Paterson launches app for city residents called Paterson Plus to report potholes

AAA data shows New Jersey comes in eighth in the country for states with the worst potholes.

Matt Trapani and Naomi Yané

Mar 20, 2024, 12:41 AM

Updated 264 days ago

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Spring has just begun and that also brings about pothole season – the time of the year when we tend to see the most potholes on New Jersey’s roads. AAA data shows New Jersey comes in eighth in the country for states with the worst potholes.
River Street in Paterson is a roadway that many Paterson residents say has some of the worst conditions. It’s hard to drive in a straight line without hitting a hole.
“I don't drive on this street much just because of the potholes,” says Jairo Ullo. “I’ve been here since ’03 and it’s been like that since ’03.”
One News 12 viewer reached out to inform us about a pothole near May and Highland streets. When the News 12 crew got to that location, another resident was airing out his grievance.
“I complained for two or three years about this pothole,” the resident said.
Paterson officials say that they have created a new app for residents to report potholes to get them fixed. It’s called Paterson Plus.
“We've gotten a considerable number of complaints and we're addressing them as best we can,” says Mayor Andre Sayegh. “We created, within the Department of Public Works, a pothole patrol," Sayegh says.
The patrol is out from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. repairing the roadways.
“Because it's pothole abatement season, we are really prioritizing people reporting these potholes,” the mayor says.
The city also has an ambitious plan to resurface 30 streets this year. There's also an $8 million plan for River Street, which is prone to severe flooding, to resurface the road and reconstruct the sewer.
According to the Department of Transportation, last year they repaired 135,000 potholes in the state, which cost about $1.8 million. The 20224 fiscal year started in July, and so far this year, over 93,000 potholes have been repaired.