Long Beach Gradually Repowers Despite Nor'easter

On Thursday, after a nor’easter swept through Long Beach, the city was able to report both improvements and setbacks as crews continue to work to revive the hurricane-ravaged city.     

Wednesday’s snowy storm took out the city’s sewer system that was recently restored after Hurricane Sandy barreled through the barrier island and knocked it out nine days earlier. The City of Long Beach asked residents once again not to flush their toilets until further notice, and reminded people that porta-potties are available on citywide streets. Meanwhile, the city still waits approval from Nassau County to get their water system up and running again.    

But the city reported that power is gradually being restored across Long Beach, as most residents still in the city had to endure the nor’easter without electricity or heat. The city told Patch that the houses from Roosevelt Boulevard to Magnolia Boulevard and Washington Boulevard to Lindell Boulevard between Park Avenue and Broadway had power restored on Thursday. The city also announced on its Facebook page that the President Streets, from Roosevelt Boulevard to Maple Boulevard, “have been energized.”  

Meanwhile, Gordone Tepper, a spokesman for the city said, “LIPA has not given the city a timetable as to when power will be fully restored.”  

Writing on Patch’s Facebook page, Bruce Kole called the restoration efforts a colossal failure all around. “This is NY/USA; the greatest city in the greatest country in the world and I still haven't a clue as to a timetable for power, water and sewer,” Kole wrote. “How is this possible? We are like a bunch of sheep headed to the slaughter; helpless, without recourse - totally dependent on a bunch of incompetent municipal/government ‘officials’ - heads should roll!”  

The city, though, reports that “Damage assessment has been completed, whether or not houses are marked, all homes have been inspected by state and the city’s building department,” said Tepper.

While it is not mandatory, the city recommends that each home that flooded from the hurricane get a licensed electrician to make sure that there are no safety hazards before the power is turned back on.

Helen Prochillo said that that city should just tell the Long Island Power Authority to turn the power on and let residents be responsible for whether they think they can put their power on or not, as she said was done in the Town of Babylon. 

 “This is at the point of being a public health hazard with most of the city having no heat for residents,” Prochillo said. “Enough already, this city plan for inspectors is a joke. If I've seen 20 homes with stickers, it's a lot and friends on W. Beech had power turned on with no inspection at all from a building inspector.”  

 Meanwhile, on Thursday public works crews cleared the snow from streets to allow pedestrians and vehicles to move safely through Long Beach’s still sand-strewn streets.  While the streets were slushy, residents reported that the snow did not flood their homes.   

For residents, though, the stormy weather has brought out the best in people. Scuderi, who lives on the 200 block of East Beech Street, woke up Thursday to find a friend already shoveling his walkway and stairs. Scuderi is unable to shovel snow due to his multiple back surgeries.  

“I was thankful for what he had done and could not say thank you enough to Michael Smith, a long time resident of Long Beach and a real good old friend, that did not forget about me,” he said.  

The city also reported that the Verizon charging station at Kennedy Plaza was temporarily removed due to the snowstorm, but will be returned in coming days. There are other charging and warming locations at the Long Island Rail Road station, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and T-Mobile has a temporary cell phone tower set up on West Park Avenue outside City Hall.  

Joseph Kellard contributed to this article.