2,190 DAYS OF INACTION
On August 11, the collapsed section of sidewalk on West Main Street (Route 9D) reaches a milestone that no village should ever celebrate: six full years of total closure. 
It is simply unconscionable that our Village Board has allowed this extreme pedestrian hazard to persist for six years. This isn’t an infrequently used suburban sidewalk running alongside a quiet residential street where pedestrians can easily step around a barrier. West Main Street is a primary commercial artery and a major source of foot traffic in our village.
By failing to act, our board raised the white flag, pointed to ongoing state litigation and state resistance to temporary measures, abandoning their fundamental duty to protect the people who live here.
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A DANGEROUS DAILY CHOICE
For six years, pedestrians—including children walking through our downtown, seniors, and parents with strollers—have been forced to make an acceptable-risk decision every single day.
They must either walk in a lane of traffic on a busy and narrow state route with active vehicular traffic or attempt to cross mid-block in an area where crosswalks aren’t even permitted because the roadway geometry makes crossing there inherently dangerous.
Forcing members of our community to literally risk their safety every day while hiding behind a “legal excuse” represents a total failure of basic municipal care and protection.
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WHEN THE STATE SAID “NO,” OUR BOARD FOLDED
When questioned about a temporary solution the danger while it works through the court, the Village Board’s excuse has been that New York State told them nothing could be done to make the gap safer. Accepting that answer sitting down demonstrates a startling lack of concern for the very real dangers residents face daily.
When state agencies say “no” to protecting residents on a primary village street, true local leaders don’t just throw up their hands and surrender. They make noise. They demand emergency administrative waivers, bring in independent engineering options, rally regional media, and relentlessly pressure state officials until a safe interim solution is on the ground.
Instead of being aggressive, constant advocates for citizen safety, our Board folded at the first sign of pushback.
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COURTS DECIDE WHO GETS THE BILL; GOOD LEADERS DECIDE TO PROTECT PEOPLE
While Route 9D is a state highway, local public safety within
falls is the village board’s responsibility. The state lawsuit will eventually determine who writes the final check to rebuild the retaining wall.
However, a state lawsuit does not strip the village of its authority—or its obligation—to ensure safe passage for its residents right now. By simply waiting for court motions and adjournments to drag on year after year, the board chose administrative convenience over public safety.
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THE SOLUTIONS VILLAGE BOARD NEVER DEMANDED
A 20-foot gap in a concrete sidewalk is not an insurmountable engineering mystery. Across New York State, long-term civil litigation or structural failures are routinely met with rapid, interim safety measures. Prefabricated modular pedestrian bridges can be set in place via crane in a single afternoon, resting securely on solid ground well set back from the failure zone.
Yet, in six years:
A temporary spanning structure was not installed
No protected barrier bypass was engineered.
No interim access plan was forcefully demanded by our Village Board.
A temporary spanning structure was not installed No protected barrier bypass was engineered. No interim access plan was forcefully demanded by our Village Board.__________
THE REAL COST TO OUR COMMUNITY
This six-year failure is more than a visual blight; it is a daily physical danger and an economic drag on the merchants whose foot traffic has been severed for over two thousand days.
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When a hazardous condition exists on our busy Main Street artery for 2,190 days, the problem is no longer just the collapsed wall—it is the complete absence of persistent, aggressive local leadership.Courts resolve financial disputes, but local leaders are elected to protect people.
It is long past time for the Village Board to stop using ongoing litigation as a shield for inaction – the village board failed to advocate for our community and deliver a safe, temporary way across the gap.