Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

100 to Go

February 3rd, 2011

With the last 100 days of my term upon me, I am reminded of an anecdote from my high school track days. Don't laugh; yes, there was a time before I smoked cigarettes when I was athletic. Nevertheless, during my first cross country season, I found myself finishing a few races passing 10 runners or so right at the end. My coach grabbed me on the side and simply stated, "Fitz, your head's not in the right place". He went on to explain his comment by imparting his philosophy that if I had that much gas left in the tank at the end, I wasn't putting in the proper effort throughout the whole race. He stated he would rather see me collapse a hundred yards from the finish line. One should hit the finish line having expended all energy and knowing you put forth your best effort.

That lesson will certainly be applied to my service as Mayor of the Village of Tuckahoe. Not the part where I collapse 100 yards from the finish line but where I finish with all effort expended. So entering my last 100 days in office or the proverbial final 100 yards - the work doesn't end. That work is always looking for ways to improve our community and if there is one topic that is on everyone's mind it is snow. You didn't think I was going to say the completion of Main Street, did you?

The unbelievable snowfall we have been experiencing has been logistically difficult as well as sapping a great deal of our resources. January 2011 in NYC has already seen 36 inches, making it the snowiest since 1925. The snowiest February on record for the city was 2010 with 36". Let's hope we don't see a repeat of that because disposing of the snow will be more challenging. The upside of this snow deluge is it has been excellent time to sharpen our response. We have experienced new successes and old failures. For instance, this year we appear to be reining those businesses who previously believed they could throw the snow from their parking lots in the streets. I would love to report that this year the DPW plows have not hit any of residents' vehicles, but that will have to be reported by a future mayor.

Many residents call my office to notify me of the minor or major inadequacies of our response to snow. Taking these reports and converting them into ways for the government to be more responsive and ease the daily lives of residents is the core good governing. The best part of this continual dialogue is most ideas come at little or no cost.

The first snow event of the season took place on December 14th, it was a light dusting by current events but it was significant since it started the annual conversation of Snow Zone designated streets. The snow zone streets in the northern portion of the village are Dante Avenue, Bella Vista Street, Verdi Avenue, Hollywood Avenue, Coolidge Street and Farragut Street. While in the southern portion of the village: ArmourVilla Avenue, Lake Avenue, Yonkers Avenue, Sagamore Road, Grant Street, Maynard Street, Wallace Street, Rogers Street, Terrace Place, S. High Street, Van Duzen Place and Westview Avenue.

Snow Zone streets have sides that parking is prohibited on during snowfall and ending 12 hours after snow ceases to fall. Since parking is so critical to the residents, the village doesn't prohibit parking seasonally to facilitate plowing but instead only once it is actually snowing. The fine to the owner of any vehicle found in violation of this section can be up to $75. Contrary to the belief of a few that these tickets are viewed as revenue generators, it is always my intent to reduce the amount of tickets residents receive, whenever possible. Regarding the first snow storm of the year the weather service didn't predict a snowfall of significance. Many residents, 65 in fact, went to bed parked on Snow Zone street only to wake with a ticket on their window. As with any snow, there is a procedure: here the snow started falling around midnight and the DPW were not dispatched until 1:30 am. The Tuckahoe Police Department makes the call to the DPW when our streets are deemed hazardous and plows are dispatched. When plows are dispatched, any vehicle on the designated streets is considered in violation of the law. Unfortunately, in some events like December 17th, this occurs long after people have laid their heads on their pillow.

In an effort to afford residents more protection from being ticketed during these events, the village will institute a "robo call" for residents who sign up. A phone call will take place informing residents a snow event is occurring and they will have 30 minutes to move their vehicle. Only those who sign up will be called and the phone list will not be used for any other purpose. Not everyone may want to take advantage of this call since it may occur at 2 am; however, the village government is committed to assisting residents. Of course, once the phone call arrives, residents will still have the option to roll over and not leave the comfortable confines of their bed, but that will be their decision.

For 2011, may our Tuckahoe Village and its residents continue to prosper, and finally, I will confess my belief that the mission of SETI or the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence looks more hopeful than my own search for intelligence from Tuckahoe Housing Authority Commissioners.