Long Island prepped for Elsa
FREEPORT, N.Y. - For Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy, the feeling of bracing for a big storm is all too familiar.
"Nine years ago, we literally had seven feet of water right where you are standing," Kennedy said. "Half of the buildings on the Nautical Mile burned down, the other half were flooded."
This area was slammed by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 but Kennedy said his village is prepared for Tropical Storm Elsa.
"I hope with the equipment we've installed throughout the village — new pumps, check valves on all the outlets, we've been very successful so far," Kennedy said. "It has not flooded so we are hoping we should be able to control it tomorrow and shouldn't be any detrimental effects to the businesses and the residents."
PSEG Long Island was highly criticized last year for its response to Hurricane Isaias. The utility company said it is in an all-hands-on-deck mode now. Its crews went around Long Island trimming trees in order to clear dangerous limbs from electric lines ahead of the storm. It has also strategically positioned supplies across the island to reduce travel and restoration times and has called in about 1,000 additional workers.
In Freeport, Ivan Sayles, the president of the Nautical Mile Merchants Association, said he has been forced to learn how to protect his two restaurants on the fly.
"After Sandy, we got very geared up and ready for storms," he said. "I have both kitchens here — Rachel's Waterside Grill and Tropix on the Mile — all on quick disconnect, can be packed up into a box truck in about two hours and we could just bring them someplace else."
To report an outage or a downed power line, call PSEG Long Island on its 24-hour emergency line at 800-490-0075.
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