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Incumbent Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro, left, debates challenger Michael Kaplan. Photos by Raymond Janis

By Aidan Johnson

As Election Day nears, residents will decide between two candidates for Town of Brookhaven highway superintendent.

Current highway superintendent, Dan Losquadro (R), and Michael Kaplan (D) took part in an exclusive debate at the TBR office Friday, Oct. 27, tackling issues such as response times, paving schedules and the impact of storms on roads.

Introductions

Losquadro has served as highway superintendent for almost 11 years but has held public office for roughly two decades.

He started out after winning a special election in 2003 for Suffolk County’s 6th Legislative District. After serving two years in the Legislature, his colleagues elected him to be the Republican Conference Leader at age 33. He gave the rebuttals to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy’s (D) State of the County address at that time.

He moved on to serve in the New York State Assembly but preferred staying home with his family. After people started lobbying him to replace former Highway Superintendent John Rouse (D), Losquadro decided to do so, citing his past work in his father’s body shop and as a laborer with Local 66 as what trained him for the job.

Kaplan has had 30 years of experience in municipal highway departments, serving 20 years in Islip and 10 years in Huntington. During that time, he served as a laborer, road inspector and worked directly for the superintendent of highways in Huntington. Additionally, he has served as a union leader and is a U.S. Army veteran.

While Kaplan indicated he did not want to speak negatively about Losquadro, he said that he has differing opinions on how to run the department and that there have been “a lot of residents” who have told him that they wish to see the superintendent more often.

Functions of the office

Losquadro said that the “umbrella of the Highway Department is much larger than people realize.” It is not just about the care of the roads but includes areas such as the traffic safety division for the town, engineering where all highway work permits go through, stormwater management and street lighting.

Losquadro runs a budget of more than $110 million, has nearly 300 employees, oversees 3,500 lane miles of roads and believes in innovation for moving the department forward, citing his digitizing of the work order system along with the conversion of all of Brookhaven’s street lights to LEDs, with Brookhaven’s energy savings being up to $1.2 million a year. 

He has also brought in over $150 million from the state and federal grant funding to the town, including a $16 million grant to replace the Sheep Pasture Road bridge in Port Jefferson Station earlier this year.

Kaplan stated that Losquadro touched on a lot of the functions. However, he said that after knocking on thousands of doors, he has a different perspective on how the Highway Department should be run daily.

Kaplan said that the workforce needs to be built back up, both in the sense that it is not enough and because it is demoralized. While he noted Losquadro has done a good job, Kaplan also stated that there are many residents who are frustrated with a perceived lack of accessibility and poor response time within the department, along with people not receiving an answer to their concerns.

As the head of the department, Kaplan said he would be talking to the employees and residents “every single day” and explain to them the answer to their problems, “whether they like my answer or not.” Kaplan also believes that he has to have a staff with the same vision of public service and that while the employees come first, “it’s really all about the residents.”

Losquadro rebutted this, saying he is “as hands-on as it gets” for a highway superintendent and that he and his staff deal with residents “day in, day out.” However, he said that one of the problems is that some people will call other local officials if they do not like the answer the Highway Department gives them, and claim that they did not get a response. However, the electronic work order system can show that the department has been in touch. While they sometimes miss the mark, he indicated, they still strive to contact every person promptly.

Climate change

With climate change increasing the threat of environmental disasters, including major snowfall events, Kaplan believes that it is imperative to build up private contractors.

Kaplan also said that road sweeping is a vital part of conserving the environment because if the road is not swept, everything washes down into the catch and recharge basins, polluting the aquifers. 

While there hasn’t been a big snowstorm in recent years, Kaplan said one big snowfall is enough to remind everyone that what the department does is vital. He also said that there is a science to snow plowing that he would teach every individual what to do behind the wheel of a truck.

Kaplan also said that, with a larger workforce, he would want to have a snow plowing operation that encompasses all of the roads, both main and side, at the same time. 

Losquadro noted that climate change has also caused issues such as roads that were once dry at high tide to now be underwater at normal tide. Because of this, Highways has worked with the Law Department and has abandoned a number of roads.

Due to rising sea levels, Losquadro has been “seeking grants anywhere I can get them.” Currently, the department is raising the roads along Mount Sinai Harbor and doing a massive drainage project there so that the roads remain passable at high tide when water gets impounded in the harbor along the southern shore.

Since there is no capacity for drainage along the southern shore, the department has been acquiring parcels and using them as bioretention areas to make the roads passable. 

Losquadro has also increased the rate paid to snow plow vendors by 25% this year. However, the department is facing a problem that the younger generation of contractors is not getting into the snow plowing business, so is trying to incentivize outside contractors.

Response times

Losquadro elaborated on the electric work order system he put in place, describing how a variant is used during severe weather events, containing “a simple dropdown menu” with which they can put information into quickly.

Additionally, a foreman can use iPads during a work order to take pictures and type in their notes to transmit the information instantly to a customer service representative, who can then relay it back to the resident in cases such as evaluations and inspections.

The department has also added the ability to track all of the road signs in its geographical information system and have added almost 200,000 drains. Losquadro said they “continue to add functionality to the system and build on it” to be more efficient.

While Kaplan said that he respects what Losquadro had to say, if elected, he would go back to the “old school way of doing things” by being a “boots on the ground” superintendent immediately.

If someone calls with a concern, including issues of potholes, Kaplan said he would institute a 72-hour correspondence policy, meaning that the person calling would receive correspondence, such as a callback or email, explaining that their issue has been recognized, and then a time to have it repaired will be scheduled.

Additionally, Kaplan said that potholes would be filled and repaired within 48 hours, and he would reteach his employees how to fill a pothole by his standards.

Politicization claim

In response to claims that Losquadro only begins to fix roads and potholes right before an election, Losquadro considered this notion “absurd.” He further said that the paving season runs from April to November, with someone being first and someone being last during the paving season.

According to the incumbent, they schedule the work based on how much concrete or drainage work has to be performed on a given project, with the jobs that require less work being done in the spring since they can get the prep work done sooner. Anything involving schools is done over the summer so as not to disrupt access to the schools, and the projects done in the fall require more extensive concrete or drainage work.

Losquadro also said that they spend nearly the same amount of money each year, exclusive of grant funding for individual projects, and do not spend more during an election year.

While Kaplan did state that he did make a comment about allegations that Losquadro only begins to fix potholes and roads around election time, he did not mean that as a disrespectful comment toward Losquadro. He had made the comment because residents have told him that they would repeatedly ask for an issue to be addressed, and it would only happen “three months before an election.”

Paving schedules

Kaplan said that he would have a delegation involved in assessing all of the roads in Brookhaven since the highway superintendent could not feasibly do it by themself. He would have the roads rated A through F, with the roads receiving “D” and “F” ratings being placed on the high-priority list.

Losquadro said that prioritizing a roadway isn’t just “necessarily a visual assessment” since there may be cases where the top layer of a road may appear to be in disrepair while the subsurface is still very strong, and vice versa.

If reelected, Losquadro pledged to avail himself of a program offered by the Cornell Cooperative Extension that uses optical sensors to evaluate the condition of the town’s roads to get what he referred to as a “heat map.” 

Losquadro added that he feels that they have gotten through the roads that were in very poor shape that he inherited from the last highway superintendent. He is planning two-to-three years out in the paving schedule, which is why the overall optical evaluation of the roadways would be helpful in how he looks forward at a possible three-to-eight years out from this point.

Brookhaven residents townwide will decide on the Highway Department’s future on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

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Presiding Officer Rob Calarco shakes hands with Leg. Nick Caracappa during Friday’s press conference. Photo by Julianne Mosher

A bipartisan group of representatives from local, state and federal elected offices, civics and the community gathered to call on the governor to repair New York state roads with federal funding.

Spearheaded by Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (R-Selden), he demanded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) gives his immediate attention to the unsafe state roads, specifically in Suffolk County. 

Caracappa said roads like I-495 (the Long Island Expressway), Route 27 (Sunrise Highway) and Route 25 (Middle Country Road) have potholes the size of craters, that cannot just damage a vehicle, but could potentially take a life. 

“The current state of these roadways presents very hazardous, dangerous driving conditions to the millions of commuters who depend upon these roadways on a daily basis,” Caracappa said at the May 21 press conference outside the state building in Hauppauge. “Whether it be for work or leisure, commuters place themselves in harm’s way when entering these roadways throughout Suffolk County and beyond.”

The legislator noted that the county’s roads occupy over one million commuters on a daily basis. When a driver blows out a tire on the side of a busy highway, he could be putting his life at risk, stepping out of the car to examine the damage.

“The residents of Suffolk County in New York pay some of the highest taxes in this country,” he added. “There are better, safer and more secure roadways than those we are currently forced to utilize on a daily basis … the lives of the hardworking commuters and their family members should not be put in peril each and every time.”

The meeting came after the legislator issued a letter signed by all 17 Suffolk County Legislators to Cuomo and NYS Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez.

Ten town leaders also signed the letter to show their support. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) spoke on their behalf. 

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. Photo by Julianne Mosher

“Someone once said, all issues of government are issues of money. Look how the state spends its money,” Romaine began. “We have roads in atrocious conditions — I rode on the expressway to get here, and it seemed like there was more blacktop to the potholes than there was concrete for the pavement.”

Romaine said this needs to change.

“We need to make sure that the guys that ride bikes, the guys who drive cars, the gals that drive cars, that they’re safe, these roads are not safe,” he said. “The money is there — let’s spend it where it should be spent. Let’s spend it on our infrastructure. Let’s create jobs. Anyone that studies economics, understands that investment in infrastructure, produces great results for the economy, and also for our citizens that have to travel.”

Caracappa mentioned that repairs for these roadways are scheduled for completion by 2023-2024, which he said is an unacceptable time frame. At a time when the state has received unprecedented levels of federal aid, he felt the time for immediate and decisive action must be now.

“New York State should be held accountable and responsible for every flat tire, automobile accident, injury or death caused by the current road conditions of these roadways, with restitution given to those who have been major under the conditions that can be likened only to a war-torn country,” Caracappa said. “We have an obligation to ensure the safety of our communities, and should make every effort to begin to do so without any further delay.”

Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) said the state roadway infrastructure has been completely mismanaged. 

Photo by Julianne Mosher

“They are spending millions of dollars unnecessarily when they should be paving our roads,” he said. “People are going to get hurt and cost this county and the state millions of dollars in lawsuits, and all for what? Because of mismanagement. It doesn’t take Perry Mason to figure out the road needs to be paved.”

And it isn’t just for residents. Caracappa and several of the other officials mentioned that East End tourism is a multi-billion-dollar industry. But it won’t be if tourists can’t safety get out there.

“We spend millions of dollars for tourism on the East End,” said Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset). “I don’t know if they are able to get there without blowing a tire.”

Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy Jr. (R) added that Long Island is finally “mask free” and tourism will be back. 

“Let’s talk about commerce and equity of a $5 billion East End tourism industry,” he said. “People from all over the tri-state area make choices … Are they going to come down roads that are like downtown Baghdad? Or are they going to go to Jersey or up the Hudson River?”

Just an hour before the 11 a.m. press conference, Cuomo sent out a statement announcing a $30.6 million investment in pavement restoration projects for Long Island roads — for five state highways in Nassau and Suffolk Counties totaling 20 miles.

State Senator Mario Mattera (R) said that regardless, the roads are still a disaster.

“It’s amazing that the governor heard probably about this press conference,” he said. “And now money is being released. But again, strike with numbers in solidarity. And you know what, everybody needs to be a voice. This is our safety. These are our roads.”

The state restoration plans to end by 2022.

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State Sen. Mario Mattera speaks at the May 21 press conference. Photo by Julianne Mosher

Last week, May 21, dozens of people from all walks of life gathered in front of the state office in Hauppauge to talk about how New York needs to fix its roadways.

Spearheaded by county Legislator Nick Caracappa (R-Selden), he had a bipartisan group of local and state representatives, as well as advocates for the safety of drivers, riders and walkers. 

The idea behind the press conference was to demand that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) fund more money toward fixing our roadways.

Ironically enough, that morning, a $30.6 million investment for resurface and repair projects was granted for Long Island state roads. 

But the meeting was still relevant. 

We heard the stories of motorcyclists, bike riders and people who choose to walk alongside state-run roads. They said how terrifying it is to navigate through the craters within the streets that are otherwise called potholes.

They are dangerous, and we applaud the legislator for standing his ground demanding more. We all complain that the roads are terrible around here — some towns are better than others because they have jurisdiction over their lanes. But when it comes to state roads — roads like Route 25 which drives completely through our newspapers’ coverage area, the Long Island Expressway and the Northern State Parkway — not only is it scary when you unintentionally hit a pothole, but it can be damaging to our vehicles.

Is New York State going to pay us back for the blown-out tires we’ve gotten driving to work? Are they going to repair our dented rims? 

No, they won’t. But the least the state can do is continuously fix up the large holes that sink into the blacktop. 

We know that it’s hard to keep up with. We know a lot of work goes into it. But after Friday’s conference, we know that there are many of us who want our major roadways to be safe.

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New machine fills a depression in 60 to 90 seconds; can repair more than 100 per day

Pothole Killer repairs a depression on Laurel Road in East Northport March 5. Photo By Sara-Megan Walsh.

Huntington Town officials are excited to be taking the Pothole Killer out for a test run on the local roadways. Hopefully, it will mean a smoother ride for all.

Kevin Orelli (D), Huntington’s Superintendent of Highways, unveiled that the town has struck an agreement with Patch Management, Inc. to try out a one-man spray-injection machine to repair potholes and cracks in Huntington’s roads during the next several months.

Huntington Superintendent of Highways Kevin Orelli and Supervisor Chad Lupinacci in front of the Pothole Killer. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh.

“We’ve been repairing potholes for than 50 years in the same method,” ORelli said. “We want to bring the Town of Huntington into the 21st century and use a new, more efficient method to do that work.”

Currently, Orelli said he sends out a crew of highway department workers with a hotbox containing hot asphalt to lay down a patch over the pothole. He estimated that a crew can fill approximately 40 potholes a day using this method.

Scott Kleiger, the inventor of the Pothole Killer with Patch Management said his machine can fill the average pothole in 60 to 90 seconds, with a skilled operator repairing more than 100 per day.

The Pothole Killer is run by a trained operator who remains inside the cab of the truck at all times, according to Kleiger, avoiding the roadway hazard of oncoming traffic.

“One of the key elements of this is safety,” he said as a former public works employee. “The job they do out there for the common good of the people is very dangerous and very tedious.”

Using a joystick, the machine’s operator positions an external arm over the crack or pothole which blows pressurized air into it, removing all loose debris. The machine is used to spray an asphalt emulsion, or “tack coat,” that provides an adhesive base for the filler material to bond to. Next, the machine coats aggregate filler in the asphalt emulsion to fill the hole or crack to surface level. Last, dry material is sprayed over the top of the repair.

Pothole Killer drops aggregate filler coated with asphalt into a depression. Photo by Sara-Megan Walsh.

“The roadway is open immediately, as it doesn’t stick to their tires,” said Brian Rutledge, a field sales agent for Patch Management.

Rutledge said the Pothole Killer is currently used in 10 states, including by Rhode Island and New Jersey Department of Transportation. Resident may be able to see the machine in action as New York State Department of Transportation uses it to fill holes and cracks along the Long Island Expressway.

Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) said that given this winter’s extreme cold weather, he anticipates it will be particularly bad year for potholes. The town has received more than 500 phone calls, according to Orelli, and already repaired more than 2,000 potholes this year.

“We expect the situation to get worse over the next several weeks, especially as we enter the spring season,” Lupinacci said.

Drivers can report developing cracks and potholes by visiting the town’s website at www.huntingtonny.gov, and going to Highway Department page, or by calling the Highway Operations Center directly at 631-499-0444.

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Jason Kontzamanys takes on Dan Losquadro on Nov. 3

Road paving is just one of the issues highway superintendent candidates will debate. File photo by Erika Karp

Jason Kontzamanys has been working in the Town of Brookhaven parks department for a decade, but the Democrat said he is looking for a new challenge, which prompted his decision to face off against Republican incumbent Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro in November.

Jason Kontzamanys is running on the democratic ticket against incumbent Republican Dan Losquadro. Photo from the candidate
Jason Kontzamanys is running on the democratic ticket against incumbent Republican Dan Losquadro. Photo from the candidate

In a recent interview, Kontzamanys, 45, of Port Jefferson Station, spoke about his plans for his campaign and what he would do if elected to the position. He said his years of experience working as a maintenance mechanic in the parks department and with blue-collar workers makes him the man for the job.

This is Kontzamanys’ first time running for office and the Comsewogue High School alumnus recently went back to school to earn his master’s degree in social studies education from Dowling College. He plans to obtain his doctorate in education administration and become a school administrator.

“I knew I could make a difference,” he said about accepting the nomination.

Kontzamanys said he believed the biggest issue plaguing the department is the overuse of subcontracting.

“The taxpayers should be upset as well,” he said. “The taxpayer is paying for a unionized workforce and they’re not being worked to their full potential.”

Kontzamanys began working for Brookhaven at the landfill and currently works out of the parks department’s base in Holtsville, where he helps with “all aspects of construction and maintenance,” he said. This has given him the opportunity to be versatile and get to know the whole town, he said.

He also has his Class A Commercial License to operate heavy equipment.

Bringing the subcontracted work in house is one of the first steps Kontzamanys would take to help boost the department’s morale, which he alleged is almost non-existent. He said keeping an open-door policy would also help boost spirits.

“You have to keep an open mind, because everybody has the right to be heard, whether it’s a taxpayer or an in-house union member,” he said.

Kontzamanys also said he has a vision to modernize the department and reduce the department’s debt service.

Jason Kontzamanys is running on the democratic ticket against incumbent Republican Dan Losquadro, above. File photo by Erika Karp
Jason Kontzamanys is running on the democratic ticket against incumbent Republican Dan Losquadro, above. File photo by Erika Karp

Losquadro, who was elected as superintendent in 2013, said in a phone interview that he disagreed with Kontzamanys’ notion that subcontracting was bad for the department and the workers aren’t being used. Losquadro said there was a tremendous backlog of work that needed to be done when he took office.

“We needed to go out and contract for that work to keep up with the volume,” he said.

He added that department crews are still responsible for responding to day-to-day complaints and completing routine work. He said the response time for services performed has greatly improved and the fixed-cost contracts gave the department the ability to attend to a high volume of work.

“I think it has been a great boon for the taxpayer,” Losquadro said.

Losquadro also responded to Kontzamanys’ claim that morale was down in the department, stating it is “exactly the opposite,” as he as tried to maintain a direct and open line to his employees.

Making the department more environmentally friendly is also crucial to Kontzamanys, he said, and he spoke about going after federal grants for solar sidewalks and solar panels on highway department land.

Looking at the big picture, Kontzamanys wants to explore additional shared services between municipalities in order to create a synergy between them. For example, collectively bidding on asphalt could help drive down the price.

“I don’t want to just manage, I want to completely transform,” he said.

Election Day is Nov. 3.

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Part of Andrea Drive in East Setauket needs to be repaired as of Tuesday. Photo by Elana Glowatz

By Julianne Cuba

Following another devastating winter on Long Island, Brookhaven Town is receiving a little boost from the New York State Department of Transportation’s Extreme Winter Recovery fund for the year 2015-16, Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro (R) has announced.

The Highway Department will receive more than $501,000, while last year it received more than $400,000 in recovery funds in order to improve Brookhaven’s infrastructure. Prior to 2014, the town had not received any additional funding recovery funds for road damage.

“I want to thank the Long Island delegation for working with me on securing this desperately-needed funding for Brookhaven,” Losquadro said in a press release. “The past two winters have been historically harsh and wreaked havoc on town roadways. The more funding we receive, the more roads we can pave.”

Part of Pleasant Drive in East Setauket needs to be repaired as of Tuesday. Photo by Elana Glowatz
Part of Pleasant Drive in East Setauket needs to be repaired as of Tuesday. Photo by Elana Glowatz

In a phone interview, Losquadro said he is continuing to look for other sources of revenue from all levels of government in order to offset the cost to local taxpayers, whether in grants or funding from the federal government.

“There’s easily five times the amount of work that needs to be done that I have money for … maybe even six or seven times,” he said.

Within the next week — hopefully by April 15 — Losquadro said he hopes the resurfacing of the roads will start, weather permitting. Like last year, the work will likely continue right up until November, he said.

For the past two years, Losquadro said the town has been able to repair about 60 miles of roadway each year.

“I’m hoping to be able to match that, if not surpass that, this year,” he said. “If we’re able to get a little extra money from New York State like we did last year, every dollar we get is another roadway I can do.”

Losquadro said “it’s not dollar to dollar,” and if he can get assistance in paying for other projects that the Highway Department would have otherwise had to fund, then he could repurpose that money for roadway paving.

He referenced the traffic safety grant, which had been awarded for North Country Road in Miller Place, as an example of money that will now be free to allocate for repaving elsewhere in the town.

“That [grant] money will allow us to redo that section of roadway, a lot of the work we would have had to do there will now be covered by that grant,” he said. “That’s an award that’s already been awarded. We are seeking grants on all levels. We are looking for sources from revenue and assistance from everywhere we can.”

Losquadro said that advocating for additional funds for the resurfacing of roads is generally not normal, but there is just not enough money in the budget.

“While we were certainly not happy to see another severe winter, I am happy that we’re able to provide additional funding. State representatives listened to myself and other highway superintendents and were able to secure additional funding again this year,” he said.

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Highway Superintendent Glenn Jorgensen patches a pothole in the Town of Smithtown as another highway department staffer looks on. File photo by Rachel Shapiro

Smithtown Highway Superintendent Glenn Jorgensen pleaded not guilty Wednesday to felony charges accusing him of tampering with public records for a town paving project, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

Jorgensen, 63, of St. James, was directed to appear in First District Court in Central Islip for his arraignment, where he faced several charges, including tampering with public records, falsifying business records, filing false records, official misconduct and grand larceny, relating to incidents dating back to Nov. 18, 2014.

The district attorney alleged that Jorgensen directed a highway foreman to alter road construction reports to conceal that he had approved a contractor, Suffolk Asphalt Corporation of Selden, to pave at least eight Smithtown streets in freezing temperatures in November. The altered records misrepresented the weather conditions during the repaving work, Spota said.

Jorgensen’s misdemeanor grand larceny charge also accused him of stealing a public work order for the improper repaving and taking the official document home. District attorney detectives found the records in Jorgensen’s Hope Place residence, under his bed, Spota said.

“State department of transportation construction standards dictate asphalt must not be applied to a road surface in freezing temperatures and, in fact, the town’s own engineer has said repaving in freezing weather would result in the asphalt falling apart,” Spota said. “The repaving of a residential street doesn’t happen that often and when it does, residents are paying for a job done correctly, not a faulty repaving that will soon need pothole repair work.”

Both Jorgensen and Anthony M. La Pinta, a Hauppauge-based attorney representing him, did not return calls seeking comment.

Jorgensen has authority over 142 employees with a $30 million annual operating budget to pay for snow removal and the paving, drainage and maintenance of roughly 450 miles of roads and curbs in the town. He was first elected in 2010 to serve as superintendent, but has worked in the department for 37 years in various capacities, including as a foreman. He left retirement in 2009 when he was elected superintendent and was re-elected in 2013.

Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio declined to comment on the district attorney’s charges against the highway superintendent.

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A young boy stands in a pothole on Woodhull Avenue in Port Jefferson Station to demonstrate its size. Photo from Dawn Andolfi

The Brookhaven Town Highway Department is recouping from the cold and moving on to a new task: filling those pesky potholes.

“This proved to be an exceptional winter,” Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro said in a Monday interview. “This year was worse than last year in terms of icing.”

The winter also proved to be costly. Losquadro estimated the department spent double the $3.6 million budgeted amount for snow removal, despite town officials injecting the budget line with an additional $1 million. Now, as the weather is warming up, the department is moving forward with repairing the roads.

A car swerves to avoid a pothole on Mount Sinai-Coram Road in Mount Sinai. Photo by Barbara Donlon
A car swerves to avoid a pothole on Mount Sinai-Coram Road in Mount Sinai. Photo by Barbara Donlon

Losquadro said the frequent below-freezing temperatures made the ground freeze deeper and is leading to potholes “literally forming overnight.” He said the warm daytime temperatures and colder nights aren’t helping the situation either, as the warming and refreezing of the ground allows liquid to get into cracks and expand.

Although the holes aren’t finished forming, repairs are on the way.

Losquadro said local asphalt plants are opening soon, which will benefit the department, as workers will no longer have to travel to and from Deer Park and Bay Shore to retrieve the materials.

“They were only able to [pick up] two loads a day, which doesn’t go a long way,” Losquadro said.

Despite the town’s effort, the potholes have been a nuisance for some residents. Mt. Sinai Bagel Cafe owner Marcus Argyros was driving on Mount Sinai-Coram Road on Monday when he popped a tire.

“I didn’t swerve and because it was in the middle of the road, I hit it and it popped my tire,” Argyros said, as he worked to put a spare tire on his car. “It’s like Mario Kart with all the potholes right now.”

In an effort to complete all of the repairs, Losquadro said the town is extending workdays by two hours.

Marcus Argyros changes his tire on the side of the road after hitting a pothole. Photo by Barbara Donlon
Marcus Argyros changes his tire on the side of the road after hitting a pothole. Photo by Barbara Donlon

While residents can try to get reimbursed, the likelihood of it happening during this time is unlikely, as the potholes are to be expected.

Losquadro urges residents to call the town when a pothole is visible so they can write it down and fix it as soon as possible.

As for next winter, Losquadro is already planning. He said he would ask for an increase in the snow removal budget, as he wants to avoid being in this situation again.

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