Opinion

Pothole poltroons

The snows are receding from the streets of New York, leaving potholes aplenty and pockmarked pavement in their wake, same as every year.

But this being New York, that’s a cue for hysteria.

It’s pothole city! Drivers must mutiny! Brooklyn beep Marty Markowitz says to call in craters to his hot new hotline!

But here’s the thing: The sky isn’t falling — at least not anymore.

Indeed, alternate-side parking rules had barely been restored from the latest snowstorm before the bleating began.

Remember this: Five feet of snow settled on the city this winter, and temperatures have been bitter.

This has taken an especially large toll on roads.

It normally takes road crews about two days to respond to reports of torn-up pavement. With this record snowfall, the city expects the wait to be about three or four days instead.

Sure, it’s rough on cars, but is it the end of the world? In a word: No.

Look, we’ve had our beefs with the way the city bungled the removal of snow from the Christmas blizzard.

But cut Mayor Bloomberg some slack — the Department of Transportation has fixed up about 45,000 potholes since then.

It’ll be doing even more for February — about 2,000 a day — even with city maintenance funds drying up fast.

If the potholes are still there in a few weeks, it may be time for torches and pitchforks.

But in the meantime, drivers who are worried about their tires and suspensions might just try something truly unique.

They can slow down. And shut up.