Municipalities help one another after Sandy

In the aftermath of Sandy, helping hands have been prevalent in some of Long Island's hardest-hit communities -- often in the form of payloaders, dump trucks and personnel loaned by other municipalities.

Communities such as Bayville, East Rockaway, Lindenhurst and Long Beach have received equipment and crews from other governments, from the state to the counties to the town or village next door.

In Lindenhurst, officials expressed gratitude to Patchogue, which sent a dump truck, payloader and 10 workers. "They really gave our guys a hand when they were going at full tilt," said village clerk-treasurer Shawn Cullinane.

Lindenhurst also received help from Brightwaters, where residents organized a donation drive and fundraiser in a village park. A Brightwaters public works crew member filled a flatbed truck and delivered the goods.

Babylon Town also pitched in, said Lindenhurst deputy mayor Kevin McCaffrey, providing Dumpsters and other equipment. Officials also let the village bring debris to the town's incinerator, he said.

In Long Beach, City Manager Jack Schnirman said assistance from other municipalities has helped expedite debris removal; 135,000 cubic yards had been removed by the end of last week.

Help from North Hempstead, Glen Cove, Hempstead Village and Huntington has made cleanup more manageable, he said, adding that more help is expected soon from Lynbrook and Brookhaven. "This is a force multiplier that is allowing us to accomplish this task faster than a small municipality like us could on our own," he said.

A dozen garbage trucks were sent by Huntington, he said. North Hempstead sent eighteen-wheelers, dump trucks and payloaders the weekend before Thanksgiving, town Supervisor Jon Kaiman said. Crews volunteered to work double shifts on both days, hauling debris from the city. He said the town will send crews again if asked.

That Sunday, Glen Cove sent 18 trucks, including dump trucks, an excavator and a back hoe, and 31 public works employees to Long Beach, Mayor Ralph Suozzi said. "The consensus was we go big, or we don't go at all," he said. "If there's other people who need help, and we can help, we'll help."

Hempstead Village planned to send eight garbage trucks to Long Beach yesterday, each with a three-worker sanitation crew, Mayor Wayne J. Hall Sr. said.

Hempstead Town spokesman Michael Deery said the town provided a mobile command unit for Long Beach police after its headquarters was destroyed, and made available its conservation and waterways building in Point Lookout for showers and to facilitate communications for police. Long Beach also used Lido West Town Park to store impounded vehicles.

Hempstead Town also provided sanitation services to East Rockaway and loaned a military vehicle to the East Rockaway Fire Department for evacuations, Deery said.

The Town of Oyster Bay offered equipment and crews in multiple locations. Supervisor John Venditto said town resources were sent as far west as Queens and to villages on the north and south shores. Hard-hit Bayville confirmed it had hosted town public works trucks. "Before, during and after the storm, I don't recall a higher intermunicipal level of cooperation," Venditto said. "I think everybody was on the same page: If you had it, you gave it."

With Aisha Al-Muslim, Jennifer Barrios, Mackenzie Issler, Emily Ngo and Patrick Whittle