By Yisroel R.

A Verizon calling issue that disrupted phone service between parts of Rockland County and parts of Brooklyn for more than a week was resolved on February 5, following intervention by Congressman Mike Lawler’s office.

The issue was first reported on January 27, when Verizon customers began reporting one-way audio failures on calls between parts of Rockland County and certain areas of Brooklyn. In affected calls, one party could hear clearly while the other heard nothing, regardless of whether the call originated in Rockland County or in Brooklyn, with calls appearing connected but not fully functional.

An unusual workaround was also reported. In some cases, adding a third caller to create a three-way call and then dialing the same number again temporarily restored audio, pointing to what appeared to be a network routing or switching malfunction.

After receiving multiple calls from constituents and from Talkosher, a widely used phone service provider serving many Rockland residents, Congressman Mike Lawler’s office contacted Verizon for assistance and to better understand the issue. Lawler’s staff then worked with the company to help address the problem.

Following the involvement by Congressman Mike Lawler’s office, Verizon corrected the issue and service was restored on February 5.

Similar calling problems had also been reported previously, including an incident in mid-November that lasted for approximately two days before being resolved.

Talkosher publicly thanked Congressman Mike Lawler and his office for stepping in and helping bring the issue to a swift resolution after days of service disruptions.

Verizon has not stated what the exact issue was and has not publicly commented on the specific cause of either incident.