Great Neck villages look to buy generators

Great Neck peninsula villages don't want to be left in the dark again.

Village of Saddle Rock Mayor Dan Levy is heading an effort to buy generators at a bulk discount for area residents.

That community, along with Kings Point, Great Neck Estates and other North Shore villages, was among the last to regain power after Tropical Storm Irene hit in August.

Some residents waited almost a week for the Long Island Power Authority to restore power.

Officials hope to attract 100 residents before looking for a vendor who will offer discounted sales and installation prices for a bulk purchase.

"LIPA is the only one who has a stranglehold on electricity," Levy said at a recent trustees meeting. His plan is to put the power in the hands of residents.

It has the support of Great Neck Estates Police Chief John C. Garbedian.

"In Great Neck, we live on a peninsula and there is only one way for the power to get in here," he said. "When the transmission lines have power issues, we can't get the power here."

Levy has 30 Saddle Rock residents signed up and added 30 more after talking about the plan at a recent Great Neck Village Officials Association meeting. Twenty-three families have signed up from the Village of Kensington, Mayor Susan Lopatkin said.

Details of how the program would work are still to be finalized, but Levy said he plans to price 15,000-, 20,000- and 25,000-kilowatt gas and diesel generators. Retail prices at home improvement stores range from $4,000 to $8,200.

The higher the kilowatt, the more amps to power a house, said Gogi Kaur, an administrator at Generator One in Port Washington, which services generators.

The power of the generator "depends on how many appliances you want hooked up," she said.

An air conditioner typically requires 50 amps and kitchen appliances can generally run on 100 amps of power. A 15,000-kilowatt generator provides about 100 amps, she said.

Levy said he would change village zoning to allow generators on either side of a house, rather than just in the back.

"My feeling is a generator is an emergency tool," he said. "It's not something used on a daily basis. I don't have a problem with a generator being on a side yard if it makes a resident's life easier."