ROCHESTER, N.Y. — “Those potholes would make my automobile just shake,” said Mary Woods, who has complained about the condition of roads in Fairport.
While New York City reports a 33 percent increase in potholes, the City of Rochester and the region are seeing fewer pothole calls and complaints this year compared to last year. News10NBC’s Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean found that the city has received half the number of pothole complaints this winter, partly due to consistently cold weather. However, the city anticipates more damage will appear when the winter ends.
Judy Nicosia experienced the impact of potholes firsthand. She walked to the site on Hudson Avenue where a pothole blew out her tire.
Brean: “What was it like when you hit the pothole?”
Judy Nicosia: “I got scared. It was just boom!”
Nicosia filed a claim against the county, but it was denied due to no prior written notice of the pothole. The damage cost her $200.
Brean: “But there’s fewer this year than there was last year.”
Judy Nicosia: “I can’t believe that.”
The City of Rochester reported over 1,400 pothole complaints between December 2024 and March 2025, but only just over 700 complaints from December 2025 to now.
By this time last winter, the city repaired 542 potholes. As of March this year, the city has repaired 350.
Brean: “How is it that we have fewer potholes this year compared to last year with the winter we’re still living through?”
Karen St. Aubin, Director of Environmental Services for the City of Rochester: “Last winter was more a freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw which creates the potholes. This winter was more of a freeze. And we have not had much a thaw. So the frost is still coming out of the ground.”
This suggests that more potholes may emerge soon. Last year, the mayor added a third crew to repair potholes. The State Transportation in the Finger Lakes reported 538 pothole calls last winter and 530 this year.
“NYSDOT maintenance crews work aggressively to address potholes as they develop to keep our roads safe,” the regional DOT office wrote in a statement. “We encourage New Yorkers to report potholes to our team so they can be filled in a timely fashion.”
Mary Woods pointed out the potholes she complained about on Fairport Road, both of which are now patched.
“The potholes are everywhere. They’re in Henrietta. They’re in the city. They’re in Greece. They’re everywhere,” Woods said.
The State Department of Transportation fills a million potholes every year, though Monroe County did not share its numbers. The city expects more pothole calls as the weather warms.
If you see a pothole in the city, call 311. For highways, call 800-POTHOLE. For county roads, use the county website.
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