Massapequa Weathers the Worst

Hurricane Irene packed a wallop, and left a lot of people in the dark but Massapequa showed it can take a punch.

As of 6:30 p.m. the area was hard hit by power outages with 4, 429 customers in Massapequa Park without electrical service compared to 2,835 customers in Massapequa, 1, 867 in North Massapequa and 1,082 in East Massapequa.

Village of Massapequa Park Mayor James Altadonna said he had crews out early Sunday morning to assess the damage and begin cleaning up the mess.

"Our objective is to cut and clear the main streets and then onto the secondary roads," he said.

The village dispatched payloaders to do the job. They had more than a few obstacles.

There were numerous downed trees in the area including several large ones that fell on Lake Shore Drive.

Some of the trees fell on nearby roofs, but none fell through roofs, according to Altadonna, who said no village buildings had structural damage.

Flooding was an issue, but while some basements took on water the streets were not too bad.

But the water levels were dangerously high as Colleran Park. At one point the surf poured over the park benches.

Altadonna said the the park was one thing he'd like to take care of if the village gets disaster relief funds because of the storm.

"I'd like to fix the drainage and erosion," he said. Colleran Park needs to be reclaimed."

The mayor also said he'd like to fix drainage in low lying areas of the village.

The flooding near coastal homes also took out the ladders and ramps to some docks according Carrie Watson, who lives near the park.

"The first ladder I saw on the canal was at about 7 a.m., and an hour later I heard another. There was a lot of noise on the shore.

The wind died down and residents who had evacuated had begun to return. 

The Nassau office of emergency management said that some people who returned later left their homes and that residents were taking things on a case by case basis.

The major problem remaining are the power outages. 

Altadonna advised residents "to be patient," saying officials were reaching out to LIPA  and expressed the hope that power could be restored in a timely manner.