3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

for only the month of December... No wonder you guys pay such high property tax...

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

That's the OT baby! They don't call it Crookhaven for nothing!!

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

that's funny that they spent that much and still managed to not plow at all near my house or any other back roads that I know of

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

RIDICULOUS!

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Amazing, and it was a Sh!t job done.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

yup---fell on my butt...guess they didn't sand so well.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

thats crap! I think someone padded that bill. BIGTIME! The roads by me sucked!

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Posted by ashap215

that's funny that they spent that much and still managed to not plow at all near my house or any other back roads that I know of

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Posted by neener1211

Posted by ashap215

that's funny that they spent that much and still managed to not plow at all near my house or any other back roads that I know of

My road sat unplowed for 3 days....nice.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

what! there's no way!

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

I just want to add my opinion since my dad plowed for the Town of OB.

There are only 150-200 guys and hundreds of more roads then that. My dad would be gone for DAYS at a time. He once had a man throw a shovel at his truck for plowing him in. That man would probably be the same guy to call and complain if his road wasn't plowed. So people get mad when they plow and when they don't plow.

After hours and hours they would tell him to take an hour and a half break to get some rest and something to eat. He would park somewhere and get honked at over and over b/c people thought he was sleeping on the job.

Snow sucks! Plain and simple. There is only so much everyone can do. It's not easy for the plowers out there either.

Message edited 1/5/2010 11:58:51 AM.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Posted by TreAnt427

Posted by timanda

Posted by TreAnt427

I just want to add my opinion since my dad plowed for the Town of OB.

There are only 150-200 guys and hundreds of more roads then that. My dad would be gone for DAYS at a time. He once had a man throw a shovel at his truck for plowing him in. That man would probably be the same guy to call and complain if his road wasn't plowed. So people get mad when they plow and when they don't plow.

After hours and hours they would tell him to take an hour and a half break to get some rest and something to eat. He would park somewhere and get honked at over and over b/c people thought he was sleeping on the job.

Snow sucks! Plain and simple. There is only so much everyone can do. It's not easy for the plowers out there either.

I made a comment about the plowing being a joke, and I'm sorry. I was actually thinking about the drivers I've seen on the side of the road napping and I would have thought the same thing (that they were slacking off).....I am honestly sorry.

HOWEVER, I've been in Brookhaven for 10-15 years now, and I have to say that this year the plowing has been particularly shoddy. It's as if no one was prepared. A full 24 hrs after the blizzard my parents street still had about 6 inches of unplowed snow - which has never happened before.

For me personally, if the town paid out $10 million and all of the roads were plowed and safe and clear, I wouldn't have a single complaint.

I wasn't aiming my response to any post in particular. Just wanted to point out the other side. I agree that some roads weren't plowed that great, but I think of all the people that were away from their families for days to get done what they could.

This is the first year that my dad is retired and my mom said he spent that day yelling at the TV about all the people complaining.

It's not easy on anyone. And I'm sure there are some workers who are out there slacking off as well.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

I feel very compelled to respond to this because most of my family works for the TOB.

I won't defend the fact that these jobs can be cushy at times. I laugh to myself about it and always tell them that I'm glad my taxes aren't paying their salaries because I'd be ******. Truth is, even my town in NJ is the same way. It's sort of like a "cultural" thing with gov't jobs (definately not ALL gov't jobs). But look at the DMV for example. Most workers their move at the pace of a snail.

What I will say is that after seeing my family go out and plow for days at a time for years and years and years I would never criticize the work that they do in those cases. It's long hours. It's grueling because you get no breaks (other than the snooze on the side of road which wouldn't you think is reasonable after working 24-48 hours). And they do the best they can.

Could it be possible that maybe they really weren't prepared for the 2 feet of snow that they got? Come on, when was the last time Suffolk got that much snow. In December no less. The blizzard of '78 was in February, no?

Just because every single side street wasn't plowed do you really think it is because all of the drivers were asleep on the side of the road? It was as state of emergency. I'm sure main roads were main priority. And they worked off of the assumption that people should only be traveling when necessary (to get to work, in an emergency). Not because they needed to go Christmas shopping. That is part of what a state of emergency implies -- people should stay off the roads. As a sidenote --- I think because it was a state of emergency TOB will get aid from either the state or federal gov't.

As far at OT goes...yes, it is expensive. I won't argue with that. That particular snow fall fell on a weekend where Saturday's hours were all time and a half and Sunday was double time! Sure wish I was getting that check this week. Kind of the luck of the draw I guess as to when it falls.

And yes, I'm sure their are bad eggs out there who completely take advantage of the system. However, I don't think the term "Crookhaven" was created because of the people who work for the highway department. I'm sure the "crooks" in "Crookhaven" were snuggled toasty in their beds while these guys worked for 3 and 4 days straight.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

It's ridiculous how people jump on these bandwagons...what were the costs for snow removal in Oyster Bay, Smithtown, Babylon, etc? Does anyone think about the sheer size of Brookhaven? It stretches from Ronkonkoma to Moriches, North Shore to South Shore. That is a HUGE area to cover and since it usually snows maybe 6 times a year on LI....
I get so tired of hearing people complain about plowing. It's snow, they do the main roads first, the secondary roads second and so on. So yes, your cul-de-sac is last on the list.

And BTW, the best thing people should be doing in any snowstorm is stay home, let the plows do their job and don't worry about getting to the store, mall, restaurant, etc.

And that's my vent for the day!

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Message edited 1/5/2010 1:45:25 PM.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Posted by Gertyrae

It's ridiculous how people jump on these bandwagons...what were the costs for snow removal in Oyster Bay, Smithtown, Babylon, etc? Does anyone think about the sheer size of Brookhaven? It stretches from Ronkonkoma to Moriches, North Shore to South Shore. That is a HUGE area to cover and since it usually snows maybe 6 times a year on LI....
I get so tired of hearing people complain about plowing. It's snow, they do the main roads first, the secondary roads second and so on. So yes, your cul-de-sac is last on the list.

And BTW, the best thing people should be doing in any snowstorm is stay home, let the plows do their job and don't worry about getting to the store, mall, restaurant, etc.

And that's my vent for the day!

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

Posted by Gertyrae

It's ridiculous how people jump on these bandwagons...what were the costs for snow removal in Oyster Bay, Smithtown, Babylon, etc? Does anyone think about the sheer size of Brookhaven? It stretches from Ronkonkoma to Moriches, North Shore to South Shore. That is a HUGE area to cover and since it usually snows maybe 6 times a year on LI....
I get so tired of hearing people complain about plowing. It's snow, they do the main roads first, the secondary roads second and so on. So yes, your cul-de-sac is last on the list.

And BTW, the best thing people should be doing in any snowstorm is stay home, let the plows do their job and don't worry about getting to the store, mall, restaurant, etc.

And that's my vent for the day!

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

I'm a life long resident of Brookhaven town. Snow removal issues are nothing new. They are never prepared (no matter how little or how much snow we get) and 3 days of an unplowed road is unacceptable, espeically with the money being spent. By day 3 I had to go to work, I wasn't looking to go shopping or out to eat (neither of which I had any intention of doing that particular weekend anyway).
Yes Brookhaven is a large township, but so are many upstate counties that seem to have it figured out by now. Last time I checked, snow on Long Island isn't a new issue, in fact it happens almost very year in some capacity.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

I live in Brookhaven - my neighborhood was plowed very well.

As far as property taxes, my taxes are cheaper than a comparable house in TO Smithtown with more land, so no complaints there

Brookhaven is about the size of nassau county. Of course its going to be $$

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

sorry double post!

Message edited 1/5/2010 3:46:03 PM.

Re: 3 Million $$$ for snow removal in the town of Brookhaven.

My friend's father works for the TOB, and he said that they hired a whole bunch of young kids to plow this year who were completely inexperienced and did a terrible job. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. All I know is that it is probably impossible for them to keep up with the kind of snow we had and not practical to even have enough trucks and/or workers on hand all the time for the kind of snow that happens only once every decade or so. What can you do? It's just a reality that the plowing isn't always going to keep up with the snowfall. Not that you have to like it, but what can you do?