Message from the Mayor: Storms Update 7-March-2018

Peter Swiderski
Fellow residents,
 
The storm forced a slow-down or halt in Con Ed recovery efforts today. We enjoying some activity this morning that was appreciated in that a remaining road was opened and a pocket of 17 homes were repowered. Details below.
 
Storm Update
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We (and Con Ed) hunker down now and wait out what is, so far, (and I hope I don’t come to regret saying this) the milder version of the northeaster we feared. Some heavier bands have yet to hit and may push the accumulation totals up, but it certainly looks like it will skew toward 6 instead of 12 inches. Not complaining. The fire houses are manned, and the DPW crews are out:  so far, the roads are passable though I wouldn’t go out and test them in your car. No new outages or trees down at 4:30PM.
 
Repairs yesterday throughout the County brought 17,000 homes to power, and some 11,000 home remain dark.  Yesterday, all but Cliff Street were reopened, and this morning the tree on Cliff was cleared from the street and the neighborhood repowered, bringing light to Cliff and lower Mt. Hope. There are still (depending upon which statistic you believe) between 117 and 140 homes still dark, so somewhere between roughly 60 to 70% are restored.  One version of these stats are available on the Con Ed site here https://apps.coned.com/stormcenter/external/default.html, which generally seems to lag reality by 24 hours.  Outages includes a remaining large cluster centered on High Street, and a smaller remaining one in the Buena Vista/Bellair/Summit Drive area; other clusters include lower Broadway, Hollywood, Flower, with a sprinkling of homes elsewhere.
 
Con Ed should be back tomorrow baring some sort of monstrous drop of snow overnight we no longer expect to happen (though could! Not tempting the weather gods.)  We remain in contact with Con Ed through our municipal liaison, who was in Hastings this morning, and we have been on the County-wide conference calls where agitation continues to ratchet up.  Con Ed’s predictions now indicate later on Friday for full restoration to our village. We generally agree that is likely, though High Street has three poles out and transformers and other equipment hammered and so a Friday repowering assumes availability of the equipment that can drill the holes and place the poles so that power can be restored. 
 
What you need to know:
 
* Some downed wires may still be “hot”. No need to find out the hard way. Do not approach them and make sure your dog is on a short leash. Live wires will kill instantly.
* Leave all your faucets dripping during the period that you are unheated so your pipes do not burst.  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 still open as a warming/Wi-Fi/charging center until 7PM. The library has closed as a result of the weather. 
* Don’t call the Police Department for updates: they have no new information. Call only if it is a true emergency. I will put out a daily bulletin to keep you informed until the very last home is restored. It will be posted on the Community Center front door, Village Hall and Library front door during the duration of the emergency.
*  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.
*  Court for Tonight is Cancelled  
 
Coyote Update
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There have been no further coyote attacks. We are going to keep the parks closed for the next ten days and continue to trap in Hillside, Quarry and Uniontown.  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 fourth day of the trapping effort. A suspected rabid raccoon was reported in Dobbs Ferry – that doesn’t seem far-fetched as the coyote got infected from some creature, so clearly there is a reservoir of this disease somewhere local. Vigilance is the order of the day for the next couple of weeks. Keep your eyes open and report anything amiss with our local wildlife (after you have gotten to safety).
 
What’s Next…
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Easy on the back when shoveling, and refrain from driving during the balance of the day: you not only put yourself at risk, but the first responders that then have to go deal with your accident.
 
More tomorrow.
 
Sincerely,
 
Peter Swiderski
Mayor