Additional National Guard, Equipment To Be Deployed To Poughkeepsie, Beacon

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY — Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday in a Wednesday afternoon press conference that 100 additional National Guard troops and 100 additional pieces of equipment will be redeployed to Poughkeepsie and Beacon in the wake of the massive snowstorm Tuesday.

Cuomo was speaking in Poughkeepsie, along with Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro and City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison.

The governor said the National Guard is already deployed in Poughkeepsie and will be in Beacon Wednesday night.

Cuomo said the storm was initially forecast to affect the entire state but hit the southern tier up through Utica the hardest.

The real brunt of the storm, he said, was in an area that nobody expected.

Not only was the amount of snow that fell a problem, but the rate of snowfall as well.

“When it exceeds 3 inches an hour, the plows don’t work.” Cuomo said.

Assets that were originally deployed in New York City and Long Island will be coming to the Hudson Valley to help with storm cleanup.

Rolison said, for those waking up Thursday and heading out to work or school, that people need to be aware that they should slow down on the roads.

“We need to exercise caution, especially in the cities where there are more people out on the street,” he said, perhaps walking on the roadways because the sidewalk are not accessible at the corners.