By Andrew Coen
Well over a foot of snow blanketed the Five Towns on Saturday night and Sunday, bringing with it treacherous roads, downed trees, disruption of the Long Island Rail Road, canceled events and closed schools. Officials reported that approximately 17 inches of snow fell at Kennedy Airport in Jamaica, with wind gusts reaching as high as 60 mph in some parts of Long Island during the nor'easter.
Both the Lawrence and Hewlett-Woodmere school districts, along with numerous private schools in the Five Towns, were closed Monday due to the storm. While the snowfall created headaches for Five Towners who had to shovel driveways and dig out cars, many children took advantage of the first significant snowfall of the season by heading to Grant Park in Hewlett with their sleds.
The snow day made many students and faculty members happy, including Bob Simone of Cedarhurst, head of security at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach Davis Renov Stahler Yeshiva High School for Boys in Woodmere. "By having [Monday] off, it gives you a chance to get yourself in order," said Simone.
The nor'easter made life difficult for people who work outdoors, like carpenter Eric Wenemer of Inwood, who, when interviewed Monday morning, was on his way to a construction job in the bitter cold after working hard to clear out his driveway. "It was rough clearing [the snow] out," said Wenemer.
Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew Parise estimated that his village received about a foot of snow, explaining that his crew of 12 men kept ahead of the storm by working a 12-hour shift, from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, with 12 plows and three sanders. After heading home for some much-needed rest, the crew came back from 7 p.m. to midnight, and did some mop-up work on Monday morning. Parise said residents cooperated by parking their cars in their driveways, which made plowing the streets much easier.
"They did a great job," said Parise. "I never saw [snow cleared] so smoothly."
He added that the village got through the storm with few problems, with only one report of a minor accident on a side street due to icing.
In neighboring Lawrence, crews made four full passes through the streets on Saturday night and Sunday with 10 plows and four salters, according to Deputy Village Administrator Dan Herron. In addition to clearing the streets, the crew also plowed the municipal parking lots, sidewalks and the Lawrence LIRR station.
Herron credited village Superintendent of Highways Sal Castro with anchoring the cleanup, which, in addition to the clearing of snow, also included dealing with a shutdown of the water pollution control plant's sewer system, which was unrelated to the storm and was fixed in 30 minutes. Village officials also arranged for a private contractor to remove a tree on Rockaway Turnpike that was knocked down in the storm.
"Everything went very well," said Herron. "The men were on top of it."
Atlantic Beach Mayor Stephen Mahler said Monday morning that his village crews worked from Saturday night into Sunday to make sure roads were clear, with Park Street handled by Nassau County. "We seem to be in pretty good shape," Mahler said. "They aren't perfect, but they certainly are passable."
Nassau County Department of Public Works crews assisted in clearing snow from county roads in the Five Towns, including Peninsula Boulevard, Broadway, Rockaway Turnpike and Park Street in Atlantic Beach. Town of Hempstead crews worked to clear side streets in the unincorporated areas of Inwood, North Lawrence, Woodmere, North Woodmere, Hewlett and Atlantic Beach Estates.
Hempstead spokeswoman Susan Trenkle said 200 plows and salters were used throughout the un-incorporated areas of the town starting at 4 p.m. Saturday with a state of emergency declared on Sunday morning, which was lifted on Monday, to allow for a smooth cleanup.
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
