Irene updates: The storm's aftermath

Follow the latest Tropical Storm Irene staff reports, including updates on cleanup, traffic and closures. Send tips, photos to newstips@newsday.com. 

Sept. 1, 2011

5:10 p.m. -- MOBILE FOOD PANTRY IN HUNTINGTON STATION

Island Harvest and the Family Service League, in partnership with the town of Huntington, has set a mobile food pantry in Huntington Station. A variety of food is available to those who have been impacted by Tropical Storm Irene. The mobile food pantry is located at Manor Field, 110 East 5th St., and will be open until 7 p.m. Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.

-- Deborah S. Morris

4:15 p.m. -- FREE MEALS IN FREEPORT

Nassau County and the Salvation Army have partnered to distribute meals to residents still without power tomorrow from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Salvation Army’s Freeport Community Center, 66 Church St., Freeport.

1:50 p.m. -- FREE ICE IN SMITHTOWN AT 4 P.M.

With more than 50,000 Suffolk homes and businesses still lacking electricity, the county will give away ice cubes Thursday afternoon at Smithtown Town Hall.

About 2,000 pounds of ice will be distributed from 4 to 7 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis at town hall, 99 W. Main St. in the hamlet of Smithtown.

There is no charge for the ice, but there is a limit of one cooler per vehicle. Residents must provide their own cooler.

Staff from the office of State Sen. John Flanagan (R-East Northport) will be available to discuss problems related to the storm, said the office of Sheriff Vincent DeMarco, which is coordinating ice distribution.

Ice also is distributed at Yaphank Avenue and County Road 21 in Yaphank, and at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, 100 Center Dr. in Riverside. For more information, call 631-987-0706.

---Carl MacGowan

1:14 p.m. -- BROOKHAVEN YARD WASTE PICKUP

Brookhaven residents who want to dispose of tree branches and leaves left in their yards after Tropical Storm Irene can leave them bundled at the curb for a special yard waste pickup next week, the town said.

The waste must be placed on curbs Sunday night.

Town Supervisor Mark Lesko said the waste must be bundled; if it’s not, the town will not be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the collection, he said.

Residents can also take yard waste to four town sites: Percy Raynor Park on Nesconset Road, the town landfill in Yaphank, the Holtsville Ecology Center and the Manorville compost site.

For more information, call 631-451-8696 or visit brookhaven.org.

-- Sophia Chang

1:08 p.m. -- IRENE AFFECTS TOWN OF SMITHTOWN PARKS

Hoyt Farm Park in Commack remained closed yesterday due to downed power lines caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

Town of Smithtown parks director Charles Barrett said the park would not reopen until the Long Island Power Authority removes a live power line. He said he does not know when the line will be removed.

In Fort Salonga, Callahans Beach, which was closed starting Sunday due to erosion caused by Irene, reopened yesterday. The beach, a Smithtown Town park off Route 25A, lost 40 feet of sand bulkhead to the storm, town officials said. The park remained closed Monday and Tuesday while the bulkhead was restored. Trees that had blocked the park’s entrance have been removed, Barrett said.

-- Carl MacGowan

1:05 p.m. -- BACKPACK GIVEAWAY RESCHEDULED

The sixth annual back-to-school event for disadvantaged children in Hempstead Village has been rescheduled for Saturday. It was postponed last weekend because of Tropical Storm Irene.

The ABBA (Able Bodies of Believers Alliance) Leadership Center, in partnership with Hempstead Promise Neighborhoods, will be giving away more than 1,000 backpacks filled with school supplies at the Judea United Baptist Church, 83 Greenwich St. in Hempstead, on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.

To pick up a backpack, children registered for the event must be accompanied by a parent.

Registration for the event is closed. For more information, call 516-690-4272.

-- Aisha Al-Muslim

11:45 a.m. -- FREE SHOWERS IN NASSAU

Nassau County is making shower facilities available at three locations for residents still without power.

Shower facilities at North Woodmere Park will be available today from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; at Cantiague Park in Hicksville from 6 to 8 p.m; and at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale through 9 p.m. Residents are encouraged to bring towels and soap.

North Woodmere Park (516-571-7801) is located on Branch Boulevard at Hungry Harbor Road in North Woodmere.

Cantiague Park (516-571-7057) is located on West John Street in Hicksville.

Mitchel Athletic Complex (516-572-0400) is located on Charles Lindbergh Boulevard in Uniondale.

Also, the county will run a free movie -- “Twilight Saga-Eclipse” -- tonight at 7 at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre in Eisenhower Park.

11:25 a.m. -- INSURANCE QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN MERRICK

The New York State Insurance Department has rolled out a “mobile resource center” at Merrick Road Town Park to address questions related to private insurance claims and other disaster relief and reimbursement programs, including FEMA programs, the Town of Hempstead said in a news release.

The center will be open today through 8 p.m. The park is located at the corner of Merrick and Clubhouse roads.

11:15 a.m. -- LIPA PRESS CONFERENCE

Long Island Power Authority officials will hold a news conference on the status of power outages across Long Island 11:30 a.m. As of 11:15 a.m., 158,173 customers were without power. 

August 31, 2011

7:10 p.m. --  BROOKHAVEN LIFTS STATE OF EMERGENCY

Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko that he has lifted a state of emergency that was in effect since last Thursday as the area girded for then-Hurricane Irene.

Lesko, in a news release, said the decision was made after reviewing the hardest-hit areas in the town. He said he is pleased with the progress of cleanup efforts.

The state of emergency was lifted as of 1 p.m.

6:35 p.m. - AMITYVILLE MAYOR FUMING OVER BLOCKED ROAD

With Route 110 still blocked south of Avon Place in Amityville three days after Irene downed a pole and utility lines there, frustrated village Mayor Peter Imbert Wednesday called on the Long Island Power Authority to clear the road.

“I’m not asking for power,” he said. “Just get this street open. This is crazy.”

Read Nick Spangler's full story

5:40 p.m. -- EROSION NIXES HAMPTONS MOVIE NIGHT

A movie-night fundraiser for the East Hampton Food Pantry scheduled for 7 p.m. has been canceled due to the effect of Tropical Storm Irene.

Hamptons Drive-In Co-Owner Zac Allentuck said tonight’s showing of “Finding Nemo” at Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett was canceled because of erosion.

“There’s not enough beach left to do it,” he said.

Read Erin Geismar's full story

4:30 p.m. -- SUNY OLD WESTBURY DELAYS SEMESTER START

SUNY Old Westbury, still struggling with power outages yesterday afternoon, decided to delay the start of classes even longer — until next Tuesday.

Read Olivia Winslow's full story

3:50 p.m. -- CHARGE UP IN DEER PARK FROM 5 TO 8 P.M.

Suffolk is adding another respite center for residents still without power.

The county will make the Deer Park Fire District Training Facility available from 5 to 8 p.m. today.

Like one opened in Middle Island earlier in the day, this center, with the help of the American Red Cross, will offer free meals, shower facilities and access to power supplies to recharge electronic devices.

The Deer Park Fire District training facility is located at 973 Nicolls Rd., Deer Park. 

3:40 p.m. --  EXTRA HEMPSTEAD WASTE PICKUPS, DROP-OFFS

In the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, Hempstead Town’s Department of Sanitation is providing curbside pickup of storm waste and has extended drop-off hours at its facility in Merrick.

Read Aisha Al-Muslim's full story

2:53 p.m. -- BE VIGILANT AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS

We just got a good reminder from the public information office of the Nassau County Police Department: Drivers need to approach all intersections with caution due to the numbers of traffic signal devices in need of repair.

2:04 p.m. -- SPORADIC BLACKOUTS POSSIBLE ACROSS LI

Sporadic blackouts are possible across Long Island this week as LIPA crews work an ever-expanding list of sites damaged by Hurricane Irene and 189,472 customers remain without power. On day four of the third largest repair effort in Long Island Power Authority’s history, officials said the number of significant damage locations requiring work crews jumped again to more than 5,000, up from over 3,000 Tuesday.

Read Mark Harrington's full story

12:23 p.m. -- INSURANCE CLAIMS HELP

The state Insurance Department will be available at Cedar Creek Park's Administration building Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 2 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said.

Officials will offer help to residents and advice on how to file an insurance claim properly for property damage from Irene.

Also, representatives from the Salvation Army will be there along with the county executive's mobile office.

12:20 p.m. -- TRUMP RALLY CANCELED

A rally scheduled for today in support of Donald Trump’s stalled catering hall on the Jones Beach boardwalk has been canceled.

The state park remains closed because of flooding and other storm damage as a result of Tropical storm Irene . But organizer Rafe Lieber said he decided Monday to reschedule the event before he knew if the park would reopen in time.

Read Bill Bleyer's full story

12 p.m. -- LIPA says outages are now at 189,472.

11 a.m. -- Most Babylon pools open

The Town of Babylon reopened the Phelps Lane Park pool this morning.

Yesterday, the town reopened Fabio Buttitta Pool in Deer Park, North Amityville Pool, North Lindenhurst Pool and the spray park and kiddie pool at Phelps Lane Park. The spray park at Venetian Shores in Lindenhurst is also open.

But Anthony Sanchez Pool in West Babylon and the Tanner Park spray park were closed until further notice due to power outages. 

— NICHOLAS SPANGLER

10:50 a.m. -- SUFFOLK, RED CROSS TO OPEN RESPITE CENTER FROM NOON TO 3 P.M.

Suffolk County and the American Red Cross will be partnering to open a “respite center” today from noon to 3 p.m. at Cathedral Pines County Park in Middle Island for county residents still without power following Tropical Storm Irene.

The center, County Executive Steve Levy’s office said in a news release, will offer free meals, shower facilities and access to power supplies to recharge electronic devices.

Cathedral Pines County Park is located at 116 Yaphank-Middle Island Rd., Middle Island.

9:56 a.m. -- SUFFOLK SHERIFF'S OFFICE GIVING OUT ICE

The Suffolk Sheriff's Office will again be distributing ice to county residents on a first-come, first-serve basis from noon to 6 p.m. today. Ice will be distributed at the offices in Yaphank (Yaphank Avenue/County Road 21 at the corner of Glover Drive) and Riverhead (Suffolk County Correctional Facility, 100 Center Dr.). There is no charge for the ice and there is a limit of one cooler fill-up per car. Residents must bring their own cooler.

9:36 a.m. -- RIVERHEAD TOWN TO DISCUSS STORM CLEANUP

Riverhead Town will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. in the Riverhead Town Hall Meeting Room to discuss the status of the cleanup and restoration efforts regarding the damage that occurred due to the storm.

7:15 a.m. -- LIPA TO HOLD IRENE NEWS BRIEFING

Long Island Power Authority and National Grid authorities will hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. to "outline the storm damage to Long Island’s electric system from Hurricane Irene and update LIPA and National Grid’s restoration progress." Newsday.com will provide an update on what the officials have to say.

6:14 p.m. -- SUFFOLK TO SNIFF OUT PRICE GOUGING

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has directed the county’s Consumer Affairs Office to sniff out potential price gouging for home repairs and other products and services in high demand following Tropical Storm Irene, according to a news release from Levy’s office.

State and county law prohibit excessive increases in prices for essential goods and services following an emergency declaration.

The county has put investigators and inspectors on the job to root out gouging and respond to complaints. Complaints of price gouging on consumables (milk, water, bread, ice, batteries, etc.) as well as emergency home services provided by contractors should be directed to Consumer Affairs at 631-853-4600.

The county is also monitoring gas and oil prices for possible price gouging. Complaints should be reported to the Weights and Measures Bureau at 631-853-5730.

“Consumer protection before and during the storm is of obvious concern, but we also caution residents who suffer storm damage to take caution after the storm as well,” Levy said. “It would be wise to contact your consumer protection agency before engaging a contractor to make post-storm home repairs.”

5:55 p.m. TOUGH LI VACATION FOR LONDON COUPLE

John and Louise Donner, of London, spent much of their 10-day vacation moving to different Long Island communities after Fire Island was evacuated due to Hurricane Irene. The couple intended to spend their vacation in Fair Harbor, but ended up being evacuated to John's relatives' home in Bay Shore and then again to a hotel in Commack. They had lunch at the Kismet Inn Tuesday, before leaving to catch a flight home at 7 p.m.

-- T.C. McCarthy

4:30 p.m. IN NASSAU, FREE SHOWERS, MOVIES

Nassau County is making the shower facilities at two county pools available for residents without electricity to use for free.

Starting tomorrow, the showers will be available at North Woodmere Park (Branch Boulevard at Hungry Harbor Road in North Woodmere), from 9 to 11 a.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.; and Cantiague Park (West John Street in Hicksville), from 8 to 10 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

Additionally, the county will run free movies tomorrow and Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Harry Chapin Lakeside Theatre in Eisenhower Park. “Iron Man 2” will play tomorrow and “Twilight Saga-Eclipse” on Thursday.

For more information, call 516-571-7801.

4:10 p.m. -- COAST GUARD GIVES OK TO COMMERCIAL SHIPS

Lifting previous restrictions, the U.S. Coast Guard says it is now safe for all oceangoing commercial vessels to resume traffic in the Long Island Sound.

4 p.m. -- SPECIAL BROOKHAVEN YARD WASTE PICKUPS

Brookhaven Town will make special yard waste pickups next week to accommodate residents affected by Tropical Storm Irene.

In a news release, the town said the residential yard waste must be bundled -- the town will not reimbursed by FEMA if they are not bundled -- and placed on the curb Sunday night for pickup next week.”

For more information, call (631) 451-TOWN, or visit brookhaven.org.

2:20 p.m. -- STATE, RED CROSS TO OFFER IRENE-RELATED INSURANCE HELP

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. to announced that New York State insurance officials and the American Red Cross will set up an informational center at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge to help residents with insurance issues related to Tropical Storm Irene.

From from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, residents can find out information like how and when to file insurance claims and how to find temporary housing and food vouchers, Levy’s office said in a press release.

2 p.m. -- KISMET INN OWNER ONE OF FEW TO STAY BEHIND

Kismet Inn owner Ashley Cole was one of a handful of residents in the Fire Island community to stick it out during Irene.

Cole said he was nervous that a tidal wave from the Atlantic Ocean could have take over the area, but Kismet saw relatively little damage.

Still, Cole said it was a good idea for everyone else to evacuate.

“Next time do the same,” is his advice. “Get out here. Leave it for us locals and then just go. And then come back and see us again.”

-- T.C. McCarthy

12:30 p.m. -- ON THE WAY TO FIRE ISLAND

Newsday's T.C. McCarthy is on the ferry to Fire Island to survey how the barrier island fared.

12 p.m. -- LIPA: DAMAGE MUCH WORSE THAN THOUGHT

There are 3,000 locations on the Island with significant damage, more than twice the previous estimate of 1,500, LIPA chief Michael Hervey said in a news conference Tuesday.

Read Mark Harrington's full story

11:15 a.m. -- SUFFOLK SHERIFF TO MAKE ICE AVAILABLE

The Suffolk County’s sheriff’s offices in Riverhead and Yaphank will make ice available for free on a first come, first served basis from noon to 6 p.m. to county residents who are still without power.

There will be a limit of one cooler fill-up per car. Residents must bring their own cooler.

The offices are located at the Suffolk County correctional facilities 100 Center Dr., Riverhead and 69 Yaphank Ave., Yaphank.

For more information, call (631) 987-0706

10:30 a.m. LI REMINDER ON OUTAGE MAP

The Long Island Power Authority tweeted a reminder to customers that the colors on its outage map "only indicate the number of outages in that area and does not reflect restoration details."

10:10 a.m. -- The latest on LIRR service

The Long Island Rail Road, which restored train service on seven lines Monday night, was still struggling to restore service to all lines Tuesday morning after the historic shutdown of the entire MTA system Saturday in anticipation of Tropical Storm Irene.

Service on the Long Beach, Montauk and Oyster Bay branches remains suspended, railroad officials said.

Read the full story

10:06 a.m. -- Newsday.com lost pets page

If you lost a pet during the storm, newsday.com has a resource that could help. On our lost pets page, scroll through photos and information, or upload a photo of your own lost pet.

9:48 a.m. -- LIPA/National Grid news conference this morning

The Long Island Power Authority and National Grid will hold a news conference this morning at 11:30 a.m. to outline the storm damage from Irene and update LIPA and National Grid's restoration process.

9:40 a.m. -- Traffic lights out in Hicksville next to mall

If you're going shopping in Hicksville today, be careful. Several traffic lights on Broadway next to Broadway Mall and Ikea were still out this morning, which could make turning into the mall difficult.

9:29 a.m. -- Southampton Town courts back in business

The Southampton Town reopened Tuesday morning after being closed yesterday due to a power outage.

6:05 p.m. -- Shoreham homes remain without power

Large tracts of homes in Shoreham also remain without power, and one look in the front yard of Carol Archer shows why.

A massive tree has brought stretched power and communication wires to the ground, and a utility pole 20 feet away is also down.

The family also owns a condo and business properties in Ludlow, Vt., which was also impacted by heavy flooding.

She's called LIPA and Brookhaven Town to remove the tree, but thus far has been given no estimate of restoration times. Archer traveled to a store to access a computer to view LIPA's outage map but was confounded by the new format, which doesn't list specific neighborhood information, or response times.

"It didn't really give you much information," she said, as two boys on bicycles pulled up to explore the scene.

--Mark Harrington

4:30 p.m. -- LIGLBT Network opens to anyone without power

The Long Island GLBT Network is opening its Bay Shore Community Center to anyone without power so they can use the organization's computers and Wi-Fi for free this week, said agency chief executive David Kilmnick.

"We are extending our hours this week to 9am-9pm so that folks can get out of their homes, check email, surf the Internet and when available, use our multipurpose room to watch TV," he said. "We are also going to provide hot coffee."

The center is located at 34 Park Ave. in Bayshore.

4:10 p.m. -- Mandatory evacuations in Suffolk lifted

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko and Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan have lifted the mandatory evacuation of low-lying areas as if 1:15 p.m. Monday.

Barrier Island residents are asked to check with their respective village officials about being able to return to their properties.

Fire Island ferry service is expected to resume at 7 a.m. Tuesday out of Bay Shore and Patchogue while ferry service from Sayville depends on the restoration of power. Shelter Island, Orient Point and Port Jefferson ferries have resumed service.

3:55 p.m. -- Big sellers in Mastic Beach: Ice, beer, chips

Despite having lost LIPA power Saturday night, the Handy Pantry in Mastic Beach Village continued to do a brisk business through Monday afternoon, though power remained out.

The store has its own generator, said franchise owner John Gonzales, and kept open even during the height of the storm Sunday.

But there's a "cash only" sign on the front door because communications are out.

"We were very busy," during the storm, Gonzales said. "Our employees weathered it." Big sellers: ice, beer, chips and cold cuts.

Across the street, Saad Aziz, owner of the Track gas station and convenience store, fumed behind the counter of the dark, dank shop.

"I'm losing a lot of business," he said, noting milk and ice cream had to be thrown out and gas sales stopped since Sunday.

He wasn't pleased to see three LIPA trucks parked across the street "doing nothing" while workers lunched.

Within minutes, power was restored to a large section of Mastic Beach Village.

Somewhere in the area, music boomed from a nearby home. Patrons began pulling into the Track gas station as if nothing had happened. And Aziz gestured a thumbs up from behind his lighted counter.

"Yes, perfect," he said of the restoration.

--Mark Harrington

3:28 p.m. -- Ferries start to resume service

The Cross Sound auto ferries are running on an hourly basis to and from Orient Point and New London, Conn., officials announced Monday afternoon.

The Sea Jet will resume regular service on Tuesday.

The Block Island Ferry was to resume departures Monday.

For more information go to: www.longislandferry.com and
www.goblockisland.com.

2:59 p.m. -- Suffolk roads still affected by downed trees

Gil Anderson, commissioner of the Suffolk Department of Public Works, said eight locations on county roads remain affected by downed trees.

"By our estimate, it's over 100 trees on country roadways alone yesterday, and today we are in the process of getting the trees cut and off the road," Anderson said. "We basically did all that yesterday but there are still some that are hanging on lines. We're waiting for LIPA to come through and turn off the power."

Suffolk County maintains 450 miles of highways. The remaining affected locations are:

--Motor Parkway CR 67 (West side of 231) in Dix Hills
 

--County Road 13A at Ackerson Street in Bay Shore
 

--County Road 10 (Elwood Road) near John Glenn HS and at Bellerose Road in Northport
 

--County Road 86 and Maple Road in Greenlawn
 

--County Road 35 at Tasman Lane in Huntington Station
 

--County Road 11 at Pulaski Road in Greenlawn
 

--County Road 14 at the intersection of Dura Court in Kings Park

-- Matthew Chayes

2:05 p.m. -- Fire Island ferries to resume Tuesday morning

The ferries to Fire Island will resume early Tuesday morning, probably at 7 a.m. But officials want only people who are residents to return -- not tourists.

-- Matthew Chayes

1:25 p.m. -- Irene downed about 700 trees in Oyster Bay

Irene felled an estimated 700 trees in the Town of Oyster Bay, officials said Monday.

Work crews have already removed 85 percent of them, with the remainder needing Long Island Power Authority assistance due to tangled electrical lines.

"Every tree that we can cut has been cut, and every road that we can open has been opened," said town Public Safety commissioner Justin McCaffrey.

Priority has been restoring access to blocked roads, he added, so debris was first pushed to the side. Removal will begin after, likely later this week.

As for flooding, the town fared well, McCaffrey said. Beside the deluged roads in Bayville village, the town dealt only with flooding on some smaller, canal and harbor-adjacent streets in Massapequa.

"It was nothing significant," McCaffrey said.

1:20 p.m. -- Beaches closed in Long Beach

Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan said there are 33 big trees down around the city and 3,200 homes without power. Beach and sanitation and highway crews were out Sunday cleaning up.

Today the beaches are closed to swimming but the beaches will be open this weekend.

-- Deborah S. Morris