In God They Trust

554-556 Union Street

The owners of the lot at 554-556 Union Street began work a month or two ago on what appears to be a foundation for a house.  One of the contractors for the job, J & R, a local company, excavated 2 strips of the sidewalk and the street in front of the property.  Last week, I asked at DPW if there had been a Street Permit issued for that excavation, and I was told that there had not been.  Based on Street Permits I have seen for similar excavation, I'm thinking that had the contractor been issued a permit to excavate, it would have cost them at least $200.  It is not possible that J & R didn't know of the required permit to excavate.  They have been excavating our streets and sidewalks for years, if not decades.

Pardon me for asking, but 
what is a VERTIFICATE?

No permit, no fee paid,
no "vertificate of insurance,"
no problem

J & R covered their excavation on the sidewalk and in the street with blacktop that they didn't bother smoothing at all.  It's a lumpy mess, and the sidewalk is much worse than it was prior to the excavation.  I have not seen anyone working at the property in at least two weeks.

432 Warren

In December, J & R Contracting Company did some excavating in front of 432 Warren to get at pipes below the street and sidewalk.  They were issued a DPW Street Permit for that job, paying $200 for a "single opening of less than 3 square yards," or 27 square feet.  I measured the hole J&R dug in front of 432 Warren, and it is much larger than 27 square feet.  Given the actual size of the excavation, the permit that DPW issued to J&R should have cost at least $300, likely closer to $400.

According to the rules for all DPW Street Permits, "After backfilling, you are required to cover the excavation with cold mix or bvlacktop (sic)."  J&R did no such thing, instead covering their hole in the street and sidewalk with something resembling grainy concrete that is not holding up well at all and is a hazard to bicyclists.  That was 4 months ago.  The permit goes on to stipulate: "Failure to comply with any of the aforementioned terms may result in the suspension of your operating permit within the City of Hudson."

Hmmm.... is that so, Mr. Perry?

J & R's logo, found on all their trucks, signs, and on their building on Route 66 in Greenport, says "In God We Trust."  I feel so much better.  Don't you, too?

This all reminds me of that scene in the Treasure of the Sierra Madre.  "Vertificate?  We don't need no stinking vertificate!  Permit? We don't need no stinking permit!"