City Council To Pass Street Resurfacing Info Bill

Today the New York City Council is expected to pass a bill that would require the DOT to make block-by-block street resurfacing information more easily available online.

The bill was introduced by the pothole warrior of Dyker Heights, Councilman James Oddo.

According to Oddo’s website, the legislation includes mandatory online posting of the following information:

• What year each city block was last resurfaced or received a capital improvement.
• Whether DOT rates the current condition of each city block as good, fair, or poor pursuant to the Department’s street rating system.
• By January 2013 the information shall be searchable by city block. The City Council’s Transportation Committee has already unanimously adopted the legislation, which has 34 co-sponsors.

“This simple idea utilizes technology to provide New Yorkers with more information about how DOT perceives the condition of their road,” said Councilman Oddo.  “In this case, such information truly is power.  There have been numerous occasions when my constituents have come up to me to tell me that their street has not been resurfaced in decades and yet remains in deplorable condition, and they have no idea why it has not been resurfaced. Learning the information required by this legislation will further empower New Yorkers when they ask for their streets to be resurfaced and it will help local elected officials target their efforts more efficiently.”

Although the DOT began posting the information online sometime last year, they currently require users to search for their intersection on a map. Under the new legislation, residents would simply type in their address to access the data.

A copy of the bill can be found here.