Digging out: Long Islanders, businesses reemerge after storm
Long Islanders braced for the big dig in preparation of the work week ahead on Sunday after more than a foot of snow covered areas of Nassau and Suffolk.
Wall of ice
Larry Falabella, 63, was busy shoveling the two-foot wall of ice that plows had pushed in front of his Baiting Hollow home. He praised the work of the Riverhead Highway department for keeping the roads passable so he could get back to his job as a real estate agent in Bayside, Queens tomorrow.
"They take care of two feet better out here than eight inches in Queens," he said. "All I have to do is get to the highway and I'm fine."
— Vera Chinese
All hands on deck
It was all hands on deck at the Flora restaurant in Westhampton Beach, where everyone from owners to kitchen staff to managers pitched in shoveling snow Sunday to get the place ready for the 3 p.m. dinner opening. "Circling the wagons," said general manager Kim Hellmers.
The place has dining igloos that were surrounded in snow, appropriately enough.
"We're trying to get them accessible for tonight," said Hellmers. But in tight quarters, they were running out of places to put the snow. Another worker, Eric Flagg, worked the perimeter with a snow blower.
"For us, it's going to be all about safety," Hellmers said. "If we can get people in here, get it salted. Make it so everybody, guests, staff, most importantly, everybody can be safe. That's our game plan."
— Mark Harrington
Nassau's big dig
It was a similar scene in East Massapequa, where several residents were out early in the morning cleaning their driveways and cars.
Francine Sanger, 57, was among the residents prepping for the week. "We do need the cars for running around and whatnot, so we really have to clean the same as if we have work or not," she said.
The road conditions in the area were slippery. Sanger noted the roads in her neighborhood were typically cleared quickly after a snowstorm, "but I think this one has been a bit more challenging." Accumulation in Massapequa totaled 16 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Rich Marandino, 70, of Massapequa, said he started shoveling his driveway and the sidewalk around 9 a.m. Sunday because conditions were too bad on Saturday. "Last night, I wasn’t going out; there was no way," Marandino said.
Christian Horne, 52, of Massapequa, was out Sunday afternoon brushing snow off his car. On Saturday, he spent his day shoveling, to avoid it accumulating. In prepping for the storm, he and many of his neighbors left their cars in their driveways, so the roads could be plowed. Horne, who drives to Forest Hills for work, said he doesn’t anticipate any inconveniences in his Monday morning commute.
"I’m on main roads, like on parkways, I don’t take too many back roads, so I’m not anticipating any issues," Horne said.
— Darwin Yanes
Suffolk buried
In Suffolk County, where the storm had been classified as a blizzard, totals reached 24. 7 inches at Islip MacArthur Airport and 24.2 in Bay Shore, said Brian Ciemnecki, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton.
Eduardo Selez, of Moriches, figured he had another hour of shoveling to go before he finished a job he'd started at 8:30 a.m., at the Sea Cove restaurant where he works. The untouched snow was up to his knees, and the piles of finished work beside him up to his waist.
While the major roadways were clear as of Sunday morning, there remained much work to get done along the bayside South Shore hamlet. Several cars on Montauk Highway in East Moriches were still snowed under, and legions of shovels, tractors, plows and snow throwers had been at work since sunset.
— Mark Harrington
Ken Goedtel, 61, of Islip, spent Sunday morning trying to clear the long driveway outside his home with a snowblower. The lifelong Islip resident said he wasn’t surprised by the heavy snowfall.
"We get a couple of good ones like this," he said. "Now you have to plow it out of the way."
He said he had no plans to venture out on Sunday.
"I’m going to get this out of the way, then I will go inside and enjoy," he said.
— Lisa L. Colangelo
'We try to help each other'
In Seaford, Tom Cincotta, 71, was shoveling snow from the driveway of his neighbor, who was away.
"We try to help each other," he said. "Some of the people are not able to do it, so we chip in whenever we can." Cincotta, who has lived in the area for 46 years, said though they live near the water, flooding isn’t much of an issue after heavy snowfall.
"It’s not too bad," he said. "Since [Superstorm] Sandy, that’s been the only bad storm in my 46 years."
He estimated that the area received about 18 inches of snow.
"We’ve been pretty lucky the last few years; we were due for one," Cincotta said.
— Darwin Yanes
Pick-me-up
Michael Fay, of Greenport, picked up a cup of coffee at D’Latte Cafe, one of the few places open for business in the village. He planned to spend some time taking in an empty and snow-covered Greenport.
"It’s a huge hassle," Fay, 68 and retired, said of the snow. "But you know, it's a beautiful day, the sun is out. The snow looks beautiful."
— Vera Chinese
Snowy fun
Hundreds of parents gathered at Cedar Creek Park in Seaford on Sunday to enjoy a snow day with their kids. The park was lined with children and adults taking turns sliding down the snowy hills. Marcello Deperalta, 47, of Massapequa Park, along with his wife, kids and family friends were a part of the large crowd. Deperalta said many familiesgo to the park after a snowstorm. "I guess you can call it a tradition," he said. "I’ve been down the hill over 30 times."
— Darwin Yanes
Businesses reemerge
Roads were clear and passable along Middle Country Road in Middle Island, where patrons walked out of stores with milk and bread under their arms after businesses were mostly closed Saturday.
Lukasz Ogrodinczak, of Middle Island, wearing a bright orange pair of snow pants, dug out and ventured to the store for some pet food and beer. "They had no cat food, but I got some bird food," he said. "There's really nothing going on today."
Few businesses were open Sunday around a frigid Greenport Village, where a biting wind blew in from the bay.
A band of volunteers with the Greenport Fire Department made their way around the mostly empty village’s downtown Sunday morning, digging paths to fire hydrants.
Robert Corwin, a captain with the department, said the volunteers would probably dig out around 50 in Greenport, but urged homeowners not to forget to clear a path to the hydrants in their neighborhoods if they can. It could save valuable minutes in the event of a fire.
"You should clear out a three foot by three foot area around the hydrant because that saves us time if your house is on fire," Corwin said.
— Vera Chinese
'Absolutely super-busy'
Desiree Gorgone, of West Babylon, and Llyra Chambers, of Central Islip, made it to their jobs at Americano, a restaurant on Main Street in Islip, both Saturday and Sunday. "We were absolutely super-busy for takeout. We had sone people at the bar yesterday," said Chambers, 25. "We don’t close no matter what the weather is like."
Chambers brought both of them to work in her truck.
"But the roads were super bad, we just drove 10 miles per hour pretty much," Chambers said.
Despite the wall of snow covering sidewalks on Main Street, Gorgone, 23, said they had numerous reservations for Sunday brunch.
— Lisa L. Colangelo
'A little bit at a time'
Peggy Deturris is a bridge operator for Suffolk County, raising and lowering one of two drawbridges in Westhampton Beach, but when snow falls, she becomes a snow removal specialist as well. On Sunday afternoon, she was shoveling snow from the bridge by hand. "I do a little bit at a time," she said, working a grated walkway above the water.
During the storm, Deturris drove a snowplow for the county's Public Works Department, which manages the bridge. She said she doesn't mind the hard work. Sunsets from the bridge are beautiful, she said.
— Mark Harrington
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