Malverne, West Hempstead braves nor'easter

The Town of Hempstead declared a snow emergency on the morning of Feb. 13, while Malverne and West Hempstead braced its residents for an onslaught of nearly nine inches of snow, later turning to freezing rain, that caused treacherous winter conditions over the course of the day.

“Safety is our number-one focus as the Town of Hempstead responds to this major snowstorm,” Supervisor Kate Murray said. “Our dedicated town employees are working tirelessly to clear town roadways, and we urge residents to exercise caution if they must venture out on Thursday."

While there were no major power outages throughout the town as of Wednesday afternoon, Hempstead town officials opened warming centers across the area to give residents a safe place to go in case blackouts occur. The locations of the warming centers can be found here.

Inclement weather also prompted officials to call off several parks and recreation programs Thursday. Levy Park and Echo Park were closed.

Sanitation and recycling pickup for the Hempstead Town Department of Sanitation was canceled for Feb. 13. Collection will occur on residents' next regularly scheduled date.

Murray urged residents to stay safe as the storm progresses, in addition to checking on elderly neighbors in the inclement weather. She also said residents can help tow crews as they plow by keeping their cars out of the streets and shoveling snow onto their lawns rather than in the road.

The Village of Malverne suspended on-street parking from the night of Feb. 12 into late Wednesday, according to the village's Office of Emergency Management Comissioner Jack O'Brien, advising residents to move their vehicles into municipal lots around town, which were free of charge during the storm.

Malverne's Department of Public Works conducted its sanitation pick-up on schedule early Wednesday morning, O'Brien said, before clearing roads late into the day with road salt, supplied by New York State salt reserves, and large plows.

O'Brien said no power outages were listed on record in the village.

Malverne Fire Chief Scott Edwards reported two weather-related accidents on Wednesday, both occuring off the Southern State Parkway near Franklin Avenue. The Malverne Fire Department first responded to an emergency call at around 9:53 a.m. when a car had caught fire near the parkway, then returned to the scene at 1:58 p.m. after another vehicle heading westbound had sweved off the road into a divider. No injuries were reported in either accident, Edwards said.