This past week I was able to once again observe firsthand the professional, dedicated village staff as they provided services to our Village during the course and aftermath of Hurricane Irene. The storm, while not as devastating as anticipated by ongoing news reports, the effects were felt Islandwide. While the village and a number of residents experienced the damaging effects of the storm, there were no reports received of personal injuries. Damaged property can be upsetting but the fact that we escaped without loss of life or physical injuries is extremely positive. It is my belief that no other municipality provided a better response to this hurricane than Williston Park. Others may have done as well, but none better. While village highway crews were prepared and ready to work as an efficient unit to provide our residents with exceptional service, work crews were forced to wait until the storm actually passed due to hazardous working conditions. However, a number were actually out during the storm assessing damage as the storm developed. At the point in which the actual work was able to commence, priorities had already been established and the staff under the direction of Superintendant Keith Bunnell began the arduous task of restoring the village to a safe level. Trees and large limbs that closed streets were the number one priority, although those entangled with electric wires were held in abeyance pending LIPA involvement. Throughout Sunday the crews worked extremely hard and as effectively as possible to clean up as much debris in a limited amount of time. Plans were to work until dusk, however, winds and rain returned around 4:30 which brought work to a halt. On Monday the crews were back in action and by the end of the day the majority of the work was completed. Tuesday saw a continuation with all of their activities.
Prior to the storm reaching Williston Park, I spoke directly with North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman and Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss to help ensure coordination of efforts if help was needed by any of these parties.
Enough cannot be said about the planning and efforts of Keith Bunnell as the “Man for all Seasons” did an exceptional job for Williston Park. He began planning three days before the arrival of the storm and was evaluating and coordinating throughout this whole event. Building Inspector Kerry Collins was directly involved with operations from beginning to end, helping to both assess and evaluate throughout.
As part of preparing for the storm, meetings and telephone discussions were held with the Fire Department Chiefs, (Dept. Chief Tony Gagliardi, 1st Asst. Tim Joyce and 2nd Asst. John Perro). Their members were put on standby Saturday night and a number of firefighters remained at the firehouse until late Sunday. Their dedication and preparedness were instrumental in helping to protect our residents. They assisted the village efforts throughout the course of this major event. Captain Jerry Umlauf, of the Emergency Rescue Squad, had his crews ready in anticipation of potential need.
The Auxiliary Police Department, under the guidance of Joe Camisa and Jean Tranchina, once again responded at a time in need. They assisted in a number of ways during the course of the storm.
The Roger Fay Williston Park Pool was forced to close on Saturday but was reopened Monday by 1 p.m. due to the efforts of Pool Manager Paul Blake, Asst. Frank Lovisi and the pool staff. An exceptional job was done in order to make the facility available ASAP.
The one major problem the village encountered was related to LIPA issues. While the village was in contact with LIPA throughout, control of electrical outages was out of village hands and the full responsibility of LIPA.
I’d like to thank our residents for their understanding and cooperation throughout this major event. As I believe “Together we can make a Difference” and this was quite evident this past weekend
A reminder that the village will be sending out re-evaluation questionnaires this week. It is critical for residents to complete and return them as soon as possible.
