By: Robert Remler
Residents cope with worrisome storm
Though it wasn't the doomsday disaster forecasted as late as Monday morning, predictions at press time Tuesday still called for the final arrival of about six inches of wind-blown snow in Valley Stream. The weekend's worrisome forcasts and dangerous conditions Monday night into Tuesday closed schools both days and made driving and walking hazardous activities.
Several stores were closed on Rockaway Avenue in anticipation of rough weather on Monday, and closed again on Tuesday when the long- and anxiously awaited low-level blizzard hit. Village Hall, the Henry Waldinger Library and the post office remained open on Monday.
The Long Island Power Authority reported that no Valley Stream customers were negatively affected by the storm as of Tuesday morning, according to Michael Lowndes, LIPA's manager of media relations.
Anticipating as much as a foot of snow, Mayor Edward Cahill called an emergency management-team meeting Sunday afternoon at Arlington Yards, the village snow equipment marshalling facility. Mechanics came to work Sunday to inspect vehicles, making certain the trucks were in running order, ready to battle the then-predicted blizzard.
The management team prioritized the snow-clearing work, Cahill said. Plows and sanding trucks would first plow around firehouses, then schools, parking areas around train stations and village streets, in that order. Crews were placed on alert on Monday, hours before the storm.
Tim Leahy, the village's highway department supervisor, said that trucks began spreading sand and salt late Sunday night when thick ice particles first fell. Leahy, who worked with the village during the 1996 blizzard, said the village was somewhat better prepared for the anticipated storm than past storms. Though he said he has great faith in his young crew, he regretted that some veteran plow drivers have retired. For safety's sake, he said, the men will work no more than sixteen-hour shifts.
The village also had tree crews on call to remove fallen limbs. It is not uncommon for Nor'easters to cause trees to fall on wires, requiring quick removal by repair crews, he said. The village's tree crew would arrive on the scene with chain saws and remove fallen limbs. He said their effort served to expedite work conducted by LIPA crews. "We help them and they help us."
The Town of Hempstead was making sure their crews were ready, too. "We're in the middle of it now," said Town Supervisor Richard Guardino on Monday afternoon. "We actually had a strategy meeting on Friday morning and at Town Hall on Sunday. On Sunday night we salted all the roads twice overnight. In the northern part of town we had an inch of snow and in the southern part of town we had icy conditions. With two layers of salt out there it helped in the rush hour [Monday morning] with the snow, ice or sleet.
"We're in a high level of preparedness. We're in an emergency mode here. We're ready to handle two feet of snow. ... It's a difficult weather forecast. The meteorologists are all over the place. The key is to stay ahead of the storm. We're ready to sand again and when there is an accumulation of three inches of snow, we're out there with the plows."
He said the town actually had three storms since the first one, when they hired a new consultant with a strategy on fighting storms. "The key is to be very aggressive and stay ahead of the storm. We're ready for whatever we get-three inches or 23 inches."
Tom Farrell, manager of the King Kullen supermarket on Merrick Road in Valley Stream, reported "exceptional sales" over the weekend. "We did an excellent business over the weekend, right through Monday, and our help rose to the occasion through the tough times. Our suppliers did an exceptional job under the circumstances. Business started in full swing Saturday morning and continued very strong every day since," he said on Tuesday morning. "We got deliveries throughout these days and were glad to be able to serve the needs of the Valley Stream community."
Police Officer Raymond Bieselin at the county's Emergency Operation Center in Mineola, recommended that people stay home until the storm passed. He said the center was staffed with many agency representatives ranging from the Red Cross to New York State Police. "Just stay home and watch the snow fall from your windows," he said. Bieselin also advised that people in four-wheel-drive vehicles should not test their cars under blizzard conditions. "Even four-wheel-drive vehicles get stuck."
John Sgaglione, owner of the Exxon service center on North Central Avenue, purchased enough gas the weekend before the anticipated storm to guard against potential shortages. "Usually there is a rush or a crush at the pumps before events like this."
Sgaglione offered suggestions for people trapped in their cars during a blizzard. He suggested that after pulling to the side of the road people should lock their car and seek a safe haven such as in a firehouse. If unable to reach a safe haven, he recommended running the engine at ten-minute intervals. Running the radio, heater, or keeping lights on without running the engine will drain the battery.
The West Nassau Dialysis Center on Rockaway Avenue also made pre-storm preparations. Social worker Stuart Miller at the center said that dialysis patients were told to come in on Sunday, a day ahead of their scheduled Monday appointments because of the anticipated storm.
"I hope the snow melts quickly," said Genevieve Gulifoyle on Tuesday morning. The Miller Place resident didn't mind the March snow. "I drive a truck," she said. "I guess if I drove a car it would bother me."
"Just a little bit tired of the snow," said Theo Stewart, who lives at the corner of Benson Place and Fritchie Place. "So far the village has done a pretty good job of clearing the streets," he said.
At the other end of the block, a neighbor had a different view. "They didn't even plow here yet," said a man who declined to give his name Tuesday morning. "We usually get done last because we're between two other streets."
A woman just off Shaw Avenue, moments before the village plow went through, said she was mad because the village never plows her street. "It's pathetic," she said. "There's pot holes and ruts and they never clean the snow here."
Central Hardware on North Central Avenue was doing a brisk business as early as four days before the storm. Alan Oppenheimer, whose family has owned the store for 63 years, said that they were twice as busy during the weekend preceding the storm. Bags of rock salt, shovels and scrapers flew off the shelf as worried customers readied for the storm. Oppenheimer said the shelves would be restocked within a week.
The Key Food Supermarket in North Valley Stream also reported a blizzard of sales days before the storm. Workers who had stocked shelves every day since Friday said that Sunday was their busiest day. "We did at least three times the business as usual," said Richie Gaitan, the store's co-manager. The store ran out of milk and bread late Sunday afternoon, he said. The following morning, however, the shelves were once again 95 percent filled, he said.
Hollis Roach, a Valley Stream resident shopping at the store, said he was ready for the storm. "We did load up on water and bread, and there's lots of other things for us to eat, too."
Mike Wierzbicki, a school custodian in North Valley Stream, had been clearing sidewalks of accumulating sleet since the early morning hours on Monday. "The whole crew is in a frenzy," said the Valley Stream resident. "I'm psyched. We might have to pull an all-nighter."
Brancard's Delicatessen on Rockaway Avenue experienced customer frenzy on the weekend. Artie Hirschberg, the store's owner, said that he sold out of bread and milk over the weekend, but restocked on Monday, ready to meet new customer demands as the storm's full brunt followed Monday night.
"County public works equipment has been readied for the storm to cover approximately 2,200 lane miles of county roads with adequate manpower at its disposal," reported a news releaese sent out by County Executive Gulotta's ofice March 4. "We are in constant contact with Emergency Management officials in the region, the U.S. Weather Service and the State EMO in Albany tracking the winter storm," Gulotta was quoted as saying in the release.
John C. O'Connell contributed to this story.
