Losses from Shirley gas leak adding up

Dilawar Farooqui is out one $175 halal-slaughtered goat, which rotted just a day after he'd bought it. Rosselin Collantes had to get dog food and hotel rooms. Greg Mazza lost a day's sales at his liquor store.

Whatever last weekend's propane tank leak at the Southport Plaza Shopping Center in Shirley ends up costing - authorities still have not put a price on the massive emergency response - it will include hundreds or even thousands of these smaller entries, borne by neighbors and businesses forced to evacuate or shut down on New Year's Day.

Synergy Gas, the company that owned the tank, has hired a local claims management firm and set up a toll-free number for people to call with questions about expenses incurred. It has not provided details on who will be reimbursed, for what, how much or when.

Residents tell of restaurant meals, hotel rooms and even clothes they had to buy after being hustled out of their homes with little or no warning before dawn Saturday. Employees worry they lost out on overtime pay they would have earned for working on a holiday. Store managers have their own woes, especially if they are in the food business.

Because electric power was cut off from early morning until mid-evening, much of the meat, produce, dairy and deli had to be thrown out at Stop & Shop.

A claim for hundreds of dollars has already been submitted by La Familia Deli, where Stacy Escobar had to throw away 80 pounds of beef and chicken and another 10 pounds of lettuce and tomatoes. "Nobody wants to buy it when it gets wilted," she said.

For Farooqui, a retired clerk at the United Nations, the money wasn't the point - and nor was the aggravation of another hourlong drive to a New York City butcher because the goat meat in the freezer spoiled. "This experience was nerve-racking," he said. "We got no information, communication."

But for some, the money matters a lot. "We're basically going to be broke for the rest of the month," said Brian Jasinski, who has seven children with his girlfriend, Lisa Schult, and lives on a disability check.

Jasinski said he bought $140 worth of groceries the day before the leak. After the evacuation, the couple spent $40 on gas, driving aimlessly around because they had nowhere to stay and didn't know about the shelter for evacuees at William Floyd High School.

They spent hundreds more on baby clothes and diapers in the mistaken belief the evacuation would last a week. When they did get back, late Sunday night, almost everything in the refrigerator had rotted.

A spokesman for The Town of Brookhaven said the investigation into the leak is continuing and the companies involved may face fines.

With Will Van Sant

How to submit a claim

Synergy Gas is collecting claims from residents and business owners seeking compensation for expenses or losses because of Saturday’s propane leak in Shirley. The toll-free number to call is 888-997-8466.