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Mostly Cloudy Blizzard brings two feet of snow; a death in West Hempstead
Long Island experienced its first blizzard of 2016 when constant snowfall and wind pushed snow accumulation to nearly two feet, and resulted in the death of a 61 year-old man in West Hempstead.
The New York Times reported that the man died while attempting to shovel snow from his property. He was one of two Long Island residents who died because of the storm. A total of 18 people on the east coast lost their lives during the blizzard.
A travel ban on state roads had been lifted at 7 a.m. on Sunday, and most public transportation service was also operating again.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had announced a state of emergency the previous day, warning also of mounting coastal flooding concerns.
States of emergency were declared for Nassau County Friday night by County Executive Ed Mangano, and for the Town of Hempstead by Supervisor Anthony Santino.
Locally, in Malverne, Mayor Patricia McDonald sent robocalls to residents advising them to stay off the road, remove parked cars from streets, and to not shovel snow into the roadways. Similar robocalls were also made to residents by Mangano and Santino.
By Sunday morning, many streets in Malverne were already plowed, but still very icy. Village residents reported snow removal efforts by the Department of Public Works were made as early as Saturday morning. Many also reported neighbors helping each other out with snow removal.
The Malverne Fire Department sent out messages on social media asking residents to shovel out fire hydrants and stay off the roads.
Spokespeople from Crossroads Farm reported the farm's hoop house had been severely damaged by the weight of snow accumulation, and were in need of donations to repair it. If you'd like to contribute, visit www.xroadsfarmliny.com.
The snow didn't keep some residents with cabin fever down, and some sought respite from the negative snow news in Connolly Station, where they were found enjoying libations and a meal with family and friends.
