Reisman: Ashford, Ashford we all fall down
Let's talk about infrastructure, shall we?
I know, I know. You'd rather have root canal.
But consider the answer to a question I recently posed to MaryJane Shimsky, a Democrat who chairs the infrastructure committee on the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Where on a scale of 1 to 10 — with 10 being absolute, falling-down crisis level — would you rank the state of Westchester County-owned roads, bridges, sundry buildings, plants and parks?
Between 8 and 9, she replied. That's scary.
Shimsky told me that there is a $1.1 billion backlog in county bond issues going back to 2006 or so. That statistic has been reported before, but it bears repeating because it is so staggering. Imagine how much concrete and steel a billion bucks would buy.
Politics has something to do with this. County Executive Rob Astorino has successfully sold his brand of no-frills government to the voters who have rewarded him with two convincing election victories — and so from a political standpoint there's no immediate incentive to shift into reverse.
However, Shimsky pointed out that some of the cost cutting has been penny wise and pound foolish, though those are not her exact words. For instance, reducing the county's design engineering staff and failing to hire key management personnel in the Department of Public Works might save money in terms of health and pension costs, but it also has resulted in slowing down the process of fixing stuff.
Delays cost more money in the long run because the problems only grow in magnitude, Shimsky said. Outsourcing sounds reasonable, she said, until you factor in the private sector's profit motive, lack of institutional knowledge and other things that have a way of expanding project costs.
Astorino should be held accountable, but he's not the only one. When he first took office back in 2009, he was opposed at practically every turn by the Democratic majority on the county board so it was nearly impossible to get past the bickering to get the needed work approved. That paralyzing contentiousness seems to have dissolved somewhat with the advent of a bipartisan coalition on the board.
Shimsky said the county has to keep better track of its infrastructure, which means everything from boilers to windows. ("We are in charge of a lot of things," she said.)
But she confined her concerns to a few big-ticket items — the rundown, substandard condition of the Family Court facility in Yonkers, the Sprain Ridge Pool in Yonkers, the poor condition of the Fulton Avenue Bridge in Mount Vernon and the epic problems of the 65-year-old Ashford Avenue Bridge that spans the state Thruway and the Saw Mill River Parkway and connects Ardsley with Dobbs Ferry.
The Ashford Avenue Bridge, which happens to be in Shimsky's legislative district, is the poster child for crappy infrastructure and bureaucratic foot-dragging. You could fill an auditorium with all the politicians who have used the bridge over the years as a photo-op backdrop — most notably the camera-loving U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer who is perilously close to becoming New York's new "Senator Pothole."
In 2010, the bridge was cited in a county report that included photos showing holes in the support structure. Then, in May 2012, the state Department of Transportation gave the bridge a 3.653 rating on a 1 to 7 scale. Anything less than a 5 is bad.
A month later, bang! A chunk of the bridge fell on some cars. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
When Shimsky heard that she said, "That's a relief, but this should be the mother of all wake-up calls."
Three years later, the bridge continues to wait for an overhaul, a project that is expected to cost $23.4 million. Speeding up the various governmental agencies involved in the project was the ostensible purpose of Schumer's appearance in January. Work will begin according to the usual schedule, translated to any … day … now.
Shimsky regards the bridge with gallows humor.
"I tell people, half joking, that I'd drive over it, but not under it," she said. "It's safe today, but I don't know for how much longer."
The Sprain Ridge Pool's state of disrepair is not a public-safety issue, but it is no less shameful. Astorino closed it four years ago and virtually sat on a bond issue to repair it at the original cost of just under $10 million. It's now up to about $14 million — and Shimsky said there is "no way" it will reopen for the 2015 summer season.
By the way, when I wrote that previous sentence, I mistakenly transposed the numbers and typed the year as 2105. But when you think about it, the way things are going the pool might not open until the 22nd century.
Astorino has offered to give the pool to Yonkers but, as Shimsky said, why would the city accept a damaged gift? Why, indeed.
Meanwhile, there's a Hermosa tree growing in the pool. "It's a pretty good size," Shimsky said.
She resisted the idea of decorating it for Christmas.
email: preisman@lohud.com Twitter: @philreisman