350 Old Country Road, Suite 205, Garden City, NY 11530
I do not have to tell you that we experienced a devastating hurricane that crippled Nassau County. As of this writing, a number of residents including myself and my family, are still without power and heat. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), over whom we have no control, is solely responsible for our electric service. However, knowing that LIPA cannot access its equipment if roads are impassable or pole lines not accessible from downed trees, our Village Departments worked day and night to cut and remove fallen trees from roadways, sidewalks and homes. The damage we sustained to Village trees is not only beyond imagination, but incalculable at this time.
I cannot commend nor thank our Village employees enough for their dedication, loyalty and stamina. Each and every employee experienced the same problems as did we in their personal lives - some worse as they dealt also with flooding - yet they all came to work leaving their families and homes unattended to make our Village roads passable and safe.
While this massive cleanup was - and still is - going on, we were unable to communicate with our residents by way of our Swift Reach Call Service or inter- net due to the area-wide power outage. Information was printed on our web-site but was extremely limited because of lack of reliable sources.
Also, I want to assure you that although we were not in communication, I have participated in twice daily conference calls with LIPA. I have expressed my outrage on behalf of all of us who have been and continue to be without power.
The information they have provided has been nothing more than warmed over press releases, failing to either identify specific plans or comment to timelines. There are no words to express my frustration with LIPA’s management - nor are there words to express my gratitude to those crews who have come from all over the Country and Canada to work to restore power.
Finally, please know that our local elected County and State officials have worked tirelessly to contend with the devastation left by “Sandy”. Special thanks to Kemp Hannon for his efforts in helping me to get Garden City back on line. As life slowly returns to normal, let us keep in our thoughts and prayers those who have lost everything - for whom complete recovery may never come.
