Cooling centers open in towns Islandwide

Towns across Long Island announced special measures to help residents deal with the ongoing heat wave.

“Excessive temperatures and oppressive humidity levels are a dangerous, and potentially deadly, combination,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray said Monday.

Here are some of those measures:

Cooling centers at the Henrietta Acampora Recreation Center in Blue Point, New Village Recreation Center in Centereach, Rose Caracappa Senior Center in Mount Sinai and Mastic Recreation Center in Mastic will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. town officials said.

The Centereach and Holtsville pools will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., officials said.

Town beaches at Cedar Beach in Mt. Sinai, West Meadow Beach in Stony Brook, Corey Beach in Blue Point and Davis Beach on Fire Island will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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Great Gunn Beach on Fire Island will be open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, call 451-TOWN or visit http://www.brookhaven.org/.

Cooling centers are open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.:
*Baldwin Senior Center, 1810 N. Grand Ave., 516-546-7110
*Bellmore Senior Center, 2000 Bellmore Ave., 516-221-9696
*Cedarhurst Senior Center, 200 Cedarhurst Ave., 516-295-1177
(open until 4:30 p.m.)
*East Meadow Senior Center, 1485 Front St., 516-794-2458
*Elmont Senior Center, 138 Elmont Rd., 516-354-4777
*Franklin Square Senior Center, 1182 Martha Place, 516-328-3010
*Green Acres Senior Center, 400 Flower Rd., Valley Stream, 516-872-8810
*Levittown Senior Center, 555 N. Newbridge Rd., 516-433-5454
*Merrick Senior Center, 2550 Clubhouse Rd., 516-868-4777
*Oceanside Senior Center, 2900 Rockaway Ave., 516-766-8888
*Rosa Parks Senior Center, 2 Babylon Tpke., Roosevelt, 516-867-1612
*Salisbury Senior Center, 460 Salisbury Park Dr., Westbury, 516-333-5440
*Uniondale-Hempstead Senior Center, 840 Uniondale Ave., Uniondale, 516-292-1313
*Uniondale-Merrick Senior Center, 750 Jerusalem Ave., Uniondale, 516-538-5050
*Wantagh Senior Center, 1150 Seamans Neck Rd., 516-785-8505

Hours will be extended at several following pools. Roosevelt Pool and Town Park at the Sands Pool will close at 7 p.m. Closing time will be 8 p.m. at the Forest City Park Pool, Rath Pool (Franklin Sq. Park District), Walker Memorial Pool, Azaela Road Pool, Hewlett Pool, Blue Grass Lane Pool and Slate Lane Pool.

Lifeguards will be on duty for an extra hour, to 7 p.m., at the following beaches: Town Park Point Lookout, Lido Beach Town Park, Lido West Town Park, Town Park at Sands, Hewlett Point Park, East Atlantic Beach, Atlantic Beach Estates and Point Lookout Civic Beach.

Officials plan to close the center at 5 p.m., but say they could leave it open longer depending on heat problems that develop.

“According to the forecast, the worst yet to come,” Valentine said.

The Smithtown Senior Citizens Center typically is the location that is opened as a shelter or a cooling station in extreme temperatures, Valentine said.

“I think everybody has to use a little common sense with something like this,” Valentine said of the heat wave. “We’ve gone through these before.”

Valentine said the department is advising residents to “conserve energy and keep yourself well-hydrated and make sure if you can avoid any type of exertion in this weather.”

— JENNIFER BARRIOS, BILL BLEYER, MITCHELL FREEDMAN, DEON J. HAMPTON, LAUREN R. HARRISON, DEBORAH S. MORRIS, PATRICK WHITTLE