NEW CITY – A number of overpasses on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Rockland County have crumbling facades and State Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski said the two years that they have been in that condition is way too long.
The assemblyman was joined by Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann and Nanuet Hebrew Center Rabbi Paul Kurland on Thursday to shed light on the issue.
Zebrowski said the apparent delay is caused partially by the expense to restore the facades but also because state officials have yet to find the appropriate stone in keeping with the historic nature of the parkway.
The assemblyman said with fences remaining around adjacent sidewalks, the problem is not just one of cosmetics, but of safety. “The one we are at [Thursday] around exit 10 of the Palisades – one of the sidewalks on one side is completely closed and the other one is sort of a narrow opening where people have to walk,” he said. “You have residents that walk back and forth across this and you even have congregants of the Nanuet Hebrew Center that use this when they are going to services and often times the town has to set police up there to help these folks across the sidewalks so they can get to where they are going safely.”
Zebrowski is calling on the State Department of Transportation to provide an estimate of the cost of repairs as well as set a date for completion of the restoration work.
