By Karenlyn Barone
Debbie Hay was at Citi Nail Salon on Atlantic Avenue in East Rockaway on Thursday afternoon a few minutes after 4 p.m. when everything stopped. The whirring foot tub, the nail buffer and the buzzing overhead fluorescent lights all flickered for a moment, then, in the next moment, were silent.
"I thought it was terrorists," said Hay. "I was sure it was another terrorist attack."
Hay sat for a moment, temporarily stunned. The proprietors of the salon were convinced that a fuse had blown, and they flicked switches back and forth until a woman came into the salon and announced that it was a blackout. It was only when Hay heard the news report herself that she breathed a little easier.
The largest blackout in American history affected eight states and parts of Canada, left tens of millions of people without power and cost billions of dollars, according to officials. Power industry officials attributed the cause to the failure of high-voltage transmission lines in Ohio, which overloaded the power grid and cascaded into Canada and then New York.
But the blackout proved to be more initially frightening, in this post 9/11 world, than it was devastating. People simply coped with the inconvenience and made the best of it. The power returned to most area homes by midnight.
A tattoo artist from Slinging Ink salon, next to Citi Nails, was in the middle of giving a client a tattoo. Patrons had settled into booths at the Lynbrook Diner to enjoy an early dinner. And thousands of commuters were on Long Island Rail Road trains.
"Why I decided to take my babies to Long Beach today, I'll never know," said Varda Steinhardt of Manhattan. She and her year-old twins, Jacob and Ethan, were good-natured about being evacuated from their westbound train. Railroad workers and local residents worked side by side rescuing commuters held captive by 35 LIRR trains.
Steinhardt was at the Centre Avenue station in East Rockaway, along with scores of other commuters who emerged hot but surprisingly calm after having spent almost two hours on a steamy, stranded train. The travelers, though tired and sweaty, were nonetheless happy that they were dealing with a blackout and nothing worse.
"The train was sitting in the sun and all the windows were sealed. It was getting a little warm in there," Steinhardt said. "But we've been through a lot worse, haven't we?"
When asked how she would get her children home without the aid of electricity, Varda just smiled." Just tell me where there's a hotel, a motel, a rent-a-car place, anything. It's no big deal. We'll be fine," she said.
Amy Strano and her husband, Paul Bennett, of Brooklyn, waited for the 3:15 p.m. train out of Long Beach. They waited patiently, until they realized Amy had misread the train schedule. The 3:15 p.m. runs only on weekends. They had no choice but to wait for the 3:55 train.
The young couple took their misfortune and bad timing in stride. "If I had read the schedule correctly, we would be home already, instead of standing on the tracks," said Strano. "Now we'll just figure out a way to get home from here. It's not so bad."
"Where are we again?" laughed Paul.
Lynbrook's volunteer firefighters were everywhere, according to Chief John Crowley. Members were instrumental in helping evacuate LIRR passengers at Sunrise Highway and Ocean Avenue as well as responding to rescue calls and providing emergency lighting.
As soon as all power was lost, the Lynbrook Fire Department was put on standby, and all members reported to their firehouses.
"Members evacuated 280 passengers to safety, while others responded to a multi-vehicle accident," said Lynbrook Chief John Crowley. "We answered nine calls during the blackout, provided lighting at dangerous intersections, and basically helped in every way we could."
What the department could not do, though, was provide generators. Surprisingly, none of the fire houses have them. As a result of the blackout, Crowley plans to approach the village and ask that funds be appropriated for such a purchase.
"Because of the blackout, it became apparent to me that we need generators for the firehouses," said Crowley. "We can't be operating our emergency services in the dark."
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