{"id":375047,"date":"2026-10-16T19:14:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/375047\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T19:14:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T19:14:50","slug":"its-about-the-feeling-of-safety-staten-islanders-say-streetlight-outages-persist-despite-repeated-requests-for-repairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/375047\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s about the feeling of safety\u2019: Staten Islanders say streetlight outages persist despite repeated requests for repairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 For decades, the glow from a streetlight across from Elna Johnson\u2019s Port Richmond home lit her hallway each night.<\/p>\n

So when the light suddenly went dark in early September, the 82-year-old widow immediately noticed. More than a month later, after five calls to 311 and multiple follow-ups to the borough president\u2019s office, she said it remains out, leaving much of her block in darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really want to go out at night,\u201d said Johnson, who has called the North Shore neighborhood home for nearly 34 years.<\/p>\n

Johnson is one of several Staten Islanders who shared concerns about outages they say have persisted despite repeated requests for repairs.<\/p>\n

Residents from across the borough, including West Brighton, Eltingville and Great Kills, shared similar frustrations over what they described as prolonged outages and unresolved 311 complaints.<\/p>\n

A recent analysis of 311 data by the Advance\/SILive.com <\/a>found 210 streetlight-related complaints were filed on Staten Island during a recent seven-day period, including 189 reports categorized as \u201cStreet Light Out\u201d and 15 reports of multiple streetlights being out. The week showed a complaint rate roughly 29% higher than the preceding weeks, according to the numbers.<\/p>\n

\"StatenThe streetlight in Port Richmond that Johnson says has remained out for more than a month despite repeated 311 complaints.(Advance\/SILive.com | Maria Vittoria Ravaioli)<\/p>\n

The growing number of complaints has drawn the attention of elected officials.<\/p>\n

The Staten Island Borough President\u2019s Office said delays involving city Department of Transportation agreements with private contractors have contributed to a backlog of streetlight repairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe share the frustrations of the folks who call us regarding streetlights that do not work,\u201d the office said in a statement. \u201cNYC DOT maintains agreements with private contractors to do that work. Unfortunately, those agreements have been delayed, and those delays have created a backlog ….\u201d<\/p>\n

New York state Assemblymember Michael Reilly, a Republican who represents the South Shore, also pressed city officials for an explanation during a quarterly meeting earlier this month hosted by New York City Department of Transportation Borough Commissioner Roseanne Caruana, which included representatives from several city and state government agencies. <\/p>\n

Reilly said his office raised the issue of streetlight outages with government agencies during the meeting in response to information provided by the Advance\/SiLive.com. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor a period of time, there was no contractor in place to handle streetlight repairs,\u201d Reilly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have also asked DOT to speak with me directly so we can get additional information about the contractor situation, including why there was a period without a contractor and what we can expect moving forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

According to the Reilly, the city DOT informed his office it has secured contractors to address the backlog.<\/p>\n

However, the DOT disputed claims of a contractor shortage, saying there had not been a lapse in streetlight maintenance coverage in any of the five boroughs. <\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers deserve safe, well-lit streets, and NYC DOT takes streetlight outages seriously,\u201d a DOT spokesperson said. \u201cEvery reported outage is assessed within 10 days, and our crews work to restore service as quickly as possible.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"StatenStreetlights illuminate portions of Fairfield Street in Great Kills while other sections remain dark. Residents across Staten Island have reported ongoing streetlight outages and delays in repairs.(Advance\/SILive.com | Jessica Jones-Gorman)<\/p>\n

While city officials continue to debate the scope of the problem, residents who reached out to the Advance\/SILive.com said the outages are affecting neighborhoods across the borough.<\/p>\n

Among them is Mark Teitler, 57, of Sunnyside, who said he reported a streetlight outage near Cheshire Place and Melrose Avenue that has remained unresolved for months, despite repeated efforts to raise the issue through 311 and city officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a streetlight,\u201d Teitler said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the feeling of safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said darkened streets can create safety concerns for motorists, pedestrians and residents navigating neighborhoods after sunset.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dangerous for streetlights to be out, and it gives a sense of insecurity for the people in the neighborhood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

MORE BY MARIA VITTORIA RAVAIOLI<\/p>\n

The DOT website stated that contractors \u201cmust respond within 10 days\u201d to address streetlight outages. However, some residents reported longer response times.<\/p>\n

The average time this year to close out a repair request is 15 days, although that closure period can take longer in certain instances, according to DOT spokespeople.<\/p>\n

The department said some outages require extensive electrical or infrastructure repairs, while others can be resolved through simpler maintenance work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 For decades, the glow from a streetlight across from Elna Johnson\u2019s Port Richmond home…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-375047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}