Friday, October 2, 2026
One of the most common and reoccurring questions that I’m asked on a regular basis is about our roads in Valley Stream.
So, how about we let the facts speak for themselves? First, the village has almost 90 miles of roadway. That doesn’t include parking lots, sidewalks, walking paths, municipal areas, firehouses, village buildings or acres of parks that have concrete and asphalt areas. Ninety miles is like driving on Sunrise Highway from Valley Stream to Montauk, and being responsible for maintaining, cleaning, repairing, removing snow and paving that entire stretch.
Naturally, everyone thinks their road is the most important road. Of course, there are worse roads and intersections, but you see your own street on a regular basis. We rate and rank all village roads, and try to prioritize and stick to engineering statistics. But things like water main breaks, utility and emergency street openings — water, gas and communications companies seem to have to open streets all the time — accidents and potholes do change where our road program contractors and village street crews are sent to next.
As always, we count on residents to reach out and contact us about particular areas of concern. I met with a resident at the Rockaway Avenue car show recently, and he asked when the village would dispatch a crew to fix the pothole on his block. I asked him when he reported it, and he said he didn’t. He assumed that we’d just know about it.
In a perfect world, that might be the case, but in reality, more often than not, we need residents to be our eyes and ears. We can’t be everywhere all the time.
Since my mayoral term began, we have spent over $32 million completely repaving our streets from curb to curb, including concrete curbs and aprons. Mind you, that’s just what we’ve spent on resurfacing projects in our annual road program, not all the day-to-day work, cleaning and repairs by our dedicated village crews. The current road-improvement map can be found at Valleystreamny.gov. Click on Village Departments, then Highway Department, then scroll down to view the map.
We have sweepers out five days a week. They collect almost 200 tons of dirt, debris and litter from our streets every year. That’s 750 pounds of debris per day. Folks say they never see the sweepers, but they’re collecting it all from somewhere, mostly in the early-morning hours. Many streets are in good or even great condition, so naturally they won’t see the sweepers or repaving or pothole repair, because there isn’t an immediate need.
Sadly, there’s plenty of litter from inconsiderate motorists traveling through the village, and we must deal with this on a regular, often unscheduled basis.
The quality of life that Valley Stream residents enjoy is built on a foundation of strong municipal services, proactive infrastructure maintenance and a commitment to responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Besides our annual road program, we have the day-to-day work undertaken by the Highway Department, which maintains and preserves our roadways. With a combination of preventive maintenance, rapid response and strategic infrastructure improvements, the department works year-round to ensure that residents can travel safely on well-maintained roads.
A hallmark of the village’s service philosophy is its exceptional response to residents’ concerns. When they receive complaints about potholes, Highway Department crews typically respond in less than 30 minutes, providing residents with one of the most responsive roadway-maintenance programs in the region. This dedication to resident service ensures that roadway hazards are addressed quickly and efficiently before they become larger issues.
The village’s proactive approach to pavement preservation helps prevent costly roadway failures while maximizing taxpayer investment. Each year, Highway Department crews complete more than 20 major asphalt patch repairs and roughly three dozen smaller asphalt repairs throughout the village. These projects address deteriorating pavement conditions before they require more extensive, and expensive, reconstruction.
Naturally, winter weather presents significant challenges for municipalities across the Northeast, but Valley Stream’s Highway Department remains prepared to respond. Following major snowstorms, crews may utilize up to three-quarters of a ton of asphalt in a single day repairing potholes and roadway damage caused by freeze-thaw cycles and harsh weather conditions. That dedication helps maintain safe travel conditions while protecting the village’s roadway infrastructure.
Rest assured, we will always keep our roadways, and our residents, as safe as possible.
Ed Fare is the mayor of Valley Stream.
