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Streetlights 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>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 Dozens of Staten Island streets have been in the dark for months, and elected officials are calling upon the New York City Department of Transportation to fix the problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an unacceptable status quo,\u201d noted City Council Minority Leader David Carr, who called a press conference on Friday in Dongan Hills to highlight what he calls a borough-wide issue. \u201cThe DOT is falling so far behind in fixing and repairing streetlamps throughout our neighborhoods and communities. We\u2019re calling on the agency to expedite matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr, a Republican who represents Mid-Island, hosted the presser at the corner of Cromwell Avenue and Jefferson Street, where his constituents report that a streetlight has been out since August. <\/p>\n
\u201cTypically, in the past, it would have taken about two to four weeks, probably a month at most, for the agency to come and fix it,\u201d Carr said. \u201cBut this has been out for two months now, and we have cases across the city where streetlamps have not been repaired or fixed for months, even close to a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr said that the DOT has blamed the backlog on an outside contractor gaffe and has noted that a new company was recently hired to maintain the streetlights throughout the city. Still, his office alone has received some 70 complaints about outstanding repairs. <\/p>\n
He was joined at the press conference by Assemblymember Michael Tannousis, Assemblymember Michael Reilly, and Assemblymember Sam Pirozzolo, as well as representatives from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis\u2019 office and Councilmember Frank Morano\u2019s office \u2014 all of whom say they are hearing similar complaints. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur message today is to the New York City Department of Transportation and to City Hall: Why don\u2019t you stop worrying about where the next speed camera or red-light camera is going to go \u2026 and why don\u2019t you concentrate on the basics?\u201d said Tannousis, a Republican who represents the East Shore and South Brooklyn. \u201cThis is a basic necessity that we pay our tax dollars for that the City of New York clearly cannot handle. Whether it\u2019s a contractor, whether it\u2019s DOT itself, it doesn\u2019t matter. It lies square on the feet of the New York City Department of Transportation and City Hall to ensure that our constituents get the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Streetlights 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
Reilly, a Republican who represents the South Shore, called the city out on its own Vision Zero plan \u2014 a comprehensive, multi-agency initiative launched in 2014 to eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries on public streets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you really have a Vision Zero, then you will fix those lights and you will ensure that you protect those pedestrians crossing those streets,\u201d Reilly said.<\/p>\n
He also brought up concerns of quality of life and public safety. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you don\u2019t have those street lights illuminated, you bring in the car hoppers who act under the cover of darkness,\u201d Reilly said, referring to an issue of car theft currently plaguing the South Shore. \u201cWhen we don\u2019t have those streets lit up, we are just giving them more opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pirozzolo a Republican who represents Mid-Island, used his time at the podium to speak directly to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n
\u201cMayor Mamdani, Staten Island is in the dark,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re last, just like everything else. Here\u2019s your chance to step up to the plate, shine a little bit of light on the situation.\u201d <\/p>\n