Town: Update on Tree Damage, Fuel, Power

North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman sent this Reverse 311 message all Town of North Hempstead residents who have working landlines on Monday at 8 p.m.

Hello this is North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman with the latest storm recovery update:

Hurricane Sandy and Nor’easter Athena, only 10 days apart, left thousands of trees in our roads and tens of thousands of our residents without power. The chief concern of almost all of our residents is the delay in getting power restored to their homes. I can tell you that throughout the last 11 days, town, village, county, state, and federal officials in our town have all been making a constant and intense effort to move the utility towards providing full restoration of power.

The Nor’easter clearly resulted in a setback, yet we still need the utility to get the job done and we need it done now. 

I have spoken to our councilmembers and our mayors and our legislators and our state and federal representatives and we hear the pain and anguish of our residents who are without power.  The Town of North Hempstead will continue our emergency efforts until this job is done and we will continue to do everything possible to provide comfort and aide to those who need it during this period.

I can tell you that we have answered over 30,000 calls in our 311 center and we continue to staff the Points of Distribution (PODs) with water and meals; our warming centers are open every day and we have our Project Independence staff visiting seniors who may be in distress at their homes when requested. 

In terms of tree damage to homes, houses that have been damaged may have licensed contractors make repairs without getting permits first, although you must document the damage and apply for permits subsequently. Our building inspectors are available to assist you, simply call 311. Our highway crews have cleared thousands of trees and continue to cut and move trees once wires are removed by the utility. During this last week we have brought in over 4,000 tons of debris into our solid waste facility and we will continue the process of picking up debris until it is completely cleared.

In regard to fuel, the governor has directed that Nassau and Suffolk Counties as well as the five boroughs in New York City, beginning [Friday] morning at 5 a.m., will adopt an odd/even fuel sales policy. The plan requires gas stations to only fuel cars on which the last digit of the license plate is consistent with the odd or even day of the month. In other words, if your license plate ends with an odd number you can only fuel up on odd numbered days of the month. If your license plate ends with an even number you can only fuel up on an even numbered day of the month.  

Finally, I would like to thank all those in our town who are doing what they can to help others get through this stressful period. 

Again, our 311 call center remains open or you may visit our North Hempstead website or Facebook page for further information.