At Gold Stairs, a step in the right direction
An East Boston utility pole is tilting at a precarious angle over the so-called Gold Stairs that connect pedestrians from Webster Street to Marginal Street, near the entrance to Piers Park on the neighborhood's waterfront.
After noticing the pole was askew several months ago, tipster Karen Maddalena said she called and e-mailed City Hall three or four times to have the pole repaired or removed, but to no avail.
''As the time went on, it's tilting more and more," Maddalena said in a follow-up interview last week. ''It's a safety issue because the stairs are heavily used.
''It's an accident waiting to happen," she said.
NStar spokesman Michael Durand said he dispatched a lineman to East Boston shortly after receiving a call from GlobeWatch on Monday.
The NStar worker reported that the pole is not in immediate danger of falling but ''should and will be replaced," said Durand, who said a crew would be back to replace the pole within a month.
Durand said he had no way of checking whether the company had received earlier complaints about the pole.
A City Hall spokeswoman said the mayor's 24-hour hot line received a call about the pole on Oct. 22. After determining that it did not belong to the city, the complaint was referred to a cable television company that officials believed owned the pole, according to the spokeswoman.
YOU CAN HELP:
Durand urged residents to call the company's customer service line, 800-592-2000, if they have safety concerns about other NStar poles. Or e-mails can be sent to customer_service@nstaronline.com
CHRISTINE MacDONALD WHO'S IN CHARGE?
Thomas J. May, chairman, president,
and chief executive officer
NStar
800-592-2000
customer_service@nstaronline.com
Is something broken in your neighborhood?E-mail globewatch@globe.com. Follow up on items at www.boston.com/globewatch.
