By Mary Malloy
"We had a report of the first tree down at 1 p.m. on Saturday," said East Rockaway Department of Public Works Superintendent John Keating. "We first had to open the roads for emergency vehicles by removing trees that were blocking roads, then come back and do a clean up." Keating said his crew worked until Sunday morning, clearing branches and debris from roads. "Some trees just split in the middle," he said. "Some of the limbs that came down were as big as trees themselves." Keating said that about three or four trees fell in East Rockaway, but he did not believe there was any property damage. "The sustained winds were many hours longer than the weather service had predicted," said Keating, "so more trees went down." In some bordering areas, the East Rockaway and Lynbrook DPWs worked side by side.
Experiencing the same weather conditions as its sister village, Lynbrook had about 10 large trees uprooted in the area. "Some of them were of significant size," said Superintendent of Public Works Phil Healy. "We had some challenges with the large silver maples. With a huge tree, it can take five or six hours with a full crew,." He said on North Umberland Street, two trees fell on an electrical grid, as one toppling into another, and both brought down three poles. "There was a huge monster of a tree on Bixley Heath," said Healy. "I think it maya be the tallest tree in the neighborhood. We tried to get the trees off of properties without doing any further damage. I am fortunate enough to have a crew who are dedicated. The residents should feel confident."
"I saw the tree on the house on Sunday morning," said Deputy Mayor Tom Miccio, referring to the tree that fell on Bixley Heath. "It was so big that the back wheels of the payloader came off the ground as they lifted if off the house." An outside contractor was called in to help with the removal. "The DPW did a tremendous job," said Miccio. "They were able to get it off the house without additional damage. The homeowner was very appreciative."
According to LIPA spokesperons Michael Lowndes, 26,802 of their customers in Southwest Nassau County were affected by outages from 12 a.m. Saturday until Monday at noon, as a result of the storm. "eighty-six percent of all outages were restored in less than four hours," he said.
Throughout Long Island, Ernesto's 57- mph wind gusts and torrential rains caused 127,799 service interruptions on Saturday and during the early-morning hours of Sunday. "I am extremely proud of the remarkable job that LIPA's management and electric service personnel accomplished this weekend," said LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel.
By Sunday, the weather had shifted from fierce to pleasant, with people coming out to do some last-minute school shopping and for holiday sales. By Labor Day, the weekend was in full swing. In Bay Park, residents were fishing, barbecuing and enjoying the sunny weather. "We're happy to just finally get out and enjoy the weekend," said Sue Zatcky, who lives in Bay Park. "We're just relaxing today."
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