By Andrew Coen
The storm affected local villages and schools, but the cleanup went very smoothly, according to local officials.
While many Five Towners were struggling to shovel their sidewalks and clean off their cars, their children were enjoying the season's first snowfall, taking full advantage of it by sledding in Grant Park in Hewlett.
In the Village of Lawrence, eight plows and four sanders were out in force to help clear the roads. We had our crews out there and everything went smoothly, said Lawrence Mayor Dr. Jack Levenbrown. Our highway department has been doing this for many years.
In the Village of Cedarhurst, seven plows were used and 60 to 70 tons of salt were spread on village roadways. About half the supply [of salt] is gone, so we'll have to get more, said Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise.
According to Parise, snow-removal crews worked three hours of overtime last Friday, then came back at 10 a.m. Saturday and worked until 1 p.m. The workers then returned Saturday night at 7: 30 p.m. and worked until the wee hours of Sunday morning, finishing up at 3:30 a.m.
It came down and then came down again, so we had to start over, said Parise. I'm happy with the men and how they responded, as I usually am, but I think in this case they did an exceptional job. We got very few calls [of complaint].
Parise credited the Cedarhurst merchants for the work they have done keeping their sidewalks clean. They have been very good about clearing their own walks, he said.
The snow cleanup also went smoothly in Atlantic Beach. For such a large storm, we encountered no major problems, said Mayor Stephen Mahler.
According to Mahler, the village has the brunt of its plowing and sanding done by the Nassau County Department of Public Works.
The snow also affected the local schools, with Saturday's scheduled SATs postponed in both Lawrence and Hewlett-Woodmere until Saturday, Dec. 20 in Lawrence, and Saturday, Jan. 10 in Hewlett-Woodmere. A Hewlett High School fashion show fund-raiser, scheduled for Saturday night, was instead held on Sunday evening because of the weather. All Friday afternoon extra-curricular activities were canceled in both school districts.
We got everybody home safe and sound, said Lawrence Superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons. We didn't experience any disruption of instructional programming. Our buildings and grounds crew worked over the weekend and did a great job.
According to the Nassau County Department of Public Works, the county used 115 pieces of equipment during the 40 hours of the storm. There were about 5,000 tons of sand and salt used, at a cost of about $150,000. The overtime and labor costs totaled $225,000. The total cost of the cleanup in Nassau County was at least $400,000, according to county officials.
Photos by Rebecca Lopatin
