Rider Avenue Residents Fuming Over Malverne Roadwork

"I've been through four months of torture," Malverne resident Michael Rizzi told village officials at the December board of trustees meeting last night.

Over this time, Rizzi has shelled out over $1,000, missed two days of work and has seen his home on Rider Avenue "destroyed" as a result of the handiwork done by the contractor hired by the village to pave his street.

"I'm so upset," said the six-year Malverne resident. He said the workers botched the cement work they did on his property, causing the sidewalk to cave in, which now creates puddles when it rains. He also blamed them for killing a tree, and creating a 20-foot hole on the side of his home. He also had to lay out $770 to fix the sewer damage allegedly caused by the contractor, and spent $500 at Home Depot to address the other repairs, but says the company has not reimbursed him yet for the expenses he incurred.

"They have lowered the property value of my home!" Rizzi added.

Rizzi was one of a handful of residents living on Rider Avenue in Malverne, who expressed their outrage on Dec. 1 about the roadway construction on their block and the notices they received mandating that they fix their sidewalks.

The village code dictates that all residents are responsible for keeping the sidewalks on their property in good order and making any necessary repairs. If the village is notified of any residents neglecting this law, it must respond by serving an ordinance to the homeowner.

"We don't send around sidewalk inspectors like some villages do," explained Deputy Mayor James Callahan. He said that if a violation is brought to the village's attention though, it must respond or it assumes liability for anything that occurs, such as a resident tripping on a cracked sidewalk.

In this case the village engineers, while accessing the streets in preparation for the Roadway Improvement Project,  a roughly $2.5 million job that started this fall, pointed out sidewalks that were in need of repair.

These residents were issued notices to fix the cracked cement on their property and the village left orange door hangers at their homes alerting them to the fact that the same contractor paving the road could also take care of their sidewalk at a reduced rate.

"We secured a bulk price- $20 per linear foot," Trustee Mike Bailey* said. "We also waived the cost of the permit, which is usually $50."

One of the biggest complaints among Rider Avenue residents present at the 2.5-hour long meeting was that the village failed to effectively communicate the impact the project would have on them, the responsibilities they had to repair their curbs and the options available to them to perform the work at a cheaper price.

'This whole thing has been done irresponsibly," said William Mcloughlin, whose family has owned their home on Rider Avenue since 1970. While waiving what he called a "blanket letter," Mcloughlin argued that the village's communication was poor, the timing (right before the holidays) was bad and his sidewalk was no worse than others in the village who have not been asked to make repairs. He even said he had never known that it was the responsibility of residents to care for their sidewalks and called upon his audience to back him up on his belief that most residents are unaware of this section of the village code.

"Ignorance of the law is not an excuse," Callahan said. "We have a law just like other villages. We are no different than any other village, dare I say, in the state of New York."

Mcloughlin fired back, saying, "My taxes keep going one direction," as he raised his hand toward the ceiling, "and the services keep going another direction," pointing to the ground.  Then, he accused Mayor Patricia Norris-McDonald of not giving him enough time to voice his concerns at a meeting that was held in her office, a statement that she indignantly disputed.

Thomas O'Hara commended the village for undertaking the roadway improvement project, but agreed with some of his neighbors that there was "a failure to communicate."

The 20-year resident of Rider Avenue said the information that were fed to residents was "piecemeal."

"This was out of character for the village, which usually communicates great," O'Hara said. "All this could have been avoided if all of this explanation went out a month ago."

Mayor McDonald apologized for the confusion. "I will take responsibility and things will be done differently in the next phase [of this project]," said McDonald, adding, "I don't appreciate or agree with some of the things Mr. Mcloughlin said."

Trustee Joseph Hennessy came to McDonald's defense. "The mayor has been actively involved in this project since the beginning. She has been out talking to residents," Hennessy said.

One of the reasons why communication may have been lacking was that the village was trying to complete all the paving before its bond expired so time was of the essence.

"We're trying to get it in before they raise rates again," Hennessy* said.

The village also received an impressive bid on the project, so it would cost taxpayers nearly half than what was originally projected.

"We understand what it's like out there and we're doing our best to hold the line," Hennessy added.

The board took down the name of every Rider resident who voiced a problem, and promised to work with them to remedy their issues. Hennessy and Trustee Mike Bailey even offered to personally look into the reimbursement check that Rizzi has yet to receive for the damage inflicted upon his property. "Give the bills to me," Hennessy said.

Bill Smith of Cedar Road had a solution for the disgruntled homeowners on Rider Avenue and other residents who may be affected by the Roadway Improvement Project. 

When he and six of his neighbors learned that National Grid and Long Island American Water would be digging up their street over the summer, they came together and arranged for the entire sidewalk and all the curbs on the block to be replaced at the same time.

"We decided to take the bull by the horns and recognize our responsibilities," Smith said. "We made a plan and because [the contractor] was able to come in and essentially do one job, we got an exceptional price."

He said the contractor, B.D.M. Mason, was open to proposals.

"You'd be amazed at the price you'd be able to get-the more the merrier," he told the Rider Avenue residents. He welcomed everyone in the village to drive by Cedar Road in the spring to see the finished product.

"This is where we live. This is our investment. When the smoke clears, we want it to look good," Smith said. "When it's finished it will add to our self esteem and maybe the value of our homes."

To learn about other issues discussed at this meeting, including the changes to the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps. headquarters, reports from village departments and upcoming Malverne events, check Patch daily.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed the following quotes to Trustee  James Callahan: "We secured a bulk price- $20 per linear foot.We also waived the cost of the permit, which is usually $50. We're trying to get it in before they raise rates again."  The first two statements were made by Trustee Mike Bailey and the last by Trustee Joseph Hennessy. Patch regrets the errors.

Everybody makes mistakes ... even us! If there's something in this article that you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, give Local Editor Tara Conry a ring at 516-220-6621 or shoot her an e-mail at Tara.Conry@patch.com.