Is that a legally-placed political sign?

State government and industry chime in

Posted

Two weeks ago, the Herald published a story addressing the prevalence of political signs in the Town of Hempstead, the regulations surrounding them, and their potential influence over voter behavior. Our article was met with additional reader questions and comments concerning the legalities of political signs placed on county and state roads, hung on utility poles, and the public’s right to remove them.

In an effort to answer some of the more popular inquiries, we’ve brought our readers’ questions to government and corporate officials, who provided further insight.

In a nutshell, however, we found that despite the policies concerning political signs, their presence is often too pervasive to fight for those who’d prefer that the signs remain off their property.

Reader comment: There are codes or rules regarding the placement of political signs, and a distinction between putting them on town, county and state roads, particularly if they are in the right of way.

Our research:
Concerning state roads, the New York State Department of Transportation has a policy — not a law or a code — stating that it will remove any political sign if it interferes with the maintenance of its roads, or if it receives a complaint about any sign. Valid complaints include anything from the sign spoiling the landscape, to impeding the right of way and safety concerns. “We certainly don’t encourage these signs being put on the state’s right of way, and after Election Day is over, we hope that the candidates will collect the signs themselves,” said Eileen Peters, Public Information Officer
for the New York State Department of Transportation on Long Island. “However, our crews will collect them after a week and keep them at our maintenance yard for them to pick up.” Peters added that if residents have an issue with political signs, they may contact the NYS Department of Transportation at 631-952-6702 and a crew will arrive within several days to remove the sign.

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