Hempstead Town opens warming centers Wednesday

With PSEG Long Island reporting thousands of power outages as an icy winter storm slams the area, Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray announced Wednesday morning that more than a dozen warming centers would be open and available to residents for the day.

After a night of freezing rain and sleet, Murray said more than 2,500 homes in the Town of Hempstead were without power. PSEG Long Island reported that most outages on the South Shore were minor, with only a handful of homeowners affected in the Five Towns, Merrick and Bellmore. A major outage in Oceanside, which road crews are currently working on, has affected more than 500 customers in that community. Restoration is expected by 12 p.m, PSEG officials said this morning.

The outages prompted Murray to announce that 16 warming centers would be open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5. She urged those without power in particular to seek refuge during the latest winter storm.

“We are encouraging residents who have lost power or do not have access to adequate heat to come warm up at one of the Town of Hempstead’s warming centers,” she said.

The following locations will be open as warming centers:

• Baldwin Senior Center, 1810 North Grand Ave., Baldwin
• Bellmore Senior Center, 2000 Bellmore Ave., Bellmore
• Cedarhurst Seniors in the Park, 200 Cedarhurst Ave., Cedarhurst (open until 4:30 p.m.)
• East Meadow Senior Center, 1485 Front St., East Meadow
• Elmont Senior Center, 138 Elmont Road, Elmont
• Franklin Square Senior Center, 1182 Martha Place, Franklin Square
• Green Acres Senior Center, 400 Flower Road, Valley Stream
• Hempstead Senior Center, 260 Clinton St., Hempstead
• Levittown Senior Center, 555 Newbridge Road, Levittown
• Merrick Senior Center, 2550 Clubhouse Road, Merrick
• Oceanside Senior Center, 2900 Rockaway Ave., Oceanside
• Rosa Parks Senior Center, 2 Babylon Turnpike, Roosevelt
• Salisbury Senior Center, 460 Salisbury Park Drive, Westbury
• Uniondale/Hempstead Senior Center, 840 Uniondale Ave., Uniondale
• Uniondale/Merrick Senior Center, 750 Jerusalem Ave., Uniondale
• Wantagh Senior Center, 1150 Seamans Neck Road, Wantagh

All Hempstead Town Senior Enrichment activities and transportation were canceled Wednesday. The inclement weather also caused other program cancelations town-wide.

The tax forum scheduled to be held at the Baldwin Library today has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Due to weather-related conditions, Levy Park is also closed to visitors.