Harsh winter leaves many potholes and rough roads on Long Island

"Harsh winter riddles Long Island roads with potholes" is a NEWSDAY headline this morning. A particularly snowy winter, and repeated plowing by heavy trucks, has contributed to the common complaints resurfacing this year. A Brookhaven Town councilman counted 117 potholes last Friday along a 5-mile stretch of Route 25 between Selden and Lake Grove. The state plans to completely resurface Route 25 in Brookhaven, but officials wouldn't provide a timeline. Long-lasting pothole repairs generally require dry conditions and temperatures above 40 degrees. Also asphalt plants don’t generally open up before March.New York State Department of Transportation spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said crews are "working aggressively" to address potholes caused by the harsh winter across Long Island. He said the agency plans to completely resurface Route 25 in Brookhaven, though he did not provide details on the timeline, adding that it "is engaged in the most aggressive road revitalization project in the Department’s history."Peter Gill and Carl MacGowan report in NEWSDAY that in 2024, 61% of state-owned lane-miles were in good or excellent condition across New York, an improvement from 54% five years earlier, according to official reports, which do not break out data by region.Long Island's local roads, however, are in worse condition than those of most state regions, according to the most recently available database of federal aid-eligible roads from 2021. A Newsday investigation found local governments in Nassau and Suffolk spend less on roads, per capita and per car, than those in other regions of the state. At the same time, Long Island's towns and counties receive less road aid through formulas determined by the state, relative to population and road mileage.Pothole complaints may be more common on state-owned thoroughfares than town or village roads because they get the most traffic, requiring more upkeep, according Daniel Loscalzo, a civil engineer with LiRo Group, which consults on roads for a dozen villages on Long Island.Residents can report potholes they see to the appropriate state, county, town or village road department. An online map from the state can help determine who maintains the road in question here.For state highways, one can call 800-POTHOLE (800-768-4653).***There was a time on the East End when one thought nothing about leaving your car unlocked with the keys in it.No longer.Southampton Town Police are searching for an organized group of would-be thieves who are believed to have swept through neighborhoods in Noyac and Hampton Bays this past weekend, rummaging through unlocked cars.A Hampton Bays homeowner’s Ring security camera caught at least four people emerging from what appears to be a rented van before dawn on Monday morning, fanning out to various driveways in the neighborhood and searching unlocked cars — before racing back to the van and fleeing in the van when a resident spotted them and chased them from his driveway.Southampton Town Police said that they have seen the video, which was also posted to the Neighbors app, and are trying to identify the band of thieves. Police also received a report of a similar type of incident in Noyac the night before.“It’s a pattern that law enforcement has been seeing all over the region for some time now — sometimes it’s a rented car, sometimes a rented van, and they’re coming into a neighborhood and searching cars,” Town Police Detective Sergeant Gina LaFerrera said. Police have not received any reports from homeowners about any items or valuables having been stolen in the burglaries this weekend. Nonetheless, she said that homeowners should protect their property against being victims of this kind of theft scheme.“We ask people to lock their cars and take their keys out of the car,” she said.***Shelter Island Friends of Music are presenting a free concert this coming Sunday afternoon, February 15 at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. Performing is PubliQuartet, a chamber ensemble dedicated to bridging the gap between new and traditional repertoire. Known for their communicative presence and imaginative programming, they confront boundaries and form lasting connections with audiences.The ensemble comprises four versatile musicians who have performed at major festivals and concert series across the U.S. and internationally.PubliQuartet is committed to championing underrepresented composers, commissioning new works, and engaging audiences through multimedia presentations and contextual programming.That Shelter Island Friends of Music free concert is this coming Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.***Relentless winter weather, a pattern of long-lasting weekend storms and frigid temperatures are pushing Long Island town snow budgets to their limits.Several towns, including Brookhaven, East Hampton and Southold, have already surpassed their spending allocations for rock salt, sand and other snow fighting costs for 2026 — and there’s still six weeks until spring.Those towns have dipped into reserves to keep their funds for storm expenses healthy, officials told Newsday.On Tuesday, town boards in East Hampton and Southold signed off on more money for snow removal.Tara Smith and Alek Lewis report in NEWSDAY that so far this winter, Long Island MacArthur Airport has recorded 28.6 inches of snowfall, Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Upton bureau, said yesterday. Last year, 10.6 inches of snowfall had accumulated at MacArthur through the same period.Stephen Lynch, East Hampton Town's highway superintendent, said workers have used about 1,200 tons of sand and salt over the past few weeks. The department has about 1,000 tons left and will receive more shipments soon.On Tuesday, the East Hampton Town Board approved moving $210,000 from reserves to restore depleted funds for snow contractors, as well as for salt and sand purchases. The town budgeted $65,000 for snow removal contractors and $195,000 for snow removal supplies this year, according to Town Administrator Becky Hansen.Southold surpassed its $185,000 budget for salt and sand, according to Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin.Also Tuesday, Southold's town board approved tapping $80,000 in surplus funds from prior, more mild winters to cover an additional $50,000 in rock salt and $30,000 in sand."That’ll refill our barn and keep us in a really good position for the foreseeable future," Goodwin told NEWSDAY. "It’s not an option to not treat the roads. These are the materials we need to do the job."Goodwin said the most recent storm, on Feb. 7, was particularly challenging. Though most of Long Island got 1 to 3 inches of snow, about 5 inches accumulated in Southold. Fierce 50-mph winds created whiteout conditions and deep snowdrifts, some over 6 feet.The department spent between $20,000 and $25,000 in materials to treat the roads for that one storm alone, Goodwin said.***The Riverhead Free Library is partnering with Long Island Cares for a food distribution event at the library this morning from 11 a.m. to 12 Noon. No identification is required to receive food. This is a walk-up service only and will take place in the Riverhead Library parking lot at 11 a.m. today.Beth Young also reports in EAST END BEACON that the Riverhead Central School District hosts its 17th Annual Black History Month Celebration this evening at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Riverhead High School. The event includes performances by Riverhead music students and the Butterfly Effect Project, a poetry showcase and a preview of a new documentary about Riverhead’s only Medal of Honor recipient, Private First Class Garfield Langhorn, a U.S. Army radio operator who threw himself on a grenade to protect his platoon while under attack by the North Vietnamese in Pleiku Province during the Vietnam War. The community is welcome at this celebration tonight at 6 p.m. in the Riverhead High School auditorium. The event is free.***A Long Island school district will be able to hold onto its “Warriors” name an extra year — as it continues to fight a state ban on Native American imagery in mascots and logos. Alex Mitchell and Brandon Cruz report in THE NY POST that the Wantagh School District in Nassau County was granted an extension until June 2027 to come into compliance with the New York State ban, according to a letter sent by the board of education to district parents on Tuesday.“We just really want to keep the name. It means a lot to the community, means a lot to the school,” Superintendent John McNamara told The NY Post yesterday.McNamara claimed rebranding from Warriors to a potential replacement such as Wolves would cost the district upward of $700,000.“We had done a district survey back when this issue first arose and well over 85% of the community wanted to keep the Warrior name,” he added.In Suffolk County, the Connetquot School District initially agreed to drop its longtime “Thunderbirds” name and rebrand as the “T-Birds” as part of a settlement with the state to comply with the logo / mascot mandate.But that compromise backfired when the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights ruled the district had violated the law by eliminating the Native American-linked names while allowing mascots “derived from other racial or ethnic groups,” like Dutchmen.Warriors is also suitable in cases like Chenango Valley near Binghamton for not having an