Whose Head Will Roll, Possibly On A New Concrete Sidewalk?

We should all be concerned that the contractor by the name of Luizzi is doing so much work on our streets and sidewalks, all of it under contract with DPW.

Take the intersection of 2nd & Warren, for example, part of the DRI project begun on Front Street late last year by Luizzi.  New concrete curb ramps and lengths of sidewalk were poured about a week ago on all four corners.  However, each corner was left with a missing section of sidewalk about two feet in length and one foot deep across the entire width of the sidewalk.  Three of those sections of missing sidewalk were covered with plywood so that pedestrians could pass over the chasms safely.  For some stupid reason (or no reason at all), Luizzi decided to leave the chasm on the northeast corner full of as many cones as would fit rather than covering it with plywood.  The remainder of the new sidewalks and street crossing directly west of the cones in the chasm are available to pedestrians.  Luizzi workers left this for the weekend while they are not around.  What the flying fuck?

Disrespectful, unsafe and stupid!

Respectful, safe and smart!

Late last Thursday or Friday morning, Luizzi ripped out at least 6 curb ramps along South 2nd Street as part of the CHIPs project they won the bid for and somehow have time to handle while at the same time they try to complete their large DRI project which began last fall.  They removed the concrete, cordoned off the sidewalks with cones and yellow caution tape forcing everyone into the narrow street and then left for the weekend.  What the flying fuck?  They couldn't have begun that work on Monday and tried to complete the work by Friday instead?  Do you think Rob Perry cares how Luizzi handles things or how long the sidewalks are inaccessible while pedestrians walk in the street?

Have a pleasant weekend!

Unnecessarily left for the weekend, like all the other corners

Luizzi's removal of the curb ramps on 2nd Street this week marked the beginning of their $900,000 CHIPs project, happening concomitantly with their DRI work, with both projects being funded by the State of New York.   Rob Perry had this to say during his March DPW report to the council: "We'd like to see it [the CHIPs project] finished up by mid-May.  It's not a particularly huge project or challenging, so they should move quickly."  His statement and projection are both preposterous.  Mid-May is less than four weeks away, the CHIPs projects are always huge and time-consuming, Luizzi isn't anywhere near beginning the repaving of streets, and they aren't anywhere close to being done with their DRI work on Warren and Front Streets.  

Commenting on Luizzi's DRI project, Perry had this to say during last month's report: "They should be done in June sometime."  At this month's meeting, Perry had a more favorable projection about the project:  "They're looking at finishing their contract in late May or early June."  Notice the shift, with the timeline improving. Is Perry really expecting Luizzi to be completely finished with both their DRI project and their CHIPs project by early June, just 6 weeks from now?  Is that what Luizzi told him? Talk about allowing one contractor to take on too much responsibility!  Talk about a DPW Superintendent spewing unrealistic and unbelievable bullshit again!

Luizzi's CHIPs project is set to include 39 (!) new ADA curb ramps along 5 portions of streets (including 2nd from Warren to Union) that will be completely torn up and repaved.  I believe that this is the first time in Hudson's history that Luizzi has been awarded a biannual CHIPs repaving project, another concern we should have.  Colarusso always won the bids, but this year they fell short by $25,000 to Luizzi.  We got the low bidder, as always.  Perry explained what streets Luizzi will be attending to with the CHIPs project during his DPW report to the council and the public in March.  He offered us all a sideways picture of the data.  That's how seriously he takes all of this and all of us.

It's not just that Rob Perry disrespects everyone, 
it's that no one on the council says or does anything
to call him out on his disrespect.

Last year, as if to warn us, the paving contractor that will be responsible for creating so many of our new concrete sidewalks and asphalt streets this year has already shown that it is not up to the task.  As part of their DRI project, at least two portions of the concrete that Luizzi poured in November for the four curb ramps at 1st & Warren began to crack immediately.  This was a small part of the project that took them forever to complete (though the intersection is still missing permanent stop signs).  Read more about that here: A Lot Of Explaining...

If Luizzi doesn't return to 1st and Warren anytime soon to replace the failed concrete they left us (with more on the way no doubt), we have a much bigger problem than a contractor that does mediocre or horrible paving work.  You get what you pay for, particularly from LOW BIDDERS desperate for work.  If neither DPW Superintendent Rob Perry nor DPW Commissioner Tyler Kritzman makes Luizzi return to 1st & Warren soon to make the ramps crack-free, well.... no one should be one bit surprised.  But if the temporary stop signs at the intersection remain for one more month, someone's head should roll. 

The picture below was taken in late October.  Six months later, all four temporary stop signs are still at the intersection, waiting to be replaced with permanent signs by DPW or Luizzi, neither of which seem to give a shit about how long these signs stick around in the street.  Honestly, what the flying fuck?

Correction:  Luizzi's CHIPs work on South 2nd will cover all of the street, from Warren to Allen, not just to Union.  On Monday morning, Luizzi had closed down the street at Allen to be able to remove the ramps at the two corners where 2nd intersects Allen.  It looks as though all 14 corners from Cherry Alley to Allen will get new ADA curb ramps.  Then the entire street gets repaved.  The new curb ramps at Warren & 2nd are part of the DRI project.  If you want to get an idea of how much narrower and tighter that intersection is now, go have a look.  Pictures can't convey how bad it is and how common vehicle "accidents" will occur there. The bumpouts, which Rob Perry refers to as "plazas," are just dumb and unnecessary.  Is that what we need to keep pedestrians safe?  Plazas?  To ensure more car crashes and swiped rearview mirrors?