For over five years the New Hyde Park residents, individually and through the local civic associations, have been requesting a street sweeping schedule from the Town of North Hempstead. The requests have been made by letter, email and in person at town board meetings – all to no avail. Recently, during the past election season it appeared that a schedule would finally be set up.
I recently went on the town’s website to look at the schedule. I could not find it so I sent an email stating that it was not on the website. The response I got was: “If you wish to request street sweeping please call the Call-Center. A service request will be submitted to the highway department on your behalf. Please feel free to call the town 311 Call Center at 869-6311 or 311 from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for future assistance.”
However, this message appears to be for a one-time special cleaning.
Recently, the street sweeper comes mostly on trash pickup days, often shortly after the trash has been picked up and cans are strewn in the street (by the trash collectors). In the past I have observed the sweeper going down the middle of the street with no attempt to go to the curb, even though there was a clear path with no cars or other obstacles in the area. They just arrived as I was writing this letter on a non-trash pickup day and before 9 a.m. Unfortunately a neighbor’s vehicle was parked in front of my house.
I don’t understand why a schedule cannot be set. In the past there were too few sweepers and many were used for spare parts for those that were in operation. Sweeping occurred once every three to six months at best.
The town purchased additional sweepers. They even rent them out to villages.
A schedule is not too much to ask. It is a waste of our tax dollars to have a salaried town employee sweep the middle of our streets. Street sweeping is probably the most visible town service – our taxes at work. Most people I have talked to would gladly move their cars off the street if they knew the sweeper was due. I encourage everyone who lives in the unincorporated areas of the town, especially New Hyde Park, to call 311 and request a street sweeping schedule for their area. Apparently not enough individual calls have been received for the supervisor to believe that the residents of the town really do want this service on a regularly scheduled basis.
This is a call for a grassroots protest of the lack of a schedule. You can also email the town supervisor and DPW commissioner through the town’s website: www.northhempstead.com.
Once a schedule is set, let’s notify all our neighbors to get the cars off the street for the day and let the sweepers do their job.
Kathleen Seyfried,
New Hyde Park.
