Irene’s Gone and Power Is Still Out

Just over 250 homes and businesses in and more than 5,000 in North New Hyde Park are still in the dark as of Tuesday at around noon according to Long Island Power Authority. Irene, which started as a Category 3 hurricane, was downgraded to a tropical storm just before it swept through the Island early Sunday morning. The powerful storm still managed to throughout the community.

Aside from the remnants of tree branches and fallen power lines, Monday brought a sunny day. Local residents were out early clearing away the debris and aftermath from the storm.

At the in New Hyde Park, many people were relieved to report they never lost their power.

“It was fine, we were never without power,” said Ralph Stroll who added that he felt the storm was hyped up to be more than it was.

However at on Hillside Avenue the doors were open but there were no customers inside.

“We are open for business but the store isn’t functioning fully,” explained manage Kim Bubanj. “Without power we can’t make glasses or access the internet to get prescriptions.”

The cluster of stores including and were without power to start the week. In addition, two Nassau County police officers were standing at the intersection of Hillside Avenue and Marcus Avenue directing traffic.

Long Island Power Authority says it expects to have power restored by the end of the week.

Residents are more frustrated after getting word that power may not be restored until Friday. While flashlights and candles are ways to cope without electricity, there is only so much residents with infants and young children can do without power.  

“None of this is in our control but it's frustrating not to be able to warm up bottles and bathe my children with warm water,” said one female resident.

Another New Hyde Park resident who is without power voiced his anxiety about an issue many residents would not even think of. Henry Spark, who has lived in the community for more than 43 years, said this was the first time anything like this has happened. When his power went out on Sunday morning following the storm, it was only a matter of time before his beautiful fish pond filled with koi was at risk. Valued at more than one-thousand dollars each, Spark’s pricey investment was threatened because his fish did not have the proper water circulation to survive.

Although he did not have a generator, his neighbor came to the rescue by sharing a line for the water filter.

“Without the generator the fish would have died,” he said. “It's times like these when people surprise you and work together as a community.”