Falling Light Poles Spur Removal Of 45 Boardwalk Lights

Long Beach, NY— After three light posts fell on the boardwalk during high winds in January, the City of Long Beach investigated and ultimately took 45 more down as a precaution.

In a letter to the West End Neighbors Civic Association, John Mirando, the Acting City Manager of of the city explained:

"The lights at the dog park had a corrosion issue at the base due to age and the fact that they are made of steel, these will be replaced shortly with fiberglass composite pole.

The lights on the boardwalk are a bigger issue. These light poles and fixtures were supplied by Sternberg, have a five year warrantee but are seven years old. We believe there is a design flaw which allowed the wind and salt air to create a failure at the joint that attached the fixture to the pole.

We are working on a solution with Sternberg and have also called in a lighting expert from a Long Island Company, Magniflood, this expert worked on a similar issue on the George Washington Bridge. Our goal is to have it corrected by the start of beach season.

Some Long Beach residents were unfazed. Kim Scharoff regularly runs the boardwalk and wasn't afraid any light posts would fall but she said "It does make my morning run a bit darker in some places."