Brooklyn is the borough of potholes with the Belt Parkway and the BQE being two of the three most crater-like roadways in the city and Atlantic Avenue in the middle of the pack, according to a ClaimStat Alert report that New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released yesterday.
By examining roadway problems across the city, the ClaimStat Alert zeroed in on the roadways with the highest number of claims for from 2010 to 2015. In the top spot for potholes is the Belt Parkway, which had 706 claims. The Grand Central Parkway comes in second with 433 claims. The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is in third place with 422 claims. Atlantic Avenue had 164 claims.
Over the past six years, there have been over 12,000 claims for damage to cars and and around 6,000 personal injury claims. The City has paid out close to $138 million dollars in settlements.
The FY 2015 Executive Budget sets aside $674 million to pay settlements brought against the City of New York, which amounts to about $80 per resident. These claims include damages from potholes, as well as medical malpractice and civil rights violations. It’s predicted that the budget will rise to $782 million by FY 2018.
Stringer’s goal is to drive down claim costs across the City and allocate that money towards higher quality city services, such as public education and public safety.
ClaimStat is “a new, data-driven approach to claims management,” according to Stringer’s report. ClaimStat will point out patterns and practices that bring about lawsuits. The Comptroller’s Bureau of Law and Adjustment will then analyze the findings and flag these patterns. The bureau will collaborate with the Law Department to come up with potential solutions.
“Potholes are serious trouble, “said Stringer. “They deflate tires, break axles, and twist ankles, often at a significant financial cost to the City. The ClaimStat Alert we are releasing today gives the Department of Transportation a road map to identifying the trouble spots across all five boroughs so that they can do the important work of repairing roadways now, before winter weather comes storming back to make our City’s streets even worse.”
Winter weather is a strong indicator of how many pothole claims will be filed. Last year, the bitter winter left 50.3 inches of snow on the ground and 2,045 claims in its wake, the second-highest number of claims in the last four years. Heavy snowfall in the winter seasons of 2011 and 2014 also show a spike in claims.
Trip and fall claims were the most costly to the city, totaling approximately $136.3 million towards 2,681 settlements. Nearly half, 48 percent, of those settlements were for less than $5,000. Around 7.9 percent totaled $100,000 or more.
In the first four months of 2015, the Department of Transportation has filled over 74,000 potholes. However, the average time to close a pothole work order has tripled since the previous year from 2.4 days to 6.7 days.
“While City streets might never be completely rid of potholes, we are working with DOT to make streets safer for New Yorkers whether they’re on two wheels, four wheels, or on foot,” said Stringer. “I applaud DOT for the great work they do, and we look forward to continuing provide them with the data they need to get ahead – and stay ahead – of New York City’s pothole problem.”
As incentive, the Comptroller will award agencies that have taken innovative steps to reduce claims costs by honoring them with ClaimStat “Star” awards.
