East Rockaway, Lynbrook residents recover from blizzard

Almost a week after a blizzard dumped more than a foot of snow in our area, residents were still trying get back to normal.

Most LIRR trains are back on track, with a few scattered delays. 

Schools will be open on Monday as thousands of Long Island students head back to class after holiday break.

"Why couldn't this have happened during school?" asked an fifth-grader from Garfield Place in East Rockaway, referring to the snowfall during her holiday break from classes. "Even still, it will be fun playing in it ... "

"[During the storm] the wind was whipping everything around and then a crack," said Morgan Williams. "We look outside and the neighbors front tree was laying on their front lawn and only five feet away from my car. We couldn't open the door to go outside because the wind was pushing it shut."

During the storm, Diane Harrison tried to let her dogs out to "take care of their business, "but I couldn't get the door open due to a two-foot snow drift," she said. "Luckily, I had another room with a door to the outside that had no storm door, and after opening that, kicking the drift away from there, let the poor pups out!"

Harrison also said that she and her son followed a snowplow for about 1/2 mile today on Tuesday. "Plenty of snow to plow on the road, but the plow blade only went down after we suspect he spotted us with our cameras in the windshield. He also had sand in the back of the truck, which was never dropped. The roads in ER and Bay Park/Anglesea area are horrendous ... no salt, no sand."

RELATED STORY:

The Marine Bureau reports the details of a water rescue that occurred on Sunday, Dec. 26 near Broad Channel, East Rockaway.

At approximately 4:20 p.m., the Marine Bureau received a call for a possible hunter in distress. A complainant stated he heard three rifle shots in quick succession on two occasions close in time to one another. Three Marine Bureau officers from vessel Marine 2 responded to the vicinity in white out conditions of the blizzard to ascertain the source of the gunshots. Hearing the engines of the Police vessel, victim Joseph Albanese hailed the crew via VHF radio. He stated his engine would not start and he was stranded next to an island near Broad Channel. In zero visibility the Officers were able to locate the victim, take him aboard Marine 2 and safely transport him and his vessel to the East Rockaway boat ramp. The victim’s vessel was a 14’ open boat with no protection from the storm. There were no injuries and no summonses were issued.