For village, storms require concerted response

The distribution of labor and resources during a snowstorm is more complicated than it may appear, according to village officials, but they say it’s the experience of employees tasked with the fight against Mother Nature and the cooperation of residents that keep the village running despite the onslaught.

The challenges are many, said Mayor Ed Fare. The Public Works, Parks, Sanitation, Public Safety and Highway departments each play a critical role. Continuous snowfall requires repeated plowing, salting and sanding, a process made more difficult by cars left parked curbside. One of the biggest pet peeves of plow drivers is snow shoveled or blown back into a street after it has been plowed.

“I plow blocks and we come back 15 minutes later and it looks like we never plowed it,” said Highway Department driver Joe Zuccaro.

Fare said that it appears that more residents now own snow blowers after last year’s snowy winter. “You can tell who shovels or blows it onto their front lawn because you can see the lumps,” he said. “If you don’t see that, it went into the street.”

Fare said he includes in his storm robocalls a request that residents move the snow from their sidewalks onto their property or the median between the sidewalk and the street, but compliance is up to each household. He said that far fewer cars were parked in the streets during the Jan. 26-27 blizzard than in past storms, possibly because of the media warnings and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s edict prohibiting driving after 11 p.m.

Vinny Cusumano Jr., deputy director of public safety and the mayor’s helpline, said that the line received approximately 40 calls during the 48 hours surrounding the blizzard. Some were from emergency responders leaving their residences who needed assistance, and another dozen were calls from residents outside the village. Cusumano said all calls are responded to, regardless of jurisdiction; callers outside the village are referred to Nassau County or the Town of Hempstead.