Yesterday, Mayor Kamal Johnson held a public hearing on the proposed sidewalk law, which was narrowly passed by the Common Council in a special meeting on January 28. The hearing took place in person at City Hall. Four people, in addition to mayor's aide Michael Hofmann, Councilmember Margaret Morris (First Ward), and Gossips showed up for the hearing, and only two spoke. Those who did speak asked questions rather than expressing opposition or support for the legislation.
Bill Huston asked who would be hired to repair and replace sidewalks, expressing the opinion that it should not be A. Colarusso and Sons. Vanessa Grener, who said she lived on Joslen Place, asked if being assessed a sidewalk fee meant she would get a sidewalk. Huston, speaking for the second time, asked who would decide what gets done. Hofmann explained that a new committee would be formed to determine the budget and set priorities. The committee will be made up of the Commissioner of Public Works, now Peter Bujanow; the ADA coordinator, now Hofmann; one representative from the Common Council; two representatives from the community.
It is assumed that Johnson signed the sidewalk law after the public hearing. The legislation is subject to a permissive referendum. If there is to be a referendum, a petition with the required number of signatures must be filed with the city clerk in the next 45 days.
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In response to Bill Hustons question, I think the answer is covered under NYS law and that he may want to familiarize himself with section 103 of the General Municipal Law in regards to "Advertising for bids and offers".
ReplyDeleteOne should educate themselves to how processes work particularly in this case to mitigate favoritism or to some who feel or don't like certain people or organizations.
https://ogs.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2019/06/Local%20Government%20-%20What%20You%20Need%20to%20Know.pdf
Actually, at the meeting I referenced Colarusso's shoddy concrete curb ramp work from 2 November's ago as a cautionary tale - I did not say Colarusso shouldn't be allowed to do the future sidewalk work. My suggestion was to be sure there is a warranty or guarantee against poor work that doesn't hold up, which appears to not be written into the DPW's contract for biannual CHIPs related repaving of streets and curb ramps, always done by Colarusso. DPW is still in the process of replacing south 3rd street because of Colarusso's crap work in 2017. Bill Huston
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