During the blizzard of ’03 a payloader arrived on my street (Elm Street in East Brunswick) and proceeded to clear a part of the street by depositing the snow on my sidewalk and front yard.
I am a senior citizen and cannot circumvent mountains of snow on my property. I asked the operator of the payloader to put the snow elsewhere. The operator did not speak English and therefore could not comply with my request.
Left with mountains of snow around my property, I called the East Brunswick Board of Public Works to request they come and remove the snow so I could have access to my home. I was told that a contractor does snow removal, and that "we cannot tell the contractor how to do his job," and if I wanted to talk to someone else about it, I could call the East Brunswick Police and see if they could help me with my problem. I did so, and the response I got from the dispatcher was not helpful.
I then contacted the mayor’s office and spoke with a representative of that office. He politely listened to my problem, but did nothing.
Approximately one hour after speaking with the mayor’s office, a truck and trailer with a 26- to 28-foot boat arrived on my street and parked in the place that had been cleared by the payloader. It was quite obvious to me that "arrangements" had been made to clear that area (no matter where they put the snow), and I had become a victim of that snow dump, which facilitated the arrival of the truck and trailer with a boat.
The mountains of snow remain on my property, a hazard not only to myself but to all those who would like to walk in safety on the street. This is just another example of East Brunswick bureaucracy apparently catering to the wants of a few instead of meeting the needs of many.
Helen Duschock
East Brunswick