Nassau County Bridge Authority initiates legal action against Lawrence village

The Nassau County Bridge Authority is taking legal action against Lawrence village after deflected requests to fix the lighting on the Nassau Expressway, also known as state route 878, on the Lawrence side of the Atlantic Beach Bridge.

They have filed a notice of claim, sending letters to Governor Kathy Hochul, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office among others.

“We passed a resolution just now, authorizing our attorney to commence litigation against the incorporated Village of Lawrence for failure to maintain it’s lighting,” Samuel Nahmias, chairman of the NCBA said at what was deemed an emergency bridge authority meeting on Jan. 15.

Nahmias, Deputy Manager of the NCBA Rosemarie Evola and Vice Chairman Vincent Pasqua attended the Jan. 10 Lawrence board meeting to express concerns regarding nearly 54 lights out on the expressway. The bridge authority said is conducte a recent survey.

“The issue is that it’s very dark there and it’s a hazard it’s a matter of safety,” Evola said.

In 2019, Ronald Goldman said that electrical wires connected to the lights were eroded and continued to erode due to Hurricane Sandy.

Lawrence Mayor Alex Edelman said that the issue is beyond the village’s control.

“The underground repairs which have to be done are not the villages responsibility,” he said. “Our responsibility stops at changing the light bulbs and making sure the bulbs are on.”

At the Jan. 10 meeting, Goldman clarified Edelman’s response stating that the state assigned maintenance to the village, but beyond that it’s the Department of Transportation’s responsibility.

“Because of Sandy, it became a capital improvement,” he said of the nonfunctional lights.

Goldman said that in speaking with the DOT, the agency did not agree that repairing the lights is a capital improvement.

“As we have previously informed the village, local municipalities are responsible for maintaining lighting along state highways, except in select instances where NYSDOT had previously determined the lighting was necessary on that highway when it was built,” Glen Blain, a DOT assistant director of communications wrote in an email.

Goldman said the village had made a plan with a previous bridge authority board to tackle the lighting as a joint effort, but did not mention what year. That board found the repair work was much more expensive than they thought.

Lawrence resident Abraham Pinto suggested emergency lighting towers to be installed at the Jan. 10 village meeting.

Edelmen expressed dissatisfaction with the idea, at the meeting, but suggested that the bridge authority take on the task to which Nahmias said was impossible.

Evola said that the NCBA has been in contact with the state October 2019. She said that the state wrote the lights were the responsibility of the village, in an email that village officials were copied on. Bridge Authority Executive Director Raymond Webb, said he contacted the village in September to re-inform Lawrence officials of the state’s stance and the danger of the situation.

Goldman said the village had responded with the identical response they were giving at the Jan. 10 meeting.

“To me it would seem that Lawrence should be speaking to the state and trying to solve it with the state because they’re both pointing fingers,” Nahmias said.

Lawrence officials did not attend the NCBA’s Jan. 15 meeting.

Have an opinion on the Nassau Expressway light situation? Send letter to jbessen@liherald.com.

The change in the number of lights that are out along the Nassau Expressway refects updated information.