Streetlights repaired along Route 878

Along state Route 878, also known as the Nassau Expressway, the Town of Hempstead has replaced 83 streetlights with new fixtures and more efficient, money-saving LED, or light-emitting diode, bulbs, from Rockaway Turnpike to the Lawrence-Cedarhurst bridge at the intersection of Bayview Avenue and Route 878.

The lights along the section of the highway that runs through the Village of Lawrence, however, have not been replaced. Those lights, according to the town, are the village’s responsibility.

The town began installing the lights on Oct. 7 and 8, Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky, a town spokeswoman, said. “The supervisor ultimately decided that the LED light project would benefit the town through cost savings, the big reason for the install,” she said. “Town of Hempstead contractors have done the work.”

According to town officials, the town is “seeing the light,” with an innovative streetlight-replacement project, funded by its capital-replacement program, in which 50,000 high-pressure sodium street lamps are being replaced with “state-of-the-art” LED fixtures throughout the town. Given the annual replacement cost of $250,000 for conventional light fixtures, the LED bulbs, with a much longer life expectancy, are anticipated to generate a substantial savings. Depending on use, LEDs last 20,000 to 50,000 hours, or approximately 30 times longer than incandescent bulbs and five times longer than fluorescents, based on industry standards.

Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner said it was “fabulous” that the town was installing the lights, as the darkness on sections of the road has been a concern of his for the past two years. But the village, it turns out, will have to replace the lights on the portion of 878 that runs through it, from Bayview to the Atlantic Beach Bridge.

“Our part of the road is maintenance liability,” Oliner said. “This is different from capital-improvement projects, which is what the lights would be. I did a lot of research on this matter. Our responsibility falls under maintenance, things like cutting the grass and everything else. The village has never been in a position to deal with these lights. The lights are hooked up to a central grid. This is too involved at the village level.”

But Trenkle-Pokalsky said that the village is indeed responsible for repairing the lights in that area. “The Village of Lawrence is responsible for the maintenance of their portion of the highway, including their lights,” she said. “The town does not install or maintain lights in the villages.”

According to Eileen Peters, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, the portion of Route 878 in question falls under the jurisdiction of the village and Nassau County.

“Both entities are responsible,” Peters said. “They are both responsible for the lighting in that section of Route 878, from Bayview Avenue to the Atlantic Beach Bridge. I know that the village has had good intentions in getting lights repaired but have dealt with complications in trying to get them fixed.”

Atlantic Beach resident Barry Ringelheim uses the expressway daily to commute to work, and initially made the Herald aware that the lights needed repair last December.

“I’d specifically written to officials, and nobody had done anything,” he said. “It’s so dark out there that it’s dangerous to drive there. Someone could get into an accident at night and nobody would even know they’d gotten into one because it’s so dark out there. Nobody would have been able to see them to find them. The village said it was the state’s responsibility and the state said it was the village’s. Everyone’s running around and the problem isn’t getting resolved.”