Paving fix vexes Lynn resident

LYNN – Annette Manfra just wants her neighborhood to look the best it can.But she said it’s been hard to make her wish a reality.The Lynn resident of 35 years, who lives on Landon Circle, has been trying for 30 years to get her road paved.Finally, in late October, the city paved Landon Circle.”It looked beautiful when it was done,” Manfra said.Then it rained.The newly paved street turned into a puddle of messy tar and concrete after the rainstorm.”It was horrible,” Manfra said. “It was just a disaster.”Manfra has grown quite disheartened by the situation.”We asked for this for 30 years and then you screw it up?” Manfra said.She made some phone calls to her city councilor, Darren Cyr, and to the Department of Public Works. The city looked at the problem and admitted that the street was not properly paved, saying the city address the issue promptly.Landon Circle residents received a letter from DPW Commissioner Jay Fink saying they’d be working on the street on Nov. 8, and asking residents not to park there.Nov. 8 came and went and Landon Circle still looks the same.”I am terribly frustrated and don’t know how else to describe it,” Manfra told the Daily Item Monday.However, Cyr wants Manfra to be a little more understanding.”Annette is a wonderful, passionate person,” he said. “However, she needs to be a little more patient.”Manfra has made several calls to the DPW and City Hall, but to no avail. She is worried that her street won’t be fixed until after winter.”We are on the shoulders of winter. I just know if they wait too long they are going to tell me that it is too cold out and that (they) are waiting until April to fix it,” she said. “It will become a frozen pond if they wait that long.”Fink could not be reached for comment Monday.The concerned resident blames the problem on the DPW not properly managing the companies who do the paving.”It shows that the DPW is sleeping. I am not saying they are bad people. It’s just they are sleeping and the city has no time for that,” she said. “They are sleeping while this company gets paid. I am an upset taxpayer.”Cyr insists that the road will be fixed. “They are going to fix it,” he said. “That’s a promise. That’s a guarantee.”Manfra is not worried about making waves in the community.”I wish more people were like me. They have enough time to complain but won’t do anything about it,” she said. “Don’t you care about your neighborhood?”Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].