After a powerful blizzard swept across Long Island, the Village of Rockville Centre finally lifted its state of emergency on Feb. 23 after roughly 24 inches of snow fell and wind gusts created dangerous whiteout conditions.
Mayor Francis X. Murray still strongly urged residents to keep all non-essential vehicles off village roadways and remain home if possible, even after the order is lifted. Officials emphasized that vehicles parked on streets interfere with plowing operations, slow cleanup efforts and create hazardous conditions for crews and emergency responders.
The storm, which ended Monday afternoon, brought heavy snowfall and sustained winds between 45 and 55 miles per hour. The National Weather Service had issued a Blizzard Warning through 6 p.m. on Feb. 23.
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.
The village’s Department of Public Works pretreated roads ahead of the storm and has been working around the clock since snowfall began Sunday afternoon. Roadways remain the top priority, followed by village-owned sidewalks and parking lots.
Cleanup is expected to take several days to complete fully.
Because of drifting snow and persistent winds, plows have needed to make multiple passes on many streets. Officials advised residents to consider waiting before clearing the ends of their driveways until plowing operations are finished.
Residents are reminded to remove parked vehicles from roadways, clear snow and ice from fire hydrants to ensure emergency access, and shovel sidewalks adjacent to their properties, including corners and crosswalk aprons. Officials said these steps are critical to protecting pedestrians and assisting first responders.
Village buildings were closed on Feb. 23 as conditions worsened. The John A. Anderson Recreation Center and the Sandel Senior Center shut down on Feb. 24.
According to village spokesperson Julie Grilli, there was a brief power outage on Long Beach Road on Feb. 22 that was resolved in under an hour. The village’s Electric Department remains available 24 hours a day, and officials stressed that downed wires should always be treated as live and never approached. Outages can be reported to ElectricOutage@rvcny.us.
Molloy University and all Rockville Centre schools, including St. Agnes Cathedral School, were closed from Feb. 23-24.
The Rockville Centre Public Library was closed from Feb. 22-23. 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 on Feb. 22 was postponed. No new date has been announced.
The Long Island Rail Road began operating limited service at 4 a.m. on Feb. 24 on the Ronkonkoma, Huntington, Babylon, Oyster Bay, Montauk, and Port Washington branches. Westbound service resumed in the 4 a.m. hour, and eastbound service resumed in the 5 a.m. hour. Normal schedules returned on Feb. 25.
NICE Bus resumed regular service on Feb. 24.
