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UWS Councilwoman Wants Residents to Pipe Up on Pothole Problems

City Councilwoman Gale Brewer says half the street damage in her neighborhood doesn't get reported to 311.
City Councilwoman Gale Brewer says half the street damage in her neighborhood doesn't get reported to 311.
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DNAinfo/Leslie Albrecht

UPPER WEST SIDE — Upper West Side streets are so packed with potholes that the neighborhood ranks second in Manhattan for 311 calls about street damage — and that's only counting half the total number of problems, according to City Councilwoman Gale Brewer.

A recent street survey by Brewer's office found that 50 percent of street damage in Brewer's district — which runs from West 54th to 96th Street — has never been reported to the city's 311 complaint hotline.

That could be one reason why potholes have become such a big problem in the neighborhood, Brewer said. If residents don't report damaged streets, the Department of Transportation can't repair them, she said.

Calling 311 gets results in most cases: Brewer's survey found that 77 percent of street damage reported to 311 between May and June was repaired during that two-month window.

About 20 percent of complaints weren't repaired at all. A small number — 3 percent — were repaired, but then quickly deteriorated, Brewer said.

"It's been repaired on the 311 listing, then you go out there and see it's a sinkhole or pothole again," Brewer said. "It needs to be more carefully monitored, because that's obviously a waste of money."

Brewer conducted the survey in response to skyrocketing pothole complaints on the Upper West Side following the harsh winter. Brewer called street damage the "number one quality of life complaint" in her district this year.

Ripped up streets are tough on cars, and make it harder for the neighborhood's seniors to get around, Brewer said.

Interns in Brewer's office visited the site of every 311 complaint about street damage — 224 in all — between May and July. They recorded 111 instances of ravaged roads that hadn't been reported to 311. Interns mapped potholes, cracks, "cave-ins" where the road sinks, and defects known as "hummucks," which are bumps in the road.

"I don't know if it's a result of a backlog, but there are many local streets that have fallen into a deplorable condition," Brewer said.

The DOT has agreed to repave 10 streets that are so badly damaged they're considered beyond repair, Brewer said. "In some cases, DOT needs to start from scratch," Brewer said.