Why Would He Care?

Why do you suppose Verizon hired a local contractor to completely replace a long-time damaged, loose and noisy -- and possibly dangerous -- manhole cover today on N. 3rd Street?  How did Verizon become aware of the problem cover and its supporting structure?  Did they notice it themselves?  No, they did not.  

Did our DPW Superintendent or anyone at DPW notice the loose and ancient manhole cover with missing asphalt and concrete surrounding it and decide to notify Verizon to get them to fix their problem?   No, certainly not.  Did our mayor get the attention of Verizon to fix the nuisance manhole cover that was making so much noise and would commonly be considered a quality of life issue, a safety issue, and an infrastructure issue?  No, certainly not.  How about Craig Haigh at Code Enforcement?  Any Common Council members?  Or could it have been someone at the Hudson Police Department who has driven over and past the obviously loose and damaged manhole cover for the past year or two?  No, no, and no. 

It couldn't have been me, could it have been?  Of course it was!  Rest assured, it was not our $115,000 DPW Superintendent who picked up the phone to get Verizon to tend to their responsibility in the middle of a city street.  We shouldn't even expect such a simple effort from him anymore, let alone him acknowledging the problem. 

I was lucky enough to recently obtain the phone numbers of the 2 Verizon maintenance supervisors for our area, so I gave one of them a call a few weeks ago.  I told him that a loose manhole cover on N. 3rd Street, which appeared to be Verizon's, was in need of attention.  He thanked me for the call and said he would look into it.  Voila, there they were this morning -- 2 Verizon workers wtching as several workers from J & R Contracting performed the very difficult task of replacing a manhole cover and its supporting structure.  They were taking care of a problem on our very busy truck route that apparently our DPW Superintendent and so many others at City Hall simply didn't give a hoot about.  Makes you wonder what else Robert Perry and the others don't have time for, doesn't it?  Does our DPW Superintendent even have the phone numbers of the local Verizon maintenance supervisors?  Don't count on it! 

The owner of ("In God We Trust") J&R Contracting was there supervising his crew replacing Verizon's manhole apparatus.  He actually thanked me for letting Verizon know about the damaged manhole and bringing a job his way, then somewhat jokingly told me that he "owed me a dinner at a restaurant."   I suggested a gift certificate instead.    

5 months ago, HUDseen ran a short article on this particular manhole cover and related issues, titled Has Anyone Seen Robert Perry Or Know Where His Office Is Located?  It includes videos of the offending and ignored manhole cover.  You can read it here: (Anyone Seen Rob?). That is the article in which I write of being told by two customer service reps at Verizon's 800 number that Verizon does not own or maintain manhole covers.  Actually, as I have come to learn recently, if a manhole cover has the Ma Bell logo (!) in the center, it is owned by Verizon.  Even their new replacement covers have the bell. (And, yes, Verizon has lines above our streets as well as below them!)

If you happen to notice a Verizon manhole cover in need of attention, DO NOT -- I repeat, DO NOT -- even attempt to contact our $115,000 DPW Superintendent about the problem.  Chances are he will ignore both you and the problem, even if you are able to track him down.  

You know who to contact!