The annual ritual that has Mayor Bloomberg filling a ceremonial pothole soon after a snowstorm skidded off script yesterday, when residents who happened on the scene reported that the very same hole had been filled only two weeks earlier, only to fall apart again.
The mayor turned up with Staten Island Borough President Jim Molinaro and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan to heave a few shovels full of asphalt into a four-inch crater on Slater Boulevard in the Dongan Hills section of Staten Island.
“I’m pleased to say that the city’s work force is rising to the challenges posed by this season’s extraordinary snowfall,” declared the mayor.
“Our Sanitation Department did an excellent job of cleaning the streets . . . And now, our Department of Transportation is working double time filling potholes left in the snow’s wake.”
The borough has been different, but Bloomberg has uttered much the same words each year during pothole season.
The twist this time was that the hole being patched would be the 2 millionth of his administration.
After a few photos and a few more accolades, that normally would have been that — except for the presence of Tobia Barbato, 72, a retired butcher who lives on the street.
He complained to reporters that his block hadn’t been repaved in 42 years, and desperately needed a total overhaul. Besides, Barbato said, the very same pothole had just been filled.
“Pothole filling is nothing,” he said. “They filled it in two weeks ago, and after two weeks the same thing again.”
City officials insisted that couldn’t be the case because their records show no crews visited the site. But Barbato’s account was backed up by a neighbor.
“I saw it,” said Paul DeFresco, pointing to his eyes. “It lasted about a week, then all the stones jumped out of the whole thing because it wasn’t filled too well.”
The story ended happily, however.
After reeling off statistics spotlighting the productivity of pothole crews — 15,000 filled since Saturday — Bloomberg noted that the city paves far fewer streets than it used to because of budgetary concerns.
Sadik-Khan whispered to the mayor that Slater Boulevard would be repaved this year.
“Why?” he asked.
“It’s on the schedule for repair,” she said.