Phil Wong questions DOT on street light repair response times
Wong shares that constituent requests for burned-out street lamps take months to get a reply. Dean says replies should not take that long, explains repairs typically take 10 days for evaluation, and more complex wiring or Con Edison issues can take longer, but commits to improving communication.
Regarding intro, Councilmember Wong, go ahead.
Thank you, Chair.
Regarding...
Replacement of fixtures in my district because I work for my predecessor, Robert Holden, and I handle constituent services.
When we make a request to either repair or replace a burned out street lamp or like a fixture that's on a trestle, it takes a very long time just to get a reply.
Like I myself follow up on the case.
It took three months for me to get a reply that, okay, we'll work on it.
You know, can you talk about it?
Why does it take so long?
Because constituents are concerned when you have, say, you live in a residential block and one street light out, you know, they feel very unsafe when that happens.
Please talk about it.
Yeah, certainly we can.
Make sure we're getting a reply back sooner than that.
It shouldn't take so long, certainly, to let you know that something's being worked on.
As far as the repair itself, it can vary.
Typically, our contractors have 10 days to sort of evaluate
either make the repair or determine if something more substantial is necessary.
So sometimes it's a fairly simple matter, like you said.
Sometimes it's just a burnt-out fixture that needs to be replaced.
Other times there might be more extensive issues with the wiring or maybe with the con-ed feed.
So in those instances, it can take longer to make the actual repair.
But we can certainly make sure that we're at least keeping you informed on when those issues arise.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Councilmember.