[I would be interested to] See if you can get a report on all the power lines repaired after Sandy. I bet the majority of those lines were secondary lines and not the main transmissions lines.
I know for a fact that the lines running from Northern BLVD along Maple Pl to Bayview Ave, to E. Shore Rd and Up Colonial will not be on that list because those lines were not effected by Sandy; however this exact route has already received the new 80 ft+ poles.
I know this because during Sandy I was without power for 12 days like a lot of North Hempstead residence. I also drove around and surveyed the area. I know exactly which trees and which power lines in my neighborhood were affected. It does not make any reasonable since to me.
The Manhasset Valley County Park was devastated losing a large number of old tall trees, but not one landed on the power line running along Maple Place. In fact the poles along Maple no longer have any trees near them. There is something fish with Weir’s explanation.
I am surprised that in your article you did not point out that the photo of the 80 foot poles side by side show they are twice the size of the existing poles also shows that there are no trees to be seen anywhere in the photo.
In my opinion the best way to prevent power outages like seen during sandy is it encourage residents to maintain the trees on their property and keep them trimmed away from the power lines. Unfortunately this is a cost to the homeowner and most likely the current owner did not plant the tree so it becomes a problem of expense.
If a tree is too close, to large, or unhealthy then a call to the power authority, town, or state should prompt the state to have the tree removed. In a lot of cases the trees were planted by the state or town many years ago anyway. The program should then replant an appropriate species of tree that can grow near power lines. Many flowering trees don’t grow as large and can survive near power lines without any trouble.
This smells to me very much like the story of the radio tower that was erected in Munsey Park over a holiday weekend. Not only did the residence have to fight to have it stopped the tax payer also paid twice. Once to have it erected by one company only to have to pay to have it removed by another. Sounds to me like contractors made out on that Hempstead screw up.
It will be interesting to see what happens from the March 24 meeting and the results of Hogan’s petition.
Dan Neff
