Community Corner

L.B. Escapes Storm Beach Erosion, W. Park Ave. Flooded


This story was corrected and updated at 2:33 p.m. 1.6.14.

While 2014’s first snowfall eroded some beaches east of the Long Beach barrier island, including Fire Island, the city’s beaches escaped any such erosion from the high waves and tides during last Thursday-Friday’s storm.

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In Long Beach, ocean waves reached within 20 feet of the boardwalk, which was damaged heavily during Hurricane Sandy and rebuilt to be more storm-resistant,  

and flooding was “very minor” in the West End and the Canals, two neighborhoods hit hardest during the hurricane in October 2012, City Manager Jack Schnirman told Newsday

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But as a tide rolled in several inches of water flooded an area along West Park Avenue on Friday, Schirman said, and bulkheads along Reynolds Channel were breached during the storm, some residents told the Long Beach Herald.

Long Beach was blanketed with 7.7 inches of snow during the storm, though at least one resident, Peter Gillespie, told Patch that he measured 11 inches in his neighborhood. The city declared a snow emergency at 5 p.m.Thursday that remained in effect until noon Saturday, so that Department of Public Works crews could plow the streets as thoroughly as possible. 

When asked on Patch’s Facebook page about snow plowing on their streets, residents had mixed responses. Laura Bryant, who lives on East Park Avenue, said that every 10 minutes the crews were plowing the roads. “Great job,” she wrote at about 10:20 a.m. Friday, and Phyllis Farese wrote at about 2 p.m.: “Farrell St. in canals has plow coming down street often! Great job!” But resident Andrew Rodd wrote on at 11:30 a.m. Friday: “East Broadway was pretty bad this morning. Drove on the beach to get over to Long Beach Blvd.”

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There were no major emergencies reported during the storm, Schnirman told the Herald, as the city coordinated emergency response efforts with the Nassau County, especially to maintain accessibility for emergency vehicles on the Long Beach Bridge while the Long Beach Medical Center remains closed. Said Schnirman:

"During a major event like this, the volunteer firefighters come in and often spend the night in the firehouses as a precautionary measure so they can be at the ready, and it's greatly appreciated. The city and all the residents are grateful to the volunteers for coming in and spending time away from their families."



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