Community Corner

City Council Holds First Post-Sandy Meeting

City manager recounts efforts before, during and after hurricane.


The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to affirm City Manager Jack Schnirman’s call for a state of emergency on Oct. 27, two days before Hurricane Sandy barreled through and crippled the town.

Schnirman’s declaration permitted city officials to take any measures needed to protect life, property and infrastructure in the city, an order that will remain intact until he otherwise deems it unnecessary.

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Before the vote on the resolution, Schnirman recounted the multitude of measures city officials and others took before, during and after the storm, noting that it distributed some 19,000 sandbags, contacted Sen. Charles Schumer’s offices to get a generator to operate the water plant that shut down, and sent search and rescue teams to check on residents.

“Probably most incredibly we had 3,137 volunteers who helped throughout the city, and 9,826 residents who had received donations of clothing, food and supplies,” Schnirman said.

The city manager added that, to date, the FEMA has helped
2,400 residents and the New York State Department of Labor has assisted 350 residents at City Hall.
 
Tuesday’s meeting was the council’s first after the storm and after the Nov. 7 meeting was canceled while crews were busying working to restore the city’s power and the water and sewage systems, among other basic infrastructure.   

The council also voted to rescind the citywide 6 p.m. curfew at Tuesday’s meeting, which was held at 2 p.m. rather than 7 p.m. for that reason. “As of today we are lifting the curfew in order to maintain safety, but we’re maintaining the state of emergency that we’re talking about today and a strong police presence until that is no longer needed,” Schnirman said.

The “special” meeting was sparsely attended and the good and welfare session, when residents have the opportunity to address the council on any government-related issues, was not held as residents visited the Disaster Recovery Center outside the sixth-floor council chamber to apply for assistance from various agencies, including FEMA.

Council President Len Torres said that he appreciated the report and commended all the first-responders that were present. “I have to say that the kind of leadership that I have witnessed is very, very commendable,” he said. 

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