Repairing the bumps in the road

Richard Hanke, on steamroller, flattens out some new asphalt on Webster Street last week.

Rossana Weitekamp

DPW Supervisor Mark Elowson, left, and his colleague James Antonutti, dig into the 300-degree asphalt waiting for placement on the roads.

Rossana Weitekamp

Jerry Cardella, a senior member of the DPW, drives the truck that hauls four tons of asphalt. He also drives the village street sweeper.

Rossana Weitekamp

Nick Lavrigata blows the debris away from a Webster Street pothole.

Rossana Weitekamp

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Paul Jessup, superintendent of the Malverne Department of Public Works, starts the day with a regular routine. He arrives at work during the wee hours of the morning, and makes several pots of coffee. He opens the building and has an informal meeting with his staff to plot out the day’s game plan.

Lately, a key part of their plan has included regular visits to Rason’s in Cedarhurst, which was been closed all winter and now has a hot, in-demand product for sale: tons and tons of 300-degree asphalt.

“We’re finally just getting to the decent weather where we can start on road repair,” said Jessup, “and in only three or four weeks, we’ll have to get all the ball fields ready so we have to get going on this.”

Jessup, who has 23 people on his staff, has to juggle each person’s work schedule so that they, in addition to handling the village’s sanitation, can now tend to the new demand of village pothole repair. “People ask how many potholes we have — I don’t know — a lot.” Jessup said he prioritizes repairs based on the village’s biggest and the worst.

Each day when the resources are available and the weather cooperates, members of the DPW will venture down to Rason’s and fill up their truck with four tons of asphalt, which they will easily use up in a single day. “Do you see that hole there?” asked Jessup, pointing to a newly repaired pothole at the corner of Webster Street and Foster Avenue. “That hole took 300 pounds of asphalt. That was a monster.”

Mark Elowson, a supervisor for the Malverne DPW, said many of the roads are starting to fail due to age. “Many of these streets are Cathy Hunt roads,” said Elowson, making reference to the former village mayor who authorized new street construction in the village in 1988. Elowson, who has been employed by the DPW for 34 years, said, “These roads were expected to last 20 years and are now past their time, but they are holding up well despite it.” The worst streets in town, according to him, were McIntosh, St. Thomas, Alnwick, Foster and Ackley.