday it will also accept complaints sent via certified or registered mail.

Mayor Allan Dorman has said the policy was necessary after the village, located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Manhattan, was inundated by complaints by email and through its online portal.

He and other village officials say they’ve tried to block problem accounts and even tried to launch a new online complaint portal but continued to get spammed by anonymous users.

“It’s just harassment,” Dorman complained at an Oct. 21 meeting in which the new policy was adopted by the village board of trustees, Newsday reported. “Every time you check out the complaint, it doesn’t pan out. So, you’re just wasting the resources in the village office (and) taking people away from their jobs.”

Dorman and village spokesperson John Zaher didn’t respond to an email seeking comment Friday, but the Long Island newspaper said it has been copied on more than 100 emails sent to the village since April from one such anonymous account alone, with the complaints ranging from issues with political signs to construction debris.

Another Long Island community, Patchogue, also recently changed its policy to allow only in-person complaints or those submitted through registered or certified mail, Newsday reports.

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