Storm crushes cars, knocks out power in Great Neck

Moshe Barayev and his daughter were driving from the family pizzeria on Middle Neck Road in Great Neck to a flower shop across the street during Thursday's storm when a tree and a power line fell simultaneously on their Nissan Quest, Barayev said Friday.

"First, I didn't want to get out," Barayev said. Then, he saw a power line stretching across the front window but not touching the vehicle. "I said to my daughter, 'We gotta go.' "

The powerful winds that rattled Great Neck late Thursday afternoon still had residents, business owners and passersby shaking their heads in disbelief Friday, Barayev among them.

Barayev said he rammed open a stuck door with his shoulder, then tapped the pavement with the plastic flip-flops he was wearing to see if an electric current was running through the road. Once he was sure it was safe to get out of the vehicle, he and his daughter, Tami, 20, scrambled across the street to safety.

Tami went home to Queens, but Barayev ended up spending the night on a bench down the street from the pizzeria as he waited for crews to remove the car.

Nearly 18 hours after it happened, Barayev was in front of the bench, watching Long Island Power Authority workers remove the tree and power line from his vehicle.

"I feel like I'm in heaven," said a relived Barayev, who owns Geulla Pizza. "I'm going to go home, take a shower and sleep."

Finally, some relief. But others were still awaiting the return of power and recalling their wind-whipped experiences.

Sasha Masri, 29, who lost power Thursday, was worried about the safety of the fish in his two large aquariums, one freshwater, one saltwater. He ended up buying a 7,000-watt generator from Home Depot to keep running the aquariums - which include a stingray and an eel - to keep the 25 exotic fish safe.

The generator is also powering two refrigerators, his home computer and a widescreen television.

He was still without power Friday morning and said tree-service companies can't remove the trees from downed power lines until LIPA makes sure power to the lines has been turned off.

Deborah Williams, 46, of North Amityville, was visiting her 91-year-old grandmother at her apartment on Mill Neck Road, near Village Green Park.

"It sounded like a train was coming," she said. "You looked outside and it was white. At first, I just ran under the gazebo [in the park], then I just saw big hail balls that looked like baseballs.

"I've never been so scared in my life."

The wind, rain and hail lasted all of five to 10 minutes, she said.

From 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday night, Williams said she helped direct traffic at Middle Neck Road and Hicks Lane.

She will stay with her grandmother until power is restored to her apartment building. She said residents there have generators to provide light, but there is no refrigeration or air conditioning.

She said the night was uncomfortable.

"With all the helicopters and the sounds, it seemed like we were in a war," she said. "You could hear the electric wires snapping in the night."

Philip Strauss, 55, spent the night in his car next to his bakery on Middle Neck Road. He is unable to bake without power, he said, and he kept vigil at the bakery to salvage some of his refrigerated ingredients if power was restored.

Normally on Fridays, Strauss gets in at 3 a.m. to start baking.

At noon on Friday, nary an oven had been fired up.