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December 29, 2003
June Shapiro - Laffey Great Neck estate
June Shapiro -- Laffey Great Neck estate agents, and Cendant subsidiary.
Posted by dc at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2003
driveway pavement methods and costs
"After you install the gravel, you should let it sit at least two weeks for
settlement," Mr. Eosso said, adding that installing the asphalt without allowing
the gravel to settle will lead to cracks and depressions in the finished product. A
contractor must also consider the soil conditions under the driveway to install a
driveway that will last. For example, he said, while a standard driveway will
perform well on sandy, well-drained soil, additional steps must be taken when
the soil is poorly drained clay.
For such conditions, Mr. Eosso said, it is often necessary to excavate down eight
inches and then install a water-permeable "road fabric" before backfilling with
four inches of gravel. "The fabric allows for drainage but keeps the gravel from
sinking into the clay," he said, adding that after the gravel has settled, it is then
topped off with two layers of asphalt. "That's the gold standard," he said, adding
that such a driveway would cost about $3.25 a square foot, about a dollar more
a square foot than a standard driveway.
2003 April 06
Repairing or Replacing Driveways
By JAY ROMANO
After one of the most turbulent winters in years, many homeowners are
discovering that their driveways have fallen victim to the freeze-thaw cycle.
As snow melts, some of the runoff seeps into cracks and crevices that may be
present in an otherwise sturdy-looking driveway. Then, when temperatures drop
back below freezing, water trapped inside those cracks and under the driveway
expands as it freezes, causing further cracking, crumbling and even heaving —
and setting the stage for even more water infiltration and more damage when
the next cycle occurs.
There are a number of options for repairing or replacing a damaged driveway.
"What you have to do to repair a driveway depends on how big the cracks and
holes are," said John Fix, the owner of Cornells True Value Hardware in
Eastchester, N.Y.
Mr. Fix said that narrow cracks — those no wider than one-quarter inch — could
often be filled with liquid crack-fillers sold in most hardware stores and home
centers. "If the cracks are real deep, you should backfill them with sand first,"
he said.
Slightly larger cracks, Mr. Fix said, can be filled with thicker material that can be
troweled into the crack. The material, a tarlike substance with a puttylike
consistency, is usually sold in one-gallon cans and costs about $7 a gallon.
For holes in a driveway, he said, it is usually necessary to fill the opening with a
patching material and then tamp the material down to compress it as much as
possible. Mr. Fix pointed out that before filling a hole, any debris must be
cleaned away and any crumbling or loose asphalt removed from the edges.
"You almost have to make it worse to make it better," Mr. Fix said. "But the
more work you put into it, the longer the repair will last."
Homeowners who do not have the equipment to tamp down the patching
material, he said, can improvise.
"You can take a sheet of plywood, put it over the patched hole, and park the car
on it for a couple of days," he said. Mr. Fix added that in most cases, the more
expensive patching material adhered better and lasted longer than less
expensive material. "You can usually tell the quality of patching material by
picking up the bag," he said. "The better stuff flexes; the cheaper stuff is hard as
a rock. Prices range from $5 to $9 a 60-pound bag."
While filling and patching cracks and holes will provide temporary relief for a
problem driveway, it is difficult to make such repairs without leaving tiny cracks
and fissures that will allow water to penetrate — and freeze — next year. There
is a way, however, to patch an asphalt driveway and leave the surface nearly as
good as new.
Thomas Eosso, an owner of Eosso Brothers Paving in Matawan, N.J., said that a
machine that uses infrared heat to basically melt the top three inches of
driveway surface could help to make seamless, crackless patches or even to fill
depressed, sunken areas that allowed water to puddle on the surface.
"I've heated up 30-year-old pavement," Mr. Eosso said, explaining that once the
surface was heated sufficiently, the asphalt had nearly the same consistency as
it did when first installed. When that happens, he said, additional material can be
added and blended with the existing material, and then raked and tamped for a
virtually invisible repair.
Since the heating, raking and tamping process takes time and special
equipment, the cost varies depending on the extent of the repair, with a
minimum charge being about $500. And in some cases, Mr. Eosso said, a
driveway is in such bad condition that the only effective solution is to replace it.
In most cases, he said, a standard quality driveway must have a base of at least
four inches of three-quarter-inch gravel covered by at least two-and-a-half
inches of blacktop.
"After you install the gravel, you should let it sit at least two weeks for
settlement," Mr. Eosso said, adding that installing the asphalt without allowing
the gravel to settle will lead to cracks and depressions in the finished product. A
contractor must also consider the soil conditions under the driveway to install a
driveway that will last. For example, he said, while a standard driveway will
perform well on sandy, well-drained soil, additional steps must be taken when
the soil is poorly drained clay.
For such conditions, Mr. Eosso said, it is often necessary to excavate down eight
inches and then install a water-permeable "road fabric" before backfilling with
four inches of gravel. "The fabric allows for drainage but keeps the gravel from
sinking into the clay," he said, adding that after the gravel has settled, it is then
topped off with two layers of asphalt. "That's the gold standard," he said, adding
that such a driveway would cost about $3.25 a square foot, about a dollar more
a square foot than a standard driveway.
Mr. Eosso said that there are also a number of options for lining the edges of a
new driveway.
"Belgian Block is the best and the most expensive," he said, referring to large,
whitish-gray stone that costs as much $20 a linear foot. Another possibility, he
said, is to set paving stones in cement along the edges of the driveway. "Pavers
range from $14 to $16 a foot," he said. Another popular option, Mr. Eosso said,
is to use an L-shaped metal bracket called Permalock. "It's easy to install and it
makes the edge perfectly straight," he said, "And it only costs about $6 a foot."
Ron Belizze, president of Yonkers Paving Concepts in Yonkers, said that there
are also options available for replacing an existing driveway using concrete or
interlocking bricks known as paving stones.
Concrete, Mr. Belizze said, while durable, is also expensive. "You can spend
anywhere from $6 to as much as $15 a square foot for concrete," he said,
adding that the difference would generally depend upon the thickness of the
concrete, with the best-quality driveways being six to eight inches thick.
Another possibility, Mr. Belizze said, is to build a driveway out of interlocking
paving blocks. "To do pavers properly, you have to excavate a minimum of
eight inches and lay down a bed of crushed rock and stone," he said, adding that
pavers cost $10 to $12 a square foot.
Those who want the look of stone while paying only a bit more than they would
pay for asphalt can use "imprinted asphalt" known as StreetPrint, which costs
from $5 to $7 a square foot, he said.
"Basically, we install a traditional asphalt driveway and then we lay down steel
wire rope templates on the fresh pavement," Mr. Belizze said. The templates —
which act like waffle irons — imprint a texture in the warm asphalt, giving it the
look of individually installed paving stones. The asphalt surface is then
top-coated with colored polymer material to complete the effect. In addition to
enhancing the appearance of the driveway, Mr. Belizze said, the polymer coating
seals it and protects against water infiltration and ultraviolet damage.
"The coatings generally last six to eight years," he said, adding that the
driveway can then be recoated for about $1 a square foot. "And if it's done
properly, you'd never know you were standing on asphalt."
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
Posted by dc at 12:26 AM | Comments (1)
December 18, 2003
LIRR rider blog, Merrick to midtown
Ed's LIRR Rider blog from Merrick, NY to midtown Manhattan.
Posted by dc at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2003
ARCore, New Jersey's plan to access NYC Penn and LIRR
Access To The Region's Core, New Jersey's plan to access NYC Penn and connect with LIRR.
Posted by dc at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)
ARCore, New Jersey's plan to access NYC Penn and LIRR
Access To The Region's Core, New Jersey's plan to access NYC Penn and connect with LIRR.
Posted by dc at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2003
EWR
New York/ Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Though 14 miles southwest of NYC, EWR offers a midtown Manhattan to airport security
gate trek in less than 30 minutes by train. That's better situated than actual NYC airports
JFK (Idlewild) and La Guardia.
Picture: EWR, waiting at gate c-80.
Posted by dc at 02:09 AM | Comments (0)
EWR
New York/ Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Though 14 miles southwest of NYC, EWR offers a midtown Manhattan to airport security
gate trek in less than 30 minutes by train. That's better situated than actual NYC airports
JFK (Idlewild) and La Guardia.
Picture: EWR, waiting at gate c-80.
Posted by dc at 02:09 AM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2003
Street Racing
The crackdown on street racing along Old Dock Road in Yaphank
was a response to complaints from nearby businesses that hundreds of
young people regularly gathered there to race Kevin Krieg, 36, whose
family business, S-K Speed Racing Equipment in Lindenhurst, said he
and his shop do not condone street racing, blamed the illegal
racing on the decline of the drag-racing tracks he used to frequent,
such as National Speedway in Center Moriches. The Island's last
remaining track, the Long Island Dragway in Westhampton, is due
to close within months so a senior condominium complex can be built.
Cops Issue 54 Tickets in Illegal Street Race
By Indrani Sen, Staff Writer
2003 December 01 10:06 PM EST
The scene that police officers came upon at 2:15 Sunday morning on an
industrial strip in Yaphank wasn't straight out of Hollywood. The young men and
women racing souped-up street cars weren't quite as extravagantly stylish as
their counterparts in movies such as "The Fast and the Furious." And there was a
noticeable dearth of supermodels.
But otherwise, all the elements of an action film were there -- unfathomably fast
cars growling alongside each other as the starting flag came down; an elaborate
system to prevent detection of the illegal street race, including last-minute
phone chains and police-frequency scanners; and even a breathless and
dangerous police chase that scattered passers-by.
Suffolk police issued 54 traffic tickets, mostly for speeding and equipment
violations, on about 35 "tricked-out" cars, impounded three vehicles, and
arrested one man who they say sped through a Newsday distribution center full
of workers as he fled. Arthur Wray, 18, of Central Islip, was charged with
second-degree reckless endangerment.
The crackdown on street racing along Old Dock Road was a response to
complaints from nearby businesses that hundreds of young people regularly
gathered there to race, as well as to the deaths in July of Jerold Loudoux, 22, of
Manorville and John Lagadinos, 23, of Lake Ronkonkoma, who were racing
motorcycles on the road, said Insp. Mark White.
Fifth Precinct officers, assisted by Highway Patrol units, had a few tricks of their
own, White said. Knowing the racing rings monitor police scanners, dispatchers
did not put the call out over police radio. Instead, they used the mobile
computers to coordinate the response.
The mother of one of the motorcyclists who died in July, Debra Loudoux, said
she was glad to see the stepped-up enforcement and hopes it deters young
people from racing there in the future.
"Once it goes on for awhile, they think that's the place to go and that it's OK, but
it's not," said Loudoux of Manorville. "I feel that should have been watching the
area better."
But racing devotees insisted that the sport is safe when properly practiced.
"They usually go to somewhere with as little traffic as possible, as little people as
possible," said Adam, 21, of West Islip, who did not want his last name used.
Among the real racers, he said, "it's frowned upon for people to go on highways
because it's dangerous."
Kevin Krieg, 36, whose family business, S-K Speed Racing Equipment in
Lindenhurst, has been a well-known name in Long Island's high-performance car
scene for four decades, said despite the changes in racing over the years, the
bottom line is the same.
"When you go on a roller coaster and you go over the first hump, how do you
feel that split second?" he said. "That's what drag racing does."
Krieg, who said he and his shop do not condone street racing, blamed the illegal
racing on the decline of the drag-racing tracks he used to frequent, such as
National Speedway in Center Moriches. The Island's last remaining track, the
Long Island Dragway in Westhampton, is due to close within months so a senior
condominium complex can be built.
"You're never going to get rid of the kids' need and want to go fast," he said, "so
what you've got to do is channel it properly."
Adam said he and his friends race mainly for the fun of it and not for the
winner's pool, which tends to be a few hundred dollars. His interest in racing
came from his father, he said, though his taste in cars has diverged. The older
generation tends toward the American muscle cars, whereas many younger
racers are "hot-rodding" smaller imported cars such as Honda Civics and Nissan
Altimas by opening up their exhaust systems and intakes, fitting them with
racing tires and adding canisters of nitrous oxide to boost the horsepower.
"You could buy a new Camaro, and with the money you spend on that, you'd
have to do a lot more work to a Honda to make it even compare," Adam said.
"It makes the challenge of beating one even more fun."
John Reina, 40, whose produce delivery business, Suffolk Banana, is on Old
Dock Road, said he understands the fun of it -- he used to race himself. But the
two wooden crosses on his front lawn that commemorate where the young
motorcyclists were killed in July have given him a different perspective.
"I feel bad that there's not a place for the kids to go, but I don't think this is the
place for them to do it," Reina said. "I don't want them dying anywhere, but I
especially don't want them dying on my lawn."
Copyright � 2003, Newsday, Inc.
Posted by dc at 10:45 PM | Comments (3)