Is This Why National Grid Is Requesting A Rate Hike From The NYS Department of Public Service?

 

I wonder how much money National Grid spent this past August "repairing" the huge sinkhole along the de facto public trail on their property behind Oakdale Lake.  Workers, machinery, gravel and fill, days of work, yellow caution tape and dozens of NO TRESPASSING signs (which all soon disappeared) all add up to a few dollars, don't it?  Oh, and don't forget the magenta paint sprayed on the trail (on the fucking dirt!) from the spray paint can that ended up in the turtle pond that they PARTIALLY own.  That paint vanished a lot quicker than the floating can in the pond did, surprise fucking surprise!  (read here: Paint in the Pond!)

Since the sinkhole/erosion/National Grid/Youth Department/public trail/Oakdale Park/No Trespassing/Spray Paint mess began in early June, Youth Department Director Liz York has mentioned the situation two or three times during her department reports.  (DPW Superintendent Rob Perry has not mentioned it once, only because DPW does not maintain our largest public park.)  According to the minutes from September's informal meeting, here is a portion of what Liz said:  "The mayor's office is working with Didi Barrett's office to arrange a meeting with National Grid.  It sounds like they're trying to get a survey done.  Having access to that trail and maintaining the resources that it offers us are really important to us and the city."

Picture and caption from a September HUDseen article

IT'S BACK!  (picture taken this morning,
as was the lead picture)

A month later, Liz said this:  "The mayor's office contacted Didi Barrett's office about arranging a meeting with National Grid regarding access to a trail on its property.  The utility repaired a sinkhole there. Both sides are completing a survey to bring to the table."

No mention of the issue was made at this month's meeting.

This is not a sinkhole/erosion problem per se, and National Grid should know this.  It is a rainwater/runoff flow issue, and you don't need to be a land or water engineer to see where the problem is coming from.  I didn't see the first erosion hole coming, but I knew the second would show up, just not so soon.  National Grid's effort to solve the problem with loose gravel and dirt was laughable, as if they had no clue what they were doing.   Also unsurprising to me is that the present hole appears to be a little bit wider and deeper than the previous one.  (By the way, according to a friend of mine who spoke with a National Grid worker on the trail in August, National Grid dealt with this exact same erosion problem 10 or 15 years ago in the exact same spot!!!!)

Late June or early July, 6 months ago

This morning!  The gravel did a great job of holding
back the flow of water! Notice the gulley that 
leads to the new hole, the same gulley that 
led to, and caused, the first hole 6 months ago
and that National Grid did nothing about!

National Grid can, and will, spend thousands of dollars to once again fill the sinkhole that recently reappeared in the exact same spot, but until they get a handle on the FLOW OF WATER ON THEIR PROPERTY THAT IS CAUSING THE QUASI-PUBLIC TRAIL TO WASH AWAY, they will continue to throw good money after bad.  And they will continue to ask ratepayers and the DPS for a rate hike.  And people who use that trail will continue to wonder, "Am I allowed to be back here?  Will I get arrested?  Why the hell does National Grid own this trail and these woods?  Didn't they fix that god damn hole like 5 months ago?  You mean to tell me that the summer campers still aren't allowed to be back here?  Is that a can of fucking spray paint floating in the pond?"  And Kamal Johnson will continue to do nothing about the situation, hoping it just goes away on its own and no more sinkholes appear.  And someone, or a few kids, may fall in that hole and die in an instant or never walk again.  (Of course, someone could have been standing, walking or biking there BOTH TIMES the trail gave way.)  And National Grid will ask for another rate hike to cover the cost of the lawsuit brought by the family of the deceased. 

The shitshow continues...

A few years ago at a budget meeting, our esteemed mayor, Kamal Johnson, said that it was his plan and hope to create a Parks Department.  He didn't find the funds in the increased 2025 budget to do it, as he has also failed to do in his previous 3 budgets.  Why should we believe he gives a hoot about the ongoing issue behind Oakdale Lake?  Who exactly is he working with on this "survey"?  His "friends" on friggin' Facebook?

PSA:  Anyone can easily comment on National Grid's proposed rate hike.  Read and comment about the rate hike on the NYS DPS website by clicking here: NO!