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1. How can residents tell if a sign is a Town of Hempstead sign or not?

Residents will be able to identify Town of Hempstead Traffic Control signs with a TOH lettering located on the bottom of our signs excluding street name signs.

2. Does the Town of Hempstead install Speed Bumps or Speed Humps?

The Town of Hempstead Traffic Control Division DOES NOT install speed bumps or speed humps on any roadway including Town-maintained parking fields.

3. Does the Town of Hempstead maintain Red Light Cameras or Speed Cameras?

The Town of Hempstead Traffic Control Division DOES NOT maintain any red light cameras or speed cameras.

4. Does the Town of Hempstead Traffic Control Division issue Traffic Tickets?

The Town of Hempstead Traffic Control Division DOES NOT issue tickets. If you do receive a ticket and have a question about the ticket please contact Nassau County Traffic Court at (516)572-2323 or (516) 572-2700.

5. Does the Town of Hempstead enforce posted signs?

The Town of Hempstead Traffic Control Division DOES NOT enforce posted signs. Enforcement of posted signs such as Parking Restrictions, Speed Limits and Stop signs would be enforced by the local Police Department.  

6. How do I request an additional street light?

Requests of additional streetlights within the Town of Hempstead can be sent to the Street Lighting Division at 1580 Merrick Road, Merrick, NY 11566 to the attention of the Street Lighting Supervisor.  Requests should include name, phone number, email address, address of the residence or business, location of the utility pole, and the reason why the light is being requested.  These requests will be sent out with our inspectors to determine if the lighting is necessary to illuminate the area.  Additional lights that involve underground wire installation cannot be accepted at this time.  An inspector’s assessment and the process could take several months.   Requests will only be accepted by a resident or business owner who is requesting a light in front of their residence or business.  Requests should only be for issues dealing with public safety and welfare for the roadway between curb to curb.  Requests are not accepted for the purpose of sidewalks or personal property.  Our Street Lighting team processes requests and puts them on a waiting list. As funding becomes available, these requests are prioritized based on numerous factors.

7. Why is a Town of Hempstead crew or contractor working in my yard?

In order to repair some street lights, crews have to gain access to the utilities located on private property to set up ladders in order to make the necessary repairs needed to resolve outages.   Some repairs require the use of a contractor to run new cables down property lines or up the utility pole to reenergize the electrical circuits.  

8. What are easement rights?

An easement is a right held by an interested person to use your land in a certain way, despite not having an interest in your property.  New York does not require consideration to be given in exchange for the granting of an easement in most cases.  Utility easement rights were granted when the electrical system was designed prior to installation and are used to energize the circuits along the Town of Hempstead’s roadways.  These include property lines on the side and back of homes as well as the utility strips that are located from the curb to two feet past the sidewalk.

9. Does Street Lighting maintain lights on all roadways?

Street Lighting maintains over 50,000 lights within the Town of Hempstead.  They do not maintain lights on private property, private roads, private parking lots, parkways, or in cities or incorporated villages.  PSEG does provide lighting services at a fixed rate that will give additional lighting needed for private commercial properties.

10. What if a tree is blocking the light from the roadway?

If you find that a tree is obstructing the street light from illuminating the roadway, you can request the tree to be trimmed.  Street Lighting will only trim enough branches to allow the light to reach the roadway from curb to curb.  Tree trims work orders are put on a waiting list.

11. Can I hang an attachment to a lighting pole or utility pole?

The short answer is no.  While hanging flags or flower pot hangers is a nice look to the neighborhood, street lighting poles are not designed to handle these accessories due to the excess weight, structural design of the equipment, and wind factors.  These factors can cause damage to the pole and would risk injury or personal property damage and therefore Street Lighting does not recommend our equipment to be tampered with.  Crews are instructed to remove and place foreign items on the ground at the base of the pole to prevent any damage to the poles or person.  PSEG and Verizon also do not allow unlicensed equipment to be attached to their poles.  Street Lighting itself must ask for permission to attach our street lighting equipment to the utility poles and pay an attachment fee as well as a fixed rate for electric.  

12. Can I use electric from any of Street Lighting's equipment?

Stealing electricity is considered theft of services and will result in stiff fines and jail time.  Do not tamper with any electrical equipment you may see.  This is illegal, extremely unsafe, and could cause severe injury or even death.  If you see someone tampering with or stealing electricity, you should report it to the proper authorities.