Old Westbury mom's emergency kits hit shelves

Don't confuse Leslie Fastenberg of Old Westbury with one of those survivalists who proclaim the world's end. She just likes to be prepared.

And now she has made a business of it. A few years ago Fastenberg started a company in the basement of her home, Ice-Qube Emergency Preparedness Solutions, which creates kits containing first aid items, flashlights and hygiene products to be used in case of a disaster or a terrorist attack.

The idea, Fastenberg said, came after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. (Ice-Qube is short for In Case of Emergency, and the safety products are put in cubes.)

She also has a baby emergency kit, called Ice-Qube Baby, consisting of a bottle, an emergency Mylar blanket, a child-size face mask, creams, lotions and other items.

That kit is on the shelves at Buy Buy Baby and Bed Bath & Beyond. The other kits are sold on the Internet.

"I've been a community activist for 20 years," Fastenberg said. "I do think that all of that knowledge played its hand in my saying, 'How do I take care of my family?' "

Many families, Fastenberg said, are entirely unprepared for a disaster.

Fastenberg now has a warehouse in Bay Shore and is certified as a "woman business enterprise," making her eligible for municipal contracts.

Buy Buy Baby put the kits in 10 of its stores, including ones in Huntington and Garden City, in the past few weeks. Bed Bath & Beyond bought 36 kits last week.

There are baby kits for $79.99, and others ranging from a starter kit for $24 to a deluxe kit for $750.

"I'm a Long Island mom" of three, Fastenberg said. "This started as a hobby."