By:Andrew Coen and Nicole Falco
Merchants and residents gathered shovels and rock salt and went to work, digging out of the area's first major snowstorm since Presidents Day 2003. The storm was described as one of the five worst to hit Long Island in the last 60 years.
The snow started just after noon on Saturday and continued through Sunday morning, with blizzardlike conditions and wind gusts up to 50 mph. The snow finally stopped late Sunday morning, leaving residents, storekeepers and village, town and county workers with a messy cleanup.
Children took advantage of the snowfall, sledding at Mill Pond and Hendrickson Park, enjoying a three-day weekend when school was canceled on Monday.
School cancellations
All four Valley Stream public school districts were closed Monday. The decision was made collectively late Sunday afternoon by the Central High School District superintendent, and the superintendents of schools in districts 13, 24 and 30.
"When we drove around on Sunday to check out the streets and sidewalks ... what we felt was that it could have been dangerous for the students to walk to school," said Dr. Edward Fale, District 24 superintendent. "While school parking lots and school buildings were clear and ready to open, our concern was a safety concern relative to the children who walk to school."
There were no midterms or Regents exams scheduled for Monday in the high school district. Testing did not begin until Tuesday. It was also a regular school day in all 10 elementary schools.
Still, some wondered why the districts decided to close. "I went to work and spent two hours commuting to Manhattan," said Enza Gokey, who has two children at the William L. Buck School. " As far as I'm concerned, I made it to Manhattan, so my kids could have made it to Buck across the street."
Another Buck parent, Lori McGuinness, said, "I could have gotten my kids to school, and I don't see why anybody else couldn't have."
Most students were probably happy about the extended weekend, and so was Lillian Nieves, who has a third-grader. "I think we were due for a snow day ... [my son and I] went to the park and spent quality time together," she said.
Besides Monday's closure, the snow also affected school-related activities. South High School's Wave of Hope benefit concert to raise money for tsunami relief, originally scheduled for Jan. 22, had to be rescheduled for Feb. 5, from 3 to 7 p.m., according to Arlene Hinkemeyer, high school district information coordinator. Also, in-person registration for Adult School was postponed a day. It took place on Tuesday.
Snow removal
County Executive Tom Suozzi declared a snow emergency early Saturday afternoon, and the Town of Hempstead and Village of Valley Stream quickly followed suit.
In Valley Stream, village workers logged 1,100 hours of overtime as they salted, sanded and cleared the roads from noon Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday, according to Nick Camarano, deputy superintendent of public works for the village. Additional crews were sent out Sunday night and Monday to perform follow-up cleanup in some areas. Some 200 tons of salt, 100 tons of sand and 500 gallons of liquid calcium were used, Camarano said. Calcium chloride is a catalyst used in conjunction with salt to melt snow and ice.
In all, snow removal cost taxpayers approximately $60,000, but at least $15,000 could have been saved if residents had resisted shoveling snow into already plowed streets, according to Vinny Ang, village clerk. The village had sent a mailing to residents about a month ago informing them of the proper protocol during a snowstorm. For instance, vehicles should not be parked on the street, and snow should not be shoveled into the street. In fact, at least 50 village residents can expect to receive summonses for leaving their vehicles parked in the street during the storm, Ang said.
The Town of Hempstead's sanitation department used 250 plows and sanders and 42 tons of salt to clean up town roads, including unincorporated areas in north and south Valley Stream.
Police and fire depts. busy
Valley Stream firefighters ventured out in the storm Saturday afternoon, responding to a house fire that erupted on Todd Road. And the entire department was on call for 20 hours during the storm, prepared for other weather-related emergencies.
According to the Fifth Precinct, there were 17 reports of weather-related car accidents between Jan. 22 and 23, but there were no serious injuries. In fact, there were fewer accidents reported during the blizzard weekend than are typically reported over a weekend precinct-wide.
Anne Marie Allocca contributed to this story. Comments about it? NFalco@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
