Greenport BID creates ‘dangerous sidewalk’ registry
Greenport’s Business Improvement District has started a new initiative to try to ensure that the sidewalks and other high pedestrian traffic areas throughout the village remain as safe as possible for their membership, patrons and visitors. This new initiative, a dangerous sidewalk condition registry, went live Wednesday, Aug. 20, and will help alert the village to any such conditions.
“There are areas that, unfortunately, are raised and tricky in the sense that if you’re older, [and] you’re not paying attention, you’re susceptible to taking a spill,” said vice president Richard Vandenburgh. “It’s the kind of thing where you see it once or twice, or you experience it once or twice, and it draws your attention even more to the conditions of the sidewalks. It’s more than just one or two; there are a number of areas. And honestly, it even extends well beyond the business district.”
The idea is simple: have a one-stop form where community members can report a possibly dangerous condition, have it notify the BID and, potentially, the village. Mr. Vandenburgh said this comes after several social media posts, letters and comments about the state of some of the walkways.
“The idea is to make us aware, so that we can become aware of the situation,” said Mr. Vandenburgh. “If there’s something that we have to address, this way we know it’s there. We can assist within the business district, and the village, hopefully, is going to get their road crew out there to try to remediate in the short term before they have to dig it up, pour new cement, or whatever they have to do. The idea was to kind of have everybody on the same page with the timing of the notification.”
Community members can fill out the form with all sorts of information to distinguish what exactly the issue is. People have to include the street address or the nearest intersection and a nearby business or landmark, if applicable. There is then the option to choose what kind of issue it is: a sidewalk crack or uneven surface, a pothole, a missing or loose paver, hazardous debris, or something else, with a detailed description of what it is and why it could be a safety risk. All complaints have to include your name, email and phone number.
On the village’s website, there is a code complaint form where residents can report alleged code violations, including noise, transient rentals, property maintenance, zoning and more. Once a complaint form is filled out, it is sent to Village Clerk Candace Hall and Deputy Clerk Jeanmarie Oddon to be dispersed to the appropriate party within the village, according to Ms. Hall. She said many residents also communicate with her directly regarding complaints or concerns, with the information being shared with the appropriate party.
Mr. Vandenburgh said the new dangerous sidewalk registry is not meant to combat anything preexisting, but to work alongside it to ensure community complaints are heard and issues are dealt with.
“This is not something that’s looking to cause problems. This is something to, hopefully, promote safety, security and awareness,” said Mr. Vandenburgh.
