Top LIPA exec, trustee announce resignations

Another top LIPA executive and a LIPA trustee have announced their resignations in the wake of the authority's much-criticized response to superstorm Sandy.

Bruce Germano, a LIPA veteran who served as vice president of customer service, confirmed Monday night that he will depart LIPA at the end of the year. He called his resignation "purely a personal decision."

His departure follows that of LIPA chief operating officer Michael Hervey, who announced earlier this month that he would leave at year's end.

LIPA also confirmed Monday that X. Cristofer Damianos, a board member since his appointment in 2007 by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, resigned his post. His term was set to expire Aug. 31, 2013. LIPA spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said Damianos, who owns a commercial real estate firm, left "to spend more time on his business."

The resignations come as LIPA officials and board members face more intense criticism than at any time in LIPA's 14-year history following a series of missteps during the Sandy restoration. LIPA's communications systems, among others, faced a chorus of customer complaints because they failed to tell customers when outages would be restored, as executives had promised.

Damianos' departure reduces the number of trustees to nine, with six vacant seats. Trustees, appointed by the governor and state legislators, need eight members for a quorum to conduct business.