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Mostly Cloudy Irene's impact being felt in Valley Stream
Some power outages reported by LIPA
The heavy rains are falling in Valley Stream, accompanied by gusty winds, marking the beginning of Hurricane Irene's assault on Long Island. The storm is expected to continue through Sunday evening before heading into New England. Long Island remains under a hurricane warning.
Some power outages have already been reported. The Long Island Power Authority reported that about 200 customers in the Valley Stream area were without power as of 12:30 a.m. Sunday, spanning about a half-dozen sporadic outages.
These centers, which can operate off of generator power, will offer lights, air conditioning and other basic amenities for residents of all ages. Residents are enocuraged to travel to these centers only when weather conditions permit.
For those who do lose power, several Town of Hempstead senior centers will be open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday. Locally, the Franklin Square Senior Center at 1182 Martha Place and Elmont Senior Center at Elmont Road will be open.
Several thousand homes in Valley Stream, including Gibson and Mill Brook, were under a mandatory evacuation order by County Executive Ed Mangano. He ordered all homes south of Sunrise Highway evacuated by 5 p.m. on Saturday. Some left, and some stayed behind.
Vincent Grasso, a village trustee, lives south of Sunrise Highway in the evacuation zone. Because of his job as executive director of the Nassau County Bridge Authority, he was working at the Atlantic Beach bridge on Saturday but said his wife and daughter were staying with family who live north of Sunrise Highway in Lynbrook.
Grasso said he estimates that more than half the residents on his street, Haig Road, had left their homes by Saturday afternoon. "I think people found friends to stay with," he said.
Anne Marie Allocca, who lives on East Mineola Avenue between Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway, said although her family is not in the evacuation zone, they chose to stay with friends in Bethpage. "How does the hurricane know 'I’m at Sunrise Highway now, let’s stop,'" she said.
