LIPA: Irene-related outages all fixed now

More than a week after Tropical Storm Irene blew through New York, the Long Island Power Authority Monday night said all 500,000 customers who had lost power because of the storm were back online.

Crews spent Labor Day addressing the final 1 percent of powerless homes, and completed the work at 7 p.m., LIPA spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter said.

Howard Kudler was among that 1 percent. He spent Monday morning the same way he's spent all mornings since Irene hit town: wondering when his Merrick home would get electricity again.

Kudler's basement was flooded with 8 inches of water from the storm, mosquitoes had colonized his home and a "river of ants" marched in his kitchen during his nine-day power outage, he said.

"I'm at the end of my rope," said Kudler, 56, a schoolteacher and former Democratic challenger to Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford). Kudler, who had spent a week with his family camping out at his mother-in-law's North Bellmore home, was one of a relative handful on Long Island still without power Monday.

Then, about 1:20 p.m., Kudler's wife called the couple's home telephone to see whether the answering machine picked up. She heard the recording of a cheerful Kudler. The power was back.

"It's about time," Kudler said. "I'm a little annoyed. More than a little annoyed. It took too long. I don't like being lowest on the list."

By about 1 p.m. Monday, 91 Irene-related outages remained, LIPA officials said.

LIPA spokesman Mark Gross said the majority of those outages were mostly scattered, single outages with extensive damage or tree involvement.

"Obviously when there's tree damage, those are hard," Gross said. "When you have real property damage to people's backyards, that's challenging as well. We can't get trucks back there. Those are specialized jobs."

Convoys of contractors could be seen heading west on the Long Island Expressway Monday -- LIPA has been releasing the extra crews it hired.

Residents of 300-plus trailer homes at the Gildersleeve Park in North Amityville were overjoyed Sunday when full power was restored around 1 p.m.

Many of the residents, most elderly and some sick and disabled, had been left with only low-voltage power after a transformer that supplied the park burned out as electricity was initially restored Tuesday.

Resident Rita Simineri said the park "came to life" when two LIPA workers showed up, explaining the situation to residents. "We are so thankful," she said.

Still, customers around the Island complained about not getting accurate information from LIPA and of difficulties even reaching the utility.

"They kept saying it was coming on tomorrow, later, whatever. Nothing they said was the truth," said Ellen Shrubstein, whose Plainview home was without power until Saturday evening. "I thought it was handled very poorly."

With Sarah Crichton and Jennifer Maloney