Plandome Heights seeks to fix loose manhole cover

Amelia Camurati
Plandome Heights Mayor Ken Riscica discusses a manhole cover on Bayview Circle that needs to be repaired or closed.(Photo by Amelia Camurati)

The Plandome Heights Board of Trustees discussed a number of small items at the  meeting on Monday, including a manhole cover that could cause a danger to residents.

Trustee Alvin Solomon said a manhole cover on Bayview Circle becomes a problem every time the road needs to be plowed for snow removal.

“Every year, the Cow Bay [Contracting] seems to knock it out place, which could leave liability for the village if a car hits it,” Solomon said. “It either needs to be repaired or shut or something. It’s a liability waiting to happen.”

Mayor Ken Riscica said the manhole cover is not recessed below the pavement but sticks up about 3/4 of an inch and every time the plow comes, it flips the cover, which is not sealed, off the hole and into the street.

“My neighbor was out there shoveling, and when the plow came through, he hit it and it landed about 20 feet from her,” Solomon said. “It’s a safety issue I want to have addressed before anything happens.”

The average manhole cover weighs about 110 pounds.

Though Riscica said he does not know who owns the manhole, he believes it is part of the village’s drainage system.

Riscica said the cover also doesn’t seem to be the original, which is why it doesn’t properly fit the hole.

Trustee Norman Taylor said the cover could be spot welded into place and chiseled open if needed.

“This is a snow plowing matter. This is not going to be a problem again until the next snow plowing season,” Riscica said. “I’ve had to call Cow Bay back to replace it on several occasions, and on the last occasion, I called them and I said, ‘Here’s the rule: It’s going to happen every time until we fix it, so you don’t leave the village until you go back to Bayview Circle and make sure the manhole is covered.'”

In other business, Riscica said he has seen no issues at the Seafield Solutions location on Plandome Road, which is on the edge of Plandome Heights and was the topic of a lengthy Council of Greater Manhasset Civic Associations meeting. Seafield Solutions runs an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment center.

Trustee Gus Panopoulos said rumors began flying on social media, especially in the Facebook group Manhasset Connection, before the meeting but seem to have ceased since Seafield COO John Haley of Southampton answered questions at the civic associations meeting in April.

Share this Article