Message from the Mayor: Storm and Coyote Update 5-March-2018

Peter Swiderski
Fellow residents, Con Ed is ramping up its efforts to recover from the storm as assistance pours in from out of state. We are now playing a bit of “beat the clock” against the next winter storm now on deck for Wednesday that may bring 4-12 inches. It’s enough to try one’s patience and sense of humor. This email covers the latest updates and a reminder regarding actions we are taking on the coyote situation.
 
Storm Update
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Repairs continue throughout the entire County – another 17,000 homes have had power restored, so the total has dropped from 57,000 homes to 40,000 without power as of 1PM.  No real progress has occurred in Hastings: we still have 317 homes out of power (compared to 319 yesterday – and that difference is just statistical noise. These statistics, by the way, are available to all, at summary levels, on the Con Ed site here https://apps.coned.com/stormcenter/external/default.html)   Outages includes a large cluster centered on Euclid Avenue and another large cluster in Uniontown, with smaller clusters at lower Mt. Hope and Cliff, Fairmont, and Hollywood Drive.  County impacts were huge – half the power (or more) is out in Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Yorktown and others. We DO have a Con Ed truck in town at this moment and Broadway was reopened, but it can only handle tree removal and we are still awaiting the team that can depower the lines. We hope that at least several of the major roads will be reopened today.  Farragut in next, and High Street (which was hit brutally) is high on the list.
 
Con Ed supposedly has 330+ crews deploying throughout the County and they have continued to claim that 90% of the power should be restored by Tuesday night. That includes most Hastings homes (with the possible exception of a cluster on Broadway and Buena Vista, sorry to say, due two days later). Our experience during Superstorm Sandy is to treat these predictions with some skepticism. We are in contact with Con Ed through our municipal liaison and we have been on the county-wide conference calls where the level of agitation is at all-time highs. Con Ed continues to work through its protocol of prioritizing emergency services, road access and schools, and then they work through the pockets of outages, typically working through the largest pockets first, but it is actually way more complicated than that, having to do with where the trunk and feeder lines are and where the damage occurred, and so basically we wait.
 
What you need to know:
 
* Downed wires may be “hot” – energized. THEY REMAIN DANGEROUS. Do not approach them and make sure your dog is on a short leash. Live wires will kill instantly.
*  If you haven’t registered your outage with Con Ed, do so here (www.coned.com<http://www.coned.com/>). If you have done so, do not do so again.
* Assume you will be without power through at least Tuesday. There is some chance (God forbid) that your power will still be out on Wednesday, in the midst of the next northeaster bearing down on us. If you haven’t pulled your chits in with friends to find alternate sleeping locations, now is the time to start planning. If you need shelter, the Andrus Home is generously offering a limited number of rooms. Please contact the Police Department if you need shelter (914-478-2344).
* The Community Center is open as a warming center. We have free Wi-Fi as well. The library also offers free Wi-Fi.  If you want to charge your phone, you can bring it to the Community Center too.
* Don’t call the Police Department for updates: they have no new information. Call only if it is a true emergency. We will put out a daily bulletin to keep you informed. It will be posted on the Community Center front door and Library front door during the duration of the emergency.
*  Check on your elderly or disabled neighbors if their power is out. The temperature will remain in the 35-45 degree range and so houses have lost their stored heat.
*  We do not have read yet on whether the schools will be open tomorrow. Please keep an eye out from School Superintendent Sinasis on this issue later today. 
 
Coyote Update
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The coyote that was killed after attacking a County police officer was rabid. There have been no subsequent attacks. The trapper continues his work in three of our parks (Hillside, Uniontown and Quarry) since rabies has a two-week latency, and we are forced to assume that any coyotes in proximity with the one that rampaged last week may be infected but not yet showing aggressive behavior. We are going to keep the parks closed for the next twelve days. Do not go in the woods until the Village reopens the parks or let your dogs or cats out or off the leash during the duration of this emergency. You put your pets at lethal risk if you do so and the Village cannot be held responsible.  No coyotes were snared this second night of our effort.
 
What’s Next…
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It is hard to imagine the prospect of a major storm this coming Wednesday – now possibly 4-12 inches of heavy, wet snow. The Village has begun to prepare for that, and we will put out more information tonight and tomorrow on what this may mean for you (nothing good, I can say safely). I have been writing that we rely on your patience, good humor, forbearance and generosity through this emergency and that it should pass pretty quickly. Not so sure about “quickly” any more, but hoping that the patience and good humor hold out.  We’re going to need it, apparently.
 
Sincerely,
 
Peter Swiderski
Mayor