Letters: Aftermath of superstorm Sandy

Don’t blame the Long Island Power Authority for everything. I took care of myself by installing a natural gas generator at my house.

If you drive around, you will see so many trees hanging next to the wires. I blame the towns and villages. They should have inspectors driving around and marking the trees that should come down. I must have spent at least $10,000 to have trees taken down so they will not hit my house.

Grace Bellomo, Port Washington

After superstorm Sandy, our power was restored in six days. On that day, our relatives, a family of six, moved in with us from Rockaway. Their home was heavily damaged and their cars lost.

Our power went out again with the snowstorm. Eight people in a house without power is trying, but we tried to keep our chins up. The family went back and forth to Rockaway, cleaning out their home and bringing the kids to and from school to create some normalcy. Each night, they come home to a dark and cold house.

We very patiently called LIPA each day, and we felt we were falling between the cracks. Every day was a different story. At one point, we even received a call from LIPA telling us our power was back on, and it wasn’t.

The crew that finally came was cheerful, friendly and wouldn’t accept so much as a bottle of water. When my next LIPA bill comes, and they ask why I haven’t submitted payment yet, I will throw back at them some of their own excuses.

Gale McCormack, Old Bethpage

Do you have power? How cold is your house? Can you drink the water or flush your toilet? How’s your car?

Going back just a few weeks ago, before Sandy, such questions would have elicited strange looks from friends and relatives. But after Oct. 29, it’s become almost de rigueur as a starter in most Long Islanders’ conversations, especially in Long Beach, where I live.

The initial shock of loss, almost like a death in the family, is now over for many, and numbness has set in. The above questions are being replaced by others, such as, is this the new normal? Why do these 100-year storms seem to come every few years? Is it time to start building an ark? Will LIPA give out flashlights, battery-operated heaters and inflatable boats before the next big one, as their executives surrender to the inevitable?

As for me, I’m making plans to head inland to a place where the only water comes from a faucet and my shower.

Mike Charles, Long Beach

I read with interest the news of a class-action lawsuit against LIPA and National Grid . Although it might sound like a good idea, it is not.

What we must all remember: Defending this lawsuit, paying for damages (if the plaintiffs are successful), and satisfying court costs will be paid for by the very people who are suing the utilities.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has already ordered an investigation. If deficiencies and mismanagement are found, then make the appropriate changes. But to sue ourselves makes absolutely no sense. Aren’t our rates already too high?

Steven Donahue, Brookhaven