Water main break closes Hempstead HS
A file photo of students arriving at Hempstead High School. (Oct. 21, 2008) Credit: Newsday/Alan Raia
Classes at Hempstead High School were canceled Tuesday after a water main break overnight on Tyler Avenue.
Village of Hempstead director of Public Works Frank Germinaro said emergency repair work had restored water service to the school by 10:30 a.m., adding that additional work would take place this weekend to modernize the section of pipe serving the school.
Germinaro said the six-inch main, located on Tyler Avenue, the block that runs to the north and west of the school, likely dates to at least the 1930s.
He said the main did not have a shut-off valve.
The temporary fix immediately restores water to the school, Germinaro said.
This weekend, he said, crews will install a shut-off valve.
News of the closure was posted on the Hempstead school district website. Spokeswoman Deirdre Gilligan said in addition to that posting the district notified parents and students.
Meanwhile, administrators were asked to report at 10 a.m., teachers and staff at 11 a.m.
In a statement, acting school district superintendent Julius Brown said: "Early this morning, Village of Hempstead officials notified the district of a water main break, which left the Hempstead High School campus without any water. Officials advised us that the problem was being worked on but that the building would probably be without water for most of the school day. Therefore, we needed to cancel classes for the day."
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Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
