By Joe Kellard and Andrew Coen
Atlantic Beach mayor Stephen Mahler, president of the Nassau County Village Official's Association, organized a meeting on Oct. 19 at Village Hall with Richard Rotanz, commissioner of the county's Office of Emergency Management, and other emergency officials, including local fire chiefs, to discuss preparedness for evacuations. Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) also convened a 13-person panel on Oct. 27, mostly comprised of emergency management personnel from Nassau County, the Town of Hempstead, various villages and the City of Long Beach at Long Beach City Hall to inform citizens of their need to prepare for such storms and officials' plans to protect them.
While the village of Atlantic Beach did its part to prepare for emergencies in 2003 by installing a telephone emergency alert system that can send a voice-mail message to every resident with a listed number in three hours, Mahler has expressed concern about congestion on the village's Nassau Expressway (Route 878) evacuation route, the result of recent construction projects along the state highway.
"It's just an invite to disaster if Southwest Nassau County is not given viable escape routes," said Mahler, adding that Peninsula Boulevard in Woodmere flooded during the recent week-long stretch of rain.
The current emergency evacuation route for Atlantic Beach and residents of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, as well as the western portion of Long Beach, runs from Route 878 to the end of Peninsula Boulevard, onto Hempstead Turnpike toward Hofstra University, then into the Nassau Coliseum parking lot in Uniondale. The other residents of the barrier island that include Long Beach, Lido Beach and Point Lookout would evacuate either by way of the Long Beach Bridge, toward Island Park, or the Loop Parkway, from Lido Beach to the Meadowbrook Parkway.
In an effort to change the evacuation route through New York City, local officials pressed Congress to approve a $300 million project that would expand Route 878, but it was not included in the 2004 federal highway bill passed by Congress. Lawrence village Trustee Martin Oliner said there is a good chance that an upcoming state bill could provide the necessary money for the expanded highway and evacuation route, which would run from the current Atlantic Beach Bridge to Rockaway Turnpike at ground level, become elevated just past the Costco Wholesale Club, and then head east along Rockaway Turnpike toward the Van Wyck Expressway and the Belt Parkway.
The original proposal for the expansion of Route 878 was made in 1976, but then abandoned. Oliner said the project would get a huge boost if voters approve a transportation bond act on Nov. 8, explaining that even if that is rejected, there is a good chance the project will move forward.
Rotanz said during the Oct. 27 meeting in Long Beach that the county must have evacuation plans that include residents' staying with friends, family or in shelters, where they should bring along food and clothing. According to Rotanz, Nassau Community College would be set up as an evacuation center that could accommodate 5,000 people, and the Nassau Coliseum is available for more serious storms, with a sheltering capacity of 30,000 people.
At the same meeting, which was attended by nearly 70 South Shore residents, Weisenberg noted that the barrier island has approximately 48,000 residents and a mere four gas stations and three evacuation routes. "Are we going to be able to meet the needs of our population?" he asked. "The answer is no...No one is safe on the barrier beach...We have to be out of here two or three days before a Category 2 or 3 hurricane hits the island."
Weisenberg said that raising roads where flooding is routine will be part of new evacuation plans that he and others are working on. Mahler said that the west end of Atlantic Beach is especially prone to flooding, and as a result, the village has looked into acquiring grant money to raise the roads in that area.
Two overriding themes emerged from the panelists' brief talks: when a major storm is headed our way, residents must evacuate two to three days before it is projected to hit land, and those who fail to evacuate should not expect emergency workers to put themselves in harm's way to rescue them.
While commending Weisenberg's efforts, Morris Kramer, a self-described environmentalist from Atlantic Beach, called the meeting "a love fest," that failed to address some vital issues. Among them, Kramer claimed, is that there are about "12 to 15 abnormally high tides a month" that increase flooding in Reynolds Channel. He stressed that his calls for dredging to correct this problem have fallen on deaf ears. "They're not dredging the bay," Kramer said. "They're just talking, and nothing's been done."
During his talk, Weisenberg said that dunes must be restored to the beaches to protect against Category 3 storms. "If this means our beaches won't be as beautiful," Weisenberg said, "then so be it."
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
