With a blizzard bearing down on Long Island, Rockville Centre officials have declared a State of Emergency and ordered sweeping preparations ahead of what forecasters say could be a dangerous, wind-driven snowstorm that began Sunday afternoon.
Mayor Francis X. Murray announced that all non-essential vehicles must be off village roadways. All municipal parking lots are closed during the emergency, though residential parking lots will remain open. Roads and parking areas will reopen once the State of Emergency is lifted.
Village buildings will be closed on Monday. Sanitation collection scheduled for Monday has been suspended and moved to Tuesday, with Tuesday’s pickup shifted to Wednesday. There will be no bulk pickup or paper collection on Wednesday.
The village’s Department of Public Works were pretreating roads before the snowfall began and will operate around the clock for the duration of the storm. Officials emphasized that there will be no street parking during the State of Emergency, and vehicles left on roadways may be ticketed or towed if they interfere with plowing operations.
Residents are also required to remove basketball hoops from curb strips or lay them flat and are prohibited from shoveling or blowing snow into the street. Property owners must clear sidewalks, crosswalk aprons and fire hydrants to ensure emergency access.
Heavy snow and strong winds are expected to create whiteout conditions at times and could cause power outages from falling trees and limbs. The village’s Electric Department will respond to outages 24 hours a day. Residents can report outages by emailing ElectricOutage@rvcny.us. Officials stressed that downed wires should always be treated as live and never approached.
Due to the weather, Molloy University and all Rockville Centre schools, including St. Agnes Cathedral School, will be closed on Monday.
The Rockville Centre Public Library was closed on Sunday and will be again on Monday due to the storm. For the second time in less than a month, the “Piano Men: A Tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John” concert scheduled at the library has been postponed. No new date has been announced.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said that there will be a "proactive service suspension" of the Long Island Rail Road beginning at 1 a.m. on Monday. Service will resume "when weather conditions permits."
NICE bus suspended service at 9 p.m., in accordance with the non-essential travel ban in Nassau County.
The National Weather Service issued a Blizzard Warning for Long Island through 6 p.m. Monday, warning that the region could see as much as 18 inches of snow, along with wind gusts between 45 and 55 mph.
A blizzard is defined not by snowfall totals, but by sustained winds or frequent gusts over 35 mph combined with falling or blowing snow that reduces visibility to less than a quarter mile for at least three hours.
Bruce Blakeman and Kathy Hochul both declared states of emergency Sunday morning.
Speaking Saturday at Nickerson Beach, Blakeman outlined the county’s storm response plan, saying approximately 75 trucks would be deployed to salt and plow roads.
“When the accumulation reaches approximately three inches, they will be out plowing for the duration,” he said, urging residents to stay home during the height of the storm.
Blakeman also announced the opening of two temporary warming centers for residents in need. A women-only center will operate at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex, 1 Charles Lindbergh Blvd. in Uniondale, while a shelter for men and families will be open at 1200 Old Country Road in Westbury, the former Nassau County Family Court building.
A coastal flood watch is also in effect for the South Shore of Nassau and Suffolk counties, with major coastal flooding possible Sunday night into Monday. Travel is expected to become hazardous Sunday night and remain dangerous into Monday morning, with blowing and drifting snow complicating cleanup efforts.
