ROAD RAGE: Malverne residents miffed by miscommunication

The road surface along Rider Avenue in Malverne is smooth. Recently repaved, the asphalt is black, clean and level. It clashes with the curbs, some of which are marked up, broken or deteriorating.

That contrast has led to conflict between Rider Avenue residents and village officials over the conditions of the sidewalks and curbs. At the heart of the discord is residents’ question: Why the sudden demand for repairs by the village? Residents raised the matter at the Dec. 1 village board meeting, expressing their frustration and demanding answers from village trustees and Mayor Patricia McDonald.

The trouble began in October, when the village board mailed notices to 75 area homes informing residents that they might be in violation of a village ordinance requiring property owners to maintain sidewalks and curbs at their own expense. The notices outlined the ordinance — adopted into the village code in 1934 and amended in 1968 — but offered few details and little explanation, according to resident Bill McLoughlin, whose family has owned property on Rider Avenue since 1970.

Although labeled a “notice of violation and order to remedy,” the letter did not specify exactly what constitutes a violation, the time frame within which residents must comply or how to go about obtaining proper permits and hiring licensed contractors to do the work. The notice did, however, ask residents to call the Buildings Department to discuss their individual property.

“I think the whole thing was handled in a very irresponsible fashion,” McLoughlin said. “My concern is for a lot of people on this block who maybe don’t understand the letter, maybe can’t afford to comply with this. I know there’s a lot of retired people on this block, a lot of senior citizens who are certainly living on a limited income [and] may be frightened by a letter like this … because it seems somewhat threatening.”