Couple arrested in jewelry store thefts. Kristie Laird (L) and Daniel Cimolonski (R)

A Suffolk County couple was arrested Wednesday for their alleged involvement in a string of jewelry store thefts throughout the county during the past month, Suffolk County police said.

The couple—32-year-old Daniel Cimolonski and 45-year-old Kristie Laird—was arrested after a patrol officer pulled them over in Deer Park for active warrants and drug possession charges, police said.

Detectives investigating the couple discovered that Cimolonski, of South Setauket, was allegedly responsible for four jewelry store thefts at various stores in Suffolk, police said. Laird, a Deer Park resident, was charged as an accomplice in one of those cases, police said.

They were both charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest. Cimolonski was also charged with resisting arrest and was also accused of stealing money from a man at a Burger King in Bay Shore, police said.

Investigators said the thefts occurred in Huntington Station, Commack, Deer Park and Medford.

Nassau County police were also notified because investigators suspect that the couple may have committed similar crimes in Nassau, police said.

An arraignment date has not been set.

Photo by Katherine Schroeder courtesy of North Fork School for Dogs

Imagine a place where dogs run freely together, playfully romping on fresh green grass. Where canines of myriad breeds share the same water fountain while their owners exchange ideas. A place that’s clean, accessible, popular, safe.

While it may sound like dog heaven, this is actually a common description of a dog park—designated off-leash areas where canines can get much-needed exercise and socialization time while their owners trade tips on everything from training to proper nutrition. And following a national trend, they’re sprouting up all across Long Island.

“We’ve seen a really big increase in dog parks on Long Island, both in Nassau and Suffolk counties, over the last five or six years,” says Ginny Munger Kahn, president of nonprofit LI-Dog Owners Group. “It’s been the result of collaborations between organizations of dog owners and elected officials and parks department officials.”

Currently Nassau has 10 dog parks and Suffolk has 11, she adds. Just six years ago Suffolk had only one. Just within the past year, three new dog parks opened in Nassau County: in Valley Stream, Massapequa and Eisenhower Park. And more are set to open in both counties.
Supporters point to several reasons why dog parks are gaining ground.

Advocates contend that dog parks provide much-needed open space for those owners who may otherwise not have adequate backyards for their pets to roam in.

“There’s a lot of people that can’t exercise their dogs off-leash, especially the elderly, and it’s a great way to exercise your dogs,” says dog trainer Dawn Bennett.

Another major benefit, they say, is that socialization and exercise have been known to positively impact a dog’s behavior.

“People talk about how they see their dog’s behavior change for the better because they are getting adequate exercise at a dog park,” says Munger Kahn. “Over the last ten years it’s become common knowledge that dogs need exercise and socialization.”

Additionally, Kahn points out, dog parks are great place for owners to meet like-minded people.

“They build communities,” she says. “Many of my best friends I’ve met through the dog park.”

There’s definitely a need here on Long Island. Dogs are only permitted in Suffolk County parks if they are on a leash, she explains. In Nassau, no dogs are allowed in county parks—leashed or unleashed. Most town parks across Long Island carry the same or similar rules.

“I adopted a dog and realized that there is no place to walk your dog in parks or take her off leash,” says Peggy Heijmen, an Oyster Bay resident, dog owner and nonprofit LI-Dog Owners Group board member. “It’s very, very difficult.”
The group, founded in 1998, is dedicated to increasing public parkland for Long Island dog owners and their four-legged companions. Their efforts are paying off. Heijmen was the driving force behind the Massapequa dog park.

“We went to several town board meetings and did petitions and wrote letters to get this park running and successful,” she says.

Opened in June 2012 on Louden Avenue, the park features such amenities as doggie water fountains and separate areas for small and large dogs.

“It has been incredibly successful,” she continues. “We have a Facebook page so that people can share their pictures and their experiences, and we have over 200 people actively using the page.”

The Valley Stream dog park opened a month prior, mainly the brainchild of the Friends of Valley Stream Dog Park, an all-volunteer group organized to support and provide facilities to local dog owners.

President Richard Infield says the project went off without a hitch after receiving the support of the Valley Stream Mayor Edwin Fare and other members of local government.

“Once we started, it was very much a team effort between us and the village,” he says. “It’s really been an easy relationship and continues to be.”

UNLEASHED
Government officials and dog park proponents have been joining forces to open more spaces in Suffolk County, too. In July a dog park in Calverton opened under the guidance of Riverhead Town Councilman Jim Wooten and nonprofit Move the Animal Shelter (MTAS).

“We initiated the Calverton dog park to address the needs of our senior community, who live in modular homes or smaller lots,” says Woonten. “It gives their pets a chance to run about and play and socialize with other dogs.”

MTAS secured funding for the park, he adds, which along with private donations of benches and fencing, helped keep the cost down for taxpayers. After all, it’s the startup costs that can pose hurdles. Lack of funding was one of the obstacles Bennett faced when she tried to secure a bigger dog park in Southold, she says.

“I had come back from California and I was blown away with how many dog parks were there and how dog-friendly they were,” explains Bennett. “And here, where we live, the only off-leash area we had was this pitiful, very barren quarter of an acre dog park that wasn’t used by anybody.

Bennett and her business partner Asha Gallacher, who together run the North Fork School for Dogs, decided to create a petition for their cause. After two months, the duo collected about 500 signatures.

“I just put the petitions in every store,” Bennett says. “We collaborated with all the pet stores and the animal shelter. The squeaky wheel gets the oil—I just went to every town meeting and got all the petitions together.”

While the request to build a new park was ultimately denied, officials agreed to expand upon an existing dog park. The environmental nonprofit Group for the East End donated trees for shade, and the town installed benches. After a year, the park was completely overhauled and is now more than an acre in size and full of people and dogs every weekend.

Bennett is grateful for the help from Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell.

“He was very corporative and he was a big help,” she says. “He listened. Even though we had a strict budget, he gave us a piece of the recreational pie.”

PUPPY LOVE
Dog parks aren’t just gaining popularity here on Long Island. According to data from the Trust for Public Land’s 2011 City Park Facts, dog parks in major U.S. cities jumped 34 percent over the last five years. In comparison, parks overall only increased 3 percent during that time.

“This is not unique to Long Island,” says Munger Kahn. “There’s a tremendous demand for these areas, and a love for them.

“They are now what the playground movement of the 1950s was,” she adds.

So far, Long Island’s new dog parks have garnered so much positive reception that more are in the works. In Suffolk, the LI-Dog Owners Group is working on a campaign to build a second dog park in Centereach with Town of Brookhaven Councilwoman Kathleen Walsh. Councilman Wooten also hopes to create another dog park this spring at Stotzy Park in Riverhead. In Nassau, Heijmen is now looking to add more dog parks in the Town of Oyster Bay.

Besides the additional parks, owners also seek more on-leash access in both counties’ parks.

“A lot of people exercise with their dogs,” says Munger Kahn. “Dog walking is their primary form of exercise. At most Long Island town parks you’re not allowed to even walk your dog on a leash. So dog owners are regulated to walk on the sidewalks in the neighborhoods that have them or in the street, and it’s dangerous.”

Munger Kahn says the main criticism against this is concern about people not picking up after their dogs. Yet with increased access, she says, comes increased accountability among responsible dog owners. And that can only lead to more access for dog lovers.

“We understand by asking for more access it means we have to be responsible. We have to pick up after our dogs,” she says. “I am confident that as long as the majority of us dog owners are responsible and pick up after our dogs that we will continue to see improvement in gaining access to public park land.”

“I think that as more dog parks have been developed, elected officials have seen how successful and popular they are,” she adds.

It’s a sentiment Councilman Wooten shares.

“Dog parks are a wonderful thing,” he says.

The nor’easter that dropped up to 8 inches of snow on the Island Friday is finally nearing its end after a two-day event that included a mix of rain and snow, strong gusty winds and plenty of armchair forecasting.

After some residents pooh-poohed the first round of the storm, which sprinkled the area with 1 to 3 inches of snow, the nor’easter’s final act brought heavier snowfall that slushed up roadways and slowed the morning commute.

The storm brought 8 inches of snow to Syosset and more than 7 inches to other communities. Orient saw the highest accumulation in Suffolk County, according to the weather service, with 7.1 inches.

Forecasters with the Upton-based National Weather Service said a wintry mix of rain and snow will continue to fall over the next several hours, but the worst is behind us. Soon it will taper off and give way to much-needed sunny skies this weekend—and temperatures in the upper 40s.

Some of the roads across the Island are still wet but it’s not expected to seriously impact the evening commute, though they could freeze overnight when temperatures drop under 30 degrees.

The winter storm, which has lingered over Long Island for more than two days, was more of a headache than anything else. Long Island Power Authority customers didn’t go through prolonged outages, and public transportation, specifically the Long Island Rail Road, wasn’t adversely impacted.

The only major disruption came in the air, with travelers facing delays at area airports. Islip’s Long Island MacArthur Airport cancelled flights late Wednesday but continued normal operations Thursday morning.

As for this weekend, forecasters are calling for sunny skies with temperatures in the upper 40s. There’s even better news for Monday, meteorologists said, with temperatures possibly piercing 50 degrees.

Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine responds to criticism regarding his town’s lackluster blizzard response at a press conference Thursday, Feb. 14.

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine emerged from his vacation Thursday amid fury over the town’s mishandling of last week’s blizzard, apologizing to media outlets for his absence during the storm while blaming its highway department for the lackluster response.

“I want to say to the people of Brookhaven that I’m sorry that the storm happened and I’m particularly sorry that I wasn’t here when it occurred,” Romaine said to more than a dozen media outlets packing Brookhaven Town Hall, reading from a prepared statement.

“This is devastating for a lot of people,” he continued. “I understand their frustration and their anger, please accept my apologies.”

Characterizing the town’s response as a “failure of [a] branch of town government to adequately respond to this storm,” he added that it is “something that weighs heavy on me, something that I do not take lightly.”

The blizzard struck Friday night into Saturday morning, leaving many roads impassable until Monday or later. Many residents complained their roads weren’t plowed until Tuesday morning, with entire neighborhoods stranded in their homes into the workweek. Some parts of Suffolk County saw up to 30 inches of snow from the powerful storm, a Nor’easter. It shut down several major throughways, including Middle Country Road, Sunrise Highway and the Long Island Expressway, which was closed for three days as crews maneuvered around more than 150 abandoned vehicles left during Friday’s commute home. More than 1,000 abandoned cars littered the roads in Brookhaven, officials said.

The supervisor’s statements Thursday were his first public remarks about the weather emergency since leaving for warmer climes a week earlier.

Romaine’s staff prohibited reporters from asking the supervisor open questions during a press conference at Brookhaven Town Hall following his official statement. Instead, subsequent one-on-one interviews were permitted inside his office.

“My role here is to give you the basic ground rules for this conference and let you know how things are going to run,” announced Romaine’s Chief of Staff Garrett Swenson. “[The] supervisor is going to make a few brief remarks, I would ask that there be no interruptions and allow him the courtesy of making his remarks without interruption.”

A town spokesperson then emerged with a list of at least 14 outlets that would interview the supervisor. Romaine justified the unorthodox measures during a phone interview with the Press later in the day, saying it was in the interest of fairness.

“I met with everyone and I answered everyone’s questions, which I know I aggravated some people but we originally thought it would be better rather than answer five or six questions and then leave to meet with everyone so no one felt that there questions weren’t getting answered,” he said.

His staff ultimately relented when it became apparent that system was overly time-consuming.

Romaine has taken heat for not only remaining on vacation throughout the crisis, but for the town’s failure in dealing with it.

Romaine explained that under New York State law, the supervisor, nor the town council, has authority to issue directives to the highway department, which was headed by acting-highway superintendent Mike Murphy, whom resigned Tuesday at the Romaine’s request.

“It is an independent entity,” Romaine said of the highway department. “The people elect a highway superintendent who reports directly to the people, not to the supervisor, not to the town board. The only thing that the supervisor and town board does is vote on their budget in November.”

“Nevertheless,” he continued, “they are part of town government and it concerns me that they failed. And I cannot tell the people of Brookhaven how sorry I am personally that that failure took place.”

Other observers agreed with Romaine’s explanation.

“Traditionally, I think with what you’ll find all over the place where there are elected highway superintendents that they tend to think of themselves as kings of the road and they like to operate independent,” said a source familiar with town operations who asked not to be named. “And they do because they’re independently elected to operate independent of any other parts of town government that not subject to the supervision of anybody on the town board.”

Still, the top levels of government should be able to step in during a moment of crisis, one Brookhaven town official said.

“The highway department has their own elected official but in light of the fact that we have an interim highway department, our job [is] as public servants that are elected and we should have been there to support the acting superintendent of highways and the staff over at highway, we should have been there to assist them,” Brookhaven Councilwoman Kathleen Walsh, an Independent running for the highway superintendent position on the Democratic line, told the Press.

As the criticism mounted and residents desperately called out for help, change in the power structure became necessary, officials said.

“Eventually it got to the point where we asked for the acting superintendent’s resignation,” Romaine said. “He didn’t have to give it to us, he did, and we are appreciative for that.”

Romaine has repeatedly declined to reveal where he was vacationing last week. The Press reported on Wednesday that Romaine was in Jamaica, according to a town source.

The supervisor said he regretted his time in the sun when so many of his residents were swamped with unforgiving cold, snow and ice—saying, “Absolutely, I would’ve loved to had been here”—yet insisted he was receiving constant updates from town officials, and believes response efforts wouldn’t have been different if he was receiving updates in his office rather than over the phone, anyway.

“I don’t think it would’ve made much of a difference because all the decisions I made, when I made them, would not have changed one iota,” he contended, “but you know what, I would’ve loved to be here because you always want to show a presence, particularly to the constituents in Brookhaven Town.”

“I don’t want to talk about the fog of war,” he continued, “but I would be getting the same information. I mean people aren’t telling me one thing on the phone that would tell me something differently if they were sitting in my office, so I’m getting the same information, I’m giving the same directives. Do I think there would be much difference? No I don’t think there would be much difference at all.”

When Romaine left town hall Wednesday night to prepare for a Thursday flight, he said the weather predictions Wednesday called for “rain and then moving to snow, but it wasn’t said that there would be [a] blizzard.”

When notified that the National Weather Service Wednesday issued a statement predicting “significant snowfall and strong winds with near-blizzard conditions,” Romaine responded that he wasn’t aware a possible blizzard was on its way.

“I didn’t see that, honestly,” he said, “I didn’t see that, whatever news I got, I got out of TV news and I didn’t get that there was a blizzard coming.”

The National Weather Service then issued a blizzard watch for Suffolk County on Thursday and predicted eight to 12 inches of snow.

When the supervisor called his office Friday for an update on the storm he said the highway department assured him that they had “it under control,” and that it wasn’t until Saturday that “we were told that they had lost control of the storm in certain areas of the town and we began a frantic call to get other equipment in.”

Before departing for his island getaway, Romaine said he was notified of the department’s plan and was assured that they had the necessary equipment to clean up the snow.

Departments that the town does control—parks and waste management, specifically—had plows at the ready and were sent out to clean roadways Friday afternoon, he added.

Romaine continued making calls throughout the weekend, he said, and was notified that 95 percent of roads would be passable by Monday. Briefed on the hundreds of abandoned cars in the area, he tells the Press, he was surprised to learn that most of them were either on state or county roads, but still advised the town to assist in snow removal for those areas.

“People complained bitterly about Brookhaven Town and I’m like, ‘Wow, most of those cars were abandoned on either the [Long Island] expressway or Sunrise [Highway] or [Route] 25 or County Road 83 or [Route] 112 or Nicolls Road, they weren’t abandoned on town roads,’ but the town had to help in that effort and we all worked together,” he said.

Romaine now says that he intends to work with the acting highway superintendent and whoever is elected March 5 at a special election for the position. The supervisor will conduct a “top-to-bottom review” of the storm, he said, including a review of the equipment, how staff was deployed and the town’s communication system. He will also push for a computerized tracking system for the entire highway department, something that council members have opposed in the past, he said.

As for the criticism from residents frustrated with the town’s leadership, Romaine admitted that they have a right to be upset but promised that the town would use the storm as a learning experience.

“I would be too,” he said of residents’ frustration. “Unfortunately for me it was like the perfect storm, because there was a lot of things that needed to be done in highway that hadn’t been done. I was out of town, the storm was far more severe, and there’s a lot of things happening, we didn’t have a highway superintendent, we had an acting [superintendent] that didn’t have as much management experience as you had hoped. So many things seemed to go wrong that even if I was here, the only thing that we can do is try and learn from this.”

Plow truck moving through Long Island Saturday morning. (Photo credit: Michael Damm)

More than 100 abandoned cars are still littered on major roadways in Suffolk County as emergency crews continue to clear roadways and officials reopen highways temporarily shut down by the dangerous winter storm that rocked Long Island.

From central Suffolk to the East End, emergency crews, many who have been at it for 24 hours, are maneuvering plows across the county to make roadways passable for drivers.

Officials said major highways—the Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, Southern and Northern State Parkways and other roads—have been reopened but they continue to remind drivers to remain home because the conditions are still dangerous.

Suffolk County police Saturday night said hazards remain and are warning drivers to avoid certain areas, specifically Jericho Turnpike in Middle Island.

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Crews hindered by abandoned vehicles strewn across roads now have another obstacle before them: freezing roads.

“That hinders the manpower,” John Jordan, deputy commissioner of Suffolk Fire and Rescue, told the Press Saturday night.

More than 100 contractors are on the roads, Jordan said, adding that assets from New York City will make their way to Suffolk at 7 p.m. and will be dispatched to hard hit areas Sunday morning.

Officials expect clean up efforts to continue through Sunday.

While emergency crews have been successful in moving cars out of the way—some with forklifts and tow trucks—a “couple of hundred” abandoned cars remain strewn along roads, Jordan said.

“Some of them are in so much snow they’re not going to move until the snow melts,” he added.

Related: Snowfall totals on Long Island

He noted that County Road 83 in the Town of Brookhaven had 400 cars stuck on the roadway at one point, while other deserted cars were found along County Road 21 and at the intersection of Route 347 and Jericho Turnpike.

Many unlucky drivers had a front row seat to Friday night’s blizzard, as they were unable to leave their cars after the heavy snow swallowed them up.

Suffolk County police said 150 people were rescued from roadways and taken to warming shelters.

Others weren’t so lucky.

“Unfortunately it’s like quick sand, once you stop in snow like this…you get buried,” Jordan said.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a briefing Saturday that Suffolk took the brunt of the storm and “sustained significant damage and significant hardship.”

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone lamented that if the storm had held off for just a few more hours then less people would’ve been trapped in the blizzard overnight.

“If this storm would have happened two hours later, the hundreds of people struggling to get home would have made it home,” Bellone said. “Emergency vehicles were dispatched immediately but emergency vehicles at this time were getting stuck. Fire trucks were getting stuck…We’ve never seen anything like this.”

The Nor’easter began its onslaught on Long Island Friday afternoon and continued through the night. More than a dozen communities were hit with more than a foot of snow and several areas—all in Suffolk—saw more than 30 inches.

“It’s something that most people probably, if you see it, you’ll see it once in a lifetime, especially in this area,” Jordan said of the storm. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Trucks plowing roads in Locust Valley Saturday morning. (Photo credit: Michael Damm)

Suffolk County was the hardest hit area in New York State after a Nor’easter rolled through Long Island and dumped more than two feet of snow on the region, officials said Saturday.

“Suffolk has sustained significant damage and significant hardship as a result of the storm,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a briefing Saturday morning.

In order to improve road conditions the governor said Suffolk would receive assistance from New York City and Nassau County, which will be sending additional crews to help plow streets to make roads passable.

The biggest obstacle facing crews Saturday morning are abandoned vehicles, especially on the Long Island Expressway, officials said. More than 150 cars were stranded, Cuomo said, complicating matters for emergency crews. No deaths were reported.

Late Friday night, authorities shut down all major highways in Suffolk, including the LIE, Sunrise Highway and Southern and Northern State Parkways.

“If this storm would have happened two hours later, the hundreds of people struggling to get home would have made it home,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said. “Emergency vehicles were dispatched immediately but emergency vehicles at this time were getting stuck. Fire trucks were getting stuck…We’ve never seen anything like this.”

Suffolk also saw the most outages, with more than 10,000 homes and businesses losing power, officials said.

The rest of the state, including Nassau, fared much better during the powerful Nor’easter, which dropped more than 30 inches of snow on Long Island.

Although New York suffered “statewide consequences,” according to Cuomo, the damage didn’t compare to Connecticut and Massachusetts, the two states hit hardest by the storm.

Cuomo said the state would deploy additional resources to aid both states, including utility and emergency workers.

Back on Long Island, the National Weather Service said roads remain “either impassable or treacherous.” Officials recommended that residents only leave their homes for emergencies.

“If you don’t have to leave the house for an urgent matter,” Cuomo said, “don’t leave the house.”

Cars covered in Locust Valley after Blizzard rolls through Long Island. (Photo credit: Michael Damm)

Long Islanders woke up Saturday to a mound of snow on their front yards, their cars swallowed by a white blanket and streets barely drivable as a powerful Nor’easter swooped in and dropped up to 30 inches of snow on the Island.

While many residents will have hours of shoveling ahead after the blizzard, most will be able to fire up some hot chocolate and huddle up next to their television screens because while this massive storm packed a punch, it didn’t come close to National Grid’s estimate of 100,000 customers losing power. In fact, as of 9 a.m., the total was a little less than 11,000 people in the dark.

But the storm was dangerous.

All major highways in Suffolk County had to be shut down to all non-emergency vehicles, including the Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, Southern State, Northern State, Sagtikos/Sunken Meadow, Robert Moses Causeway, and Ocean Parkway.

There have been reports of abandoned vehicles throughout Suffolk County, making it difficult for emergency crews to plow roads and make roads passable.

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A blizzard warning remains in effect in Suffolk County until noon Saturday.

The blizzard—dubbed Nemo by The Weather Channel—dealt a blow to public transportation as well, forcing the Long Island Rail Road to suspend service on five of its branches—Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk and Oyster Bay—and limiting service on all others.

Those traveling by air also saw flight cancellations across all New York airports Friday evening. Flights at Islip’s Long Island MacArthur Airport are not scheduled to resume until 6:15 p.m. Saturday.

It was apparent Saturday morning that Suffolk County took the brunt of the storm.

The Nor’easter walloped communities from Lindenhurst to Upton, blasting at least 15 areas with more than 20 inches of snow. The National Weather Service reported that Upton saw 30.3 inches. (UPDATED SNOWFALL TOTALS)

Accumulation in Nassau barely reached the one-foot mark, the weather service reported. Bayville, Wantagh and Albertson were hit with more than 11 inches, while people in Seaford, New Hyde Park and Carle Place are likely mocking the storm as a bust after less than four inches fell on them. (UPDATED SNOWFALL TOTALS)

The storm also spawned whipping winds that contributed to outages and sent snow sideways making it difficult to walk at times. Strong winds—gusts were measured at more than 40 mph throughout the Island—also contributed to whiteout conditions making driving nearly impossible Friday evening.

Traffic was at a snail-like place and drivers reported excruciating travel times across all major roadways. On the Northern State Parkway Friday night, traffic was moving so slow that drivers were cleaning off their cars as they drove because snow was building up quickly. Some had to pull over under an overpass to move heavy snow off their cars.

The powerful storm forced New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to declare state of emergencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties Friday night.

Many of the outages are in the Town of Brookhaven, LIPA reported on its website, with more than 4,000 residents without power.

Two towns—Babylon and Islip—reported less than 100 customers without power.

Police and other local officials are urging drivers to stay off the roadways so crews can plow through the heavy snow. Drivers in Suffolk are told to use other roads since all major highways in the county are closed. It’s not yet clear when the highways will reopen.

Nassau County prepped dozens of plows for the powerful storm headed to Long Island.

Long Island is bracing for what could be one of the most powerful winter storms in years as a Nor’easter barrels toward the region Friday bringing strong winds and heavy snow capable of downing tree limbs and causing power outages.

Agencies from across New York State have been preparing for a potential blizzard that could dump up to 20 inches of snow on the Island.

Both Nassau and Suffolk Counties have readied their fleet of plows and payload trucks to clear the roadways and have urged all residents to stay off the roads once heavy snow starts falling.

Additional maintenance crews and plows from upstate New York have arrived to aid local crews, the New York State Department of Transportation said.

The state has 198 large dump trucks prepped to treat snow and ice on state roadways, the agency said.

The Nor’easter is expected to take a turn for the worse during the mid-afternoon, possibly around 3 p.m., according to Tim Morrin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

Morrin cautioned that Long Islanders should plan to escape to their homes around the mid-afternoon because the conditions will make driving dangerous.

“When things go downhill with this one,” he said, “it will happen quick.”

Morrin noted that temperatures will “drop across the board,” in the afternoon.

In order to accommodate the rush of commuters from Manhattan expected to bolt early, the Long Island Rail Road said it will provide eight extra trains between 2:09 p.m. and 3:48 p.m.

There will be additional trains on the Babylon, Port Jefferson, Port Washington and Far Rockaway Branches. Also, one Port Jefferson train will originate from Jamaica instead of Huntington.

In anticipation of the “powerful” storm, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will activate the State Emergency Operations Center at noon to monitor the storm and coordinate response efforts.

“As a major winter storm approaches New York State, I have activated the Emergency Operations Center effective noon tomorrow to coordinate response efforts using all state and local resources,” Cuomo said. “I urge New Yorkers to closely watch local news reports for weather updates and adjust their travel plans accordingly, including avoiding non-essential travel during and directly after the storm since roads will be icy with blizzard conditions in some places.”

The storm will be at its strongest from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday. During that 12-hour window, the Island could see wind gusts of up to 60 mph and rapid snow accumulation. Falling and blowing wind could cause whiteout conditions that will limit visibility to only one-quarter of a mile.

There’s also a chance that lightning and thunder will be mixed in with the storm, meteorologists said.

National Gird, which announced Thursday it will take over communications and storm preparations from the Long Island Power Authority, warned that the storm could knock out power to more than 100,000 ratepayers, many still fuming over outages caused by Superstorm Sandy.

In preparation for the storm, National Grid secured hundreds of extra line crews, tree trimmers and personnel to support more than 500 lineman and 150 tree trimmers, the utility said, adding it has also laid out plans to bolster call center personnel.

The unprecedented shift in storm duties comes just months after LIPA received a tongue-lashing from customers and public officials disappointed with the utility’s response to Sandy, which knocked out power to nearly 1 million ratepayers.

Long Island remains under a blizzard warning until 1 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Most Long Islanders woke up Friday morning to a messy commute consisting of either snow or a mix of rain and snow that lasted through the morning.

From 3 p.m. until the evening, Nassau and Suffolk Counties are expected to be hit with up to 4 inches of snow before the weather rapidly deteriorates, the weather service said.

The storm, which is supposed to blanket most of the Northeast, caused airlines to cancel 3,000 flights.

Both John F. Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia Airport urged travelers to contact their airline before arriving at the airports.

Storm accumulation will differ throughout the Island but its possible that the North Shore could see higher accumulation than the South Shore, but both are vulnerable to coastal flooding, the weather service said.

Three to five foot waves are expected along the Long Island Sound and 5 to 7 foot waves are possible on the East End, the NWS said.

The storm could cause widespread flooding to shore roads and basements.

Most agencies are pleading to drivers to stay off the roads and out of the way of plows.

“We are warning drivers that they should NEVER pass a snow plow or follow too closely,” the state department of transportation said in a statement. “They should also maintain a safe speed and distance from other vehicles.”

The National Weather Service Thursday afternoon issued a blizzard warning for all of Long Island beginning 6 a.m. Friday until 1 p.m. Saturday.

The weather service also upped its predictions of snow accumulation in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, noting that both could see more than one foot of snow.

Meteorologists predicted Nassau could get blanketed with 10 to 14 inches, while Suffolk could be hit with 10 to 15 inches.

The powerful winter storm is expected to also bring winds of 20 to 40 mph, plus gusts of up to 60 mph.

On top of the heavy snow predictions, the national weather service is also calling for temperatures Friday night to fall into the 20s.

The strongest winds and heaviest snowfall will occur Friday evening into Saturday morning, the NWS said.

The potential blizzard also makes driving dangerous, with the storm possibly spawning whiteout conditions. The weather service warned residents not to drive, but if people must travel “have a survival kit with you.”

The NWS also issued a coastal flood warning for both counties, noting that waves could reach up to 13 feet in Suffolk.

Widespread flooding of vulnerable shore roads and basements is also expected, meteorologists said, adding, “numerous road closures may be needed.”

National Grid, which will be leading storm response over the Long Island Power Authority, said Thursday that the storm could knock out power to more than 100,000 customers.

Nassau County is bracing for a powerful winter storm that may bring blizzard-like conditions to the region.

Nassau County is bracing for the region’s first major winter storm to pound the area Friday and is organizing its fleet of plows and payload trucks in preparation, as the municipality still weathers infrastructure damages leftover from Superstorm Sandy.

“We are at the ready to keep our roads clear,” Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said at a press conference in Hicksville Thursday. “We are preparing for a significant storm.”

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard watch for Suffolk County beginning Friday afternoon and lasting until Saturday afternoon. Nassau County remains under a winter storm watch.

UPDATE: Blizzard warning issued for all of Long Island

Meteorologists are predicting that Suffolk will take the brunt of the storm with wind gusts topping 60 mph and heavy snow, with accumulation possible of eight to 12 inches. The weather service is calling for six to 10 inches of snow in Nassau.

The weather service warned that the storm has the potential of bringing down tree limbs and causing scattered power outages, and can create whiteout conditions causing limited visibility on roadways.

Nassau is set to deploy more than 175 personnel to clear roadways, 85 plows and 16 payload trucks, the county said.

Mangano warned of a messy commute Friday morning as a mix of snow and rain hits the area overnight. The National Weather Service predicted snow accumulation of less than one inch Friday morning but noted there’s a possibility of heavy rain before 9 a.m. with wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

Snow is expected to begin again 9 p.m. Friday and continuing through the night.

The potential blizzard has also revived the discussion about Long Island Power Authority’s response to Superstorm Sandy and the tongue lashing the utility received from ratepayers and officials, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

When Mangano was asked Thursday if he’s concerned about LIPA’s storm response he said, “Absolutely.”

“The concern is obviously there,” he added, “certainly the assets have not been hardened since Hurricane Sandy,” noting the strong winds last week that knocked out power to more than 30,000 LIPA customers throughout the island.

LIPA did not return calls for comment about storm preparation.

The county executive also shed light on infrastructure vulnerabilities and economic woes that face municipalities affected by Sandy because many local governments are still waiting on federal funding before repairs can be green-lighted.

“We went through a terrible, terrible hurricane,” Mangano said. “There’s obviously significant work that needs to be done to harden our infrastructure, and quite frankly the dollars that are necessary to do that have not begun to flow so you can really get to work on these items and we’re trying to peddle fast and advocate hard.”

As for the storm, the National Weather Service said heavy snow would make for dangerous driving conditions, noting that visibility may be limited to half a mile.

A message left for a Suffolk County spokeswoman was not returned.