Malverne, West Hempstead prepare for Irene

Malvernites and West Hempstead residents are getting ready for Hurricane Irene, which could hit Long Island on Sunday.

Current projections have the storm hitting the east coast of Maryland by 8 a.m. on Sunday, leaving Long Island straight in Irene’s path. As of Thursday morning, the National Weather Service was classifying the storm as a major hurricane with winds in excess of 110 mph.

Village officials have already begun to prepare for the storm. Paul Jessup, superintendent of Malverne's Department of Public Works, said his crews have cleaned out catch basins, checked generators and prepared all tree-removal equipment, including chainsaws and woodchippers, for use.

"You could probably say we took all the toys out of the toy box to clean them up," he said, "and we'll deal with it as it comes."

As part of a mutual aid agreement Malverne has with several area villages, the Atlantic Beach DPW and fire department will bring its trucks and other equipment to Malverne's DPW yard for safekeeping until after the hurricane passes.

In the Malverne and West Hempstead school districts, similar actions are being taken.

Malverne's assistant superintendent of operations, Spiro Colaitis, said he's been working to secure the buildings and grounds, getting rid of all potential "missile hazards" — logs, rocks, chairs and any other items that could be lifer by wind and smash into the building. He's also been in touch with the Long Island Power Authority to make sure the buildings maintain power. According to Colaitis, the district does not have generators.

Contractors working on the Malverne High School football field have also taken precautions with their equipment, according to Superintendent Dr. James Hunderfund. He said the district has people on call to come in if needed.

In West Hempstead, Deputy Superintendent Richard Cunningham and Jeff Banfield, director of facilities and operations, have been working to make sure pumps and generators are working properly. Cunningham said the district is working with other schools to prepare for the hurricane. Island Park, he said, is parking its school buses at West Hempstead parking lots. Although West Hempstead High School was recently designated as Nassau County's first kosher disaster evacuation shelter, the American Red Cross has not declared it an emergency shelter at this time.

While the schools are planning to keep close watch on the hurricane day and night — to prevent or, at least, immediately address and potential breakage or leakage — Jessup is preparing his crews to be ready to go. His primary concern is keeping the roads clear. Falling branches and trees are the biggest problem when it comes to storms, he said, so the DPW is focused on keeping at least one lane open at all times for emergency services to get through.

Jessup's advice to area residents was simple and echoed that of other agencies throughout the village, town, county and state: "Stay in your house, don't look for problems … have your preparedness stuff together and use a little bit of common sense."

For information from the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management on Hurricane preparation, please click here.