Thursday, October 1, 2026
Sunday’s major storm closed North Shore schools, forced residents inside and kept Sea Cliff’s Department of Public Works plowing and salting roads from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon.
The Village of Sea Cliff is preparing for a third straight weekend of snow after Sunday’s storm delivered roughly a foot and temperatures well below freezing.
“I really am so grateful for the hard work that they put in,” Mayor Elena Villafane said. “and really proud of the yeoman’s effort that these guys put forth in working through that, very difficult, cold circumstances and the timeline.”
Cleanup continued into Tuesday as DPW crews cleared cul de sacs, dead ends, smaller side streets and moved large snow piles that resulted from plows. Villafane said Sea Cliff had no injuries or car accidents during the storm.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman each declared a state of emergency last week as the storm approached.
Sea Cliff issued a winter storm advisory Jan. 23 on the village website. Residents were encouraged not to travel by car unless necessary. The advisory also included safety information including instructions to keep cars off the street and report any downed wires or power outages.
Updates were made to the advisory throughout the storm, informing residents of building closures and the cancellation of Monday’s garbage pickup.
Villafane said there were not many cars parked on the roads and that those parked where overnight parking is allowed were blocked by plowed snow.
“Our residents, for the most part, stayed off the road, stayed in the house and stayed safe,” Villafane said. “There’s nothing that I can complain about.”
She added that residents should be mindful not to shovel snow into the street when clearing sidewalks and fire hydrants.
Ann and Dan DiPietro, Sea Cliff residents involved in community activities, spent their stormy Sunday indoors on Zoom calls with discussion groups chatting about film, Shakespeare and short stories. Dan DiPietro said that the storm could have been worse.
“(It’s) a big sigh of relief that we didn’t get the ice that could have cut power and changed the whole experience negatively,” he said. “We kind of dodged that bullet.”
Ann praised the DPW, saying crews did “a wonderful, wonderful job” clearing the streets.
Residents across the North Shore said they were concerned with losing power, but Carol Gomez of Glen Head said she was “pleasantly surprised” she did not.
Ahead of the storm, the Town of Oyster Bay issued a notice asking residents to keep cars off the street so plows could effectively clear snow. George Pombar, a Glen Head resident and head of the Glen Head Glenwood Landing Civic Council, said he was pleased with the town’s cleanup.
Gomez said she was surprised the storm was not as bad as initially predicted.
“It would have been nicer if it would have been less,” she said. “But it wasn’t horrible.”
While there were no casualties and no widespread power outage, the storm still had an impact on the community. North Shore School District closed all schools on Monday and opened at regular time on Tuesday.
The Long Island Rail Road ran on a modified Sunday schedule, then on a regular Sunday schedule for Monday.
The DiPietros typically travel to Brooklyn on Sunday nights to spend time with their grandchildren. These plans were disrupted last week and may be again with the possibility of more snow this weekend.
“We’re kind of dreading it,” Ann said.
Sea Cliff is preparing for another storm on Sunday, as the National Weather Service reports there is a 50 percent chance of snow forecasted for the area that day as well as temperatures in the 20s or below.
Villafane said the village is receiving more salt and the DPW will check equipment, making any necessary repairs.
Meanwhile in Glen Head, Pombar said that losing power remains a concern for residents.
“People that I talk to in the community,” he said. “everyone’s getting prepared.”
