In my lifetime I have traveled to five continents, and, in that time, I have traveled some very bad roads. But I never expected that some of the worst I’d end up traversing would be in a town like Rye. The intersection of Purdy Avenue and Theodore Fremd is a particular disgrace.

The first brave people who came to Rye, came from England, Scotland, and Wales. It took a lot of courage to cross the Atlantic Ocean in small boats. They were succeeded by Irish, Germans, and Italians.

Two of the families who made tremendous contributions to the development of Rye were the Purdy family and, much later, the Theodore Fremd family. Ironically, two of the worst roads in Rye are named after these illustrious men.

My wife, Anita, emigrated here from England as a teenager, and I grew up in another lovely town, Garden City, on Long Island. We met in Rye, married in Rye, and have lived in several towns in Westchester and Greenwich, but for the last 45 years we have loved living in Rye.

Looking back, for 35 of the 45 years, our roads were well-maintained. Ten or 15 years ago, a number were in disrepair. but they were fixed quickly. In recent years, our roads have deteriorated greatly, and nothing has been done to improve them.

Every day, we head to town from North Street, turn onto Theodore Fremd, and, after two blocks, all hell breaks loose, and we rattle and bounce the rest of the way. 

Are these roads EVER going to be resurfaced?

There are local officials who are responsible for this lack of action. What are they thinking about?John Schwarz