By Jerry Burke
"This is awesome!" said Shea McClosky, 5, running around on the moonlit streets a few blocks away, flashlight in hand.
For most, the general feeling about last Thursday's sudden power outage was somewhere in between. Still, with Elmont, Franklin Square and West Hempstead totally in the dark until at least early Friday, spirits in the neighborhoods remained upbeat and, in many cases, even festive.
"I can't believe this could happen like this," said a customer waiting in line for some Chinese food at Tai Feng restaurant on Hempstead Turnpike. "But I guess we'll make the most of it."
Any businesses that could continue operations in the fleeting daylight did, some doing it briskly. "Batteries, candy and beer are selling the best," said Michael Phillips, working at the Pathmark in West Hempstead.
The Valley Stream Central High School district went ahead with its summer graduation ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. - less than one hour after the power failed. Approximately 25 seniors, including three North High School students, accepted their diplomas. Central High School's Keller Auditorium was hot, the only available light was sunshine, and presenters had to raise the volume of their voices to reach out to the audience.
Long Island Power Authority spokespeople stated that by early morning Friday, nearly 85 percent of Long Island was out of the black. This came as a surprise to many north of Hempstead Turnpike who did not power up until mid-afternoon.
Franklin Hospital Medical Center had a busy night, with more than 50 people visiting the emergency department in a span of an hour and a half to two hours. "We had many people come in showing symptoms of anxiety," said Terry Lynam, a spokesperson for the North Shore-Long island Jewish Health System, which owns Franklin. Many others came in suffering from shortness of breath, and others were crash victims from the numerous car accidents that happened on area roads.
"There were also people who came in who are on home ventilators, just to be on the safe side," Lynam said.
Franklin used auxiliary power to maintain operations once the power went out and overnight, and was back on full power by morning, according to Lynam. "Our biggest challenge," Lynam said, "was trying to make sure there was enough fuel for the generators, and to maintain communications and lighting, and to make sure that patient care was not being jeopardized in any way. The auxiliary power operated well."
Lynam said that Franklin, along with all the other hospitals in the North Shore-LIJ system, "continued to operate as well as possible under the circumstances." With the auxiliary power used for only the most necessary functions, the air conditioning had to be turned off, and non-critical lighting in the hospital had to be dimmed.
Lt. Dennis Dowdell, administrative officer of Nassau County's Fifth Police Precinct, said 65 extra police officers and 10 supervisors above and beyond the normal complement were called in. Extra officers helped direct traffic at major intersections.
When the blackout began, Dowdell said, "Our services were briefly interrupted, but we were able to get up to speed pretty fast," because the police department operated with an auxiliary generator.
At first no one knew the cause of the blackout but, Dowdell said, "I think we were ready for anything. I would say we were ready for whatever happened." He added that there were no reports of looting in the precinct, and no spike in crime due to the lack of electricity.
For many, the next day was a free day off since public transportation was still disrupted and some offices were closed to conserve energy. Some needed the rest after having lost sleep tossing and turning thanks to the heat. Others were recuperating from the excessively long commute home from work taken the night before- particulary residents who worked in Manhattan. Some city workers hadn't even made it home until Friday, after being forced to sleep in their office buildings, in hotels, or at a friend's house.
Still, most stores opened for business throughout Franklin Square, West Hempstead, and Elmont. Motorists looking to fill up on gas faced long lines at the pump harking back to the gas shortage of the late1970s. Restauranteurs and other food service business owners were forced to throw away thousands of dollars worth of food that had spoiled during the night. Residents were also forced to discard rotten food.
John C. O'Connell and Nicole Falco contributed to this story.
