Town Supervisor: Sandy is "Our Katrina"

Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer extended the area’s state of emergency declaration Thursday, calling Hurricane Sandy, “Our Katrina.”

Its original state of emergency was declared on Oct. 28, a day ahead of Sandy’s arrival, in anticipation of the storm’s damage. The assessment was correct as the post-tropical cyclone resulted in evacuations, threatened people’s lives and caused extensive power outages, flooding, damage to homes, businesses and transportation infrastructure, local water supplies and displaced thousands of families throughout Long Island and the Tri-State area.

The declaration allows the Department of Public Works to bring in outside contractors, seasonal employees and the implement emergency procedures, in order to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has set up a mobile unit at the Bower Elementary School in Lindenhurst (315 Montauk Highway, Lindenhurst, NY 11757).  FEMA will be there until 7 p.m. on Nov. 1 and from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Nov. 2 to assist people registering, the same way they would on the FEMA website. FEMA has not set up at Town Hall.

For residents who been displaced, an American Red Cross shelter is set up at Robert Frost Middle School (450 Half Hollow Road, Deer Park) and will remain open for the foreseeable future, town officials said.

Charging stations are also set up at Babylon Town Hall (200 E Sunrise Highway, Lindenhurst) and the Babylon Town Hall Annex (281 Phelps Lane, North Babylon). Cell phone charging stations are open to the public and WiFi connections are available.

In addition, Suffolk County has set up a hotline to report price gouging. Residents can call 1-800-909-5423 to report any incidents.

Important Public Contact Numbers
LIPA 1-800-490-0075
National Grid 1-800-490-0045
Red Cross (631) 423-0307
FEMA 1-800-621-3362