News 12 The Bronx: City Island and Pelham Bay Park residents: Several streetlights are in urgent need of repairs
Residents in City Island and Pelham Bay Park say their pleas to repair streetlights are not being taken seriously.
They say several of the streetlamps by Orchard Beach and City Island are out. In other words, they are not turning on with their automatic sensors, which leaves a majority of Pelham Bay Park in the dark once the sun goes down.
Residents say this is and has been a safety hazard that dates back to 2015.
John Doyle and David Diaz are board members of the local nonprofit City Island Rising.
They say the area is prone to flooding, deers crossing in the night and dangerous road conditions. Doyle and Diaz say these occurrences coupled with pitch black roadways and pathways puts drivers and pedestrians at risk.
They say they have received several complaints from residents about the issue.
The duo has filed a 311 complaint as well as reached out to officials about making repairs. They tell News 12, however, that they feel their pleas are not being taken seriously.
They say while the lights have come on in a few areas of the park, more needs to be done.
“There are over 50 lights that are out. We’ve counted them, just it’s not right,” Diaz says.
“It will be tragic when somebody is hit and killed, but we can prevent that by fixing the lights,” Doyle says.
A News 12 crew drove around the area Saturday night and observed several lights that were out.
News 12 reached out to the New York City Department of Transportation but had not heard back as of Saturday night.
