From Waiting For Gas To Corralling Chickens, LI Readies For Henri

EAST END, NY — As the East End braces for possibly the worst of Hurricane Henri's wrath, while residents rushed to the supermarket and waited on long lines at gas stations Saturday — farmers and small business owners faced unique challenges trying to keep chickens, crops, and storefronts safe from the storm.

Residents on both the North and South Forks weighed in on how they readied for Henri's arrival.

Celia Marzal-Iannelli of Jamesport said she spent the day trying out her generator, taking down plants and removing lawn furniture.

Tina Moore of Aquebouge filled her gas tanks, got cash, and bought the proverbial bread and milk. She also brought in furniture and spent time "luring in feral cats."

Valerie Sanks, who helps animals on the East End and beyond, worked Saturday to drop off treats for the four-legged friends at shelters.

Sag Harbor's Megan Curren Schmidt said she performed the gas and supermarket runs, "plus running laundry, filling jugs of filtered water, washing fruit and vegetables in advance, making iced coffee and a chili we can warm over a fire. Oh, and stocking French rose just to spite you, Henri!"

Holly Browder of Browder's Birds, a poultry and livestock farm in Mattituck, said she moved as many chickens off of the pasture to more sheltered areas as possible and secure houses for the ones that will remain with rope and rebar. She also spent time setting up sheep and ducks — corralling baby ducks — in greenhouses. The goal was to move chickens out of the tarp-style hen houses; she then circled the wagon on the empty units. Baby animals were corralled in pens for the next two days, she said.

"We're hoping for the best and prepared for a long 24 to 36 hours," she said.

East Hampton's Mary McPartland said she followed her friend Dawn Watson's advice and took outside photos of her home, cars, and property, in the event of damage, for an insurance claim.

In Hampton Bays, Robert Ross put away all the outdoor furniture, checked the generator, took the flag off the flagpole, and went food shopping. "Exhausted," he said.

Those with wells have no water, should there be a power outage, Laura Euler in Montauk said. She filled up tubs of water to prepare.

Others prepped their generators.

"We will see what this Generac is made of," said Karen McDonald.

Farmers struggled to save their crops. Adam Suprenant of Blossom Meadow Farm said the day was spent "picking the last of our blueberries. We are almost done taking down the bird netting covering all 250 blueberry shrubs. This evening will pick the ripe red raspberries. Then we will keep our fingers crossed till Monday."

Angela DeVito of South Jamesport placed her kayaks on the ground and moved her potted plants to the ground off the front porch. She bought ice and made sure she had batteries for lanterns. "And began praying the PGEG-LI predictions for up to one week with no power are an announcement for the worst-case scenario," she said. "I talked to my neighbors to see if they needed anything, and made sure Mr. Spats, my lovely black-and-white cat, had enough food to keep him happy. I picked all the ripe cherry tomatoes. And secured my garbage cans."

Patricia Kasell brought in hr patio furniture, then helped her parents with their outdoor things. "I got gas this morning. Got cash. Getting hair dye. Got my nails and toes done yesterday. I mean, ya know, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," she laughed. "My bar is always stocked so I’m good."

Diane Tucci of Riverhead topped off her gas tank, washed her truck and camper, and put away loose objects in the yard. "I'm letting my chickens run free today because tomorrow I’ll keep them in the run. I'll move their food and water into their coop just in case it is really bad weather. And I'm going to make a big pot of sauce and meatballs tomorrow because I have a gas stove. Oh yes, and some wine. Maybe a lot of wine."

Tracy Raynor, who works at the Mattituck Marketplace, said long lines of shoppers headed to the supermarket first thing in the morning.

Emilie Gabrielson Powers, of Jamesport Greenhouses, was also racing to protect her business before Henri's wrath. "We are at the greenhouses putting plastic up, making sure every greenhouse is inflated and closing windows, doors, roofs," she said. "We got an extra crew in today to close everything up. A regular homeowner can bring their things inside and watch the storm but when you own a 10-acre greenhouse range it takes 10 to 12 hours to prepare with lots of men."

She added: "If the power goes out we have large generators so we can still water our hardy mum crop. So much work for one storm! Then tomorrow morning we will double-check everything. No one has any idea how much work it is for a hurricane or snowstorm."

Marc LaMaina, who owns the Lucharitos location, said he met with his Greenport team and got the "plywood ready." LaMaina knows full well the damage a storm can wreak; The Greenport Lucharitos location was once the home of his first business, Butta Cakes, devastated by Super Storm Sandy. He later transformed the spot into the popular Lucharitos.

LaMaina said the Greenport location would close at 8 p.m. to allow time to lift equipment up off floors and cover windows. Then, he's headed to Mattituck, Riverhead and Center Moriches to make sure the business' other locations are secure.

At Legends in New Suffolk, pallets of sandbags were delivered this morning. "Getting ready," said Dee Lynn.

Tanya Malott of Sag Harbor sent photos of Round Swamp Farm in East Hampton at about 9:20 a.m. Saturday. "The line wove all the way around the shop, into the back room, and out again. It only took about 25 minutes," she said. "The guy behind me was only buying one pie. I asked him if it was worth it. He said, 'Have you tasted their pies?'"

Next Malott headed to the Exxon station in Sag Harbor, where she said, two police officers were controlling traffic because the line stretched down the block. "I got gas this morning at 8:30 in the morning at the station on Rt. 114 so there was no line, but I’ve been driving around for the past five hours and every single place I pass has a very long line," she said. "There is a lot of traffic on every main road and back road headed out of the Hamptons. I had to go all the way to East Hampton early in the morning, and Southampton in midday, so I’ve seen a lot of it firsthand."

Jaime Tomeo Sumersille said she and her family completely cleared their beach on Reeves Bay. "Chairs, loungers, paddleboards, kayaks, tables, sand toys — all bungee-corded together next to the shrubs. The tide is pretty high already," she said Saturday afternoon.

Noelle Kouris said she pulled in her balcony furniture. "Living in an apartment, there isn’t too much else I can do. Oh, and making sure my wine in the wine fridge is taken care of," she said.

Ulli Stachl in Peconic said she took all of her artwork into her art shed, except for two pieces, too large to move. "We will see if they are hurricane-proof," she said.

Maryann Vega Palumo in Southold said she boarded up her windows and removed the AC

"I have spent the whole day searching for my hatches! How the heck can I batten them down if I don’t know where I put them back in '85!" joked Kathleen Werner of Sag Harbor.

The kindness of neighbors shone through on the East End. Joyce Grigonis, who lives in Southold, said her husband picked up prescriptions for a neighbor whose car was in the shop while shopping for essentials for her mom, who has early Alzheimer’s.

"Meanwhile I prepped the house for the hurricane and my gardens," she said. "All hanging pots down. Anything light to medium weight moved into sheltered areas. Lots of stuff moved into the garages. I’m done. Except for last-minute laundry later tonight. The generator is ready, cars are all gassed up, with extra gas tanks full for the generator. Time for wine," she said.

Keith Caputo of Center Moriches said he held a fundraiser at Island Empanada in Shirley Saturday; the funds will be used to help others after the storm through his organization Helping Makes U Happy.

Lori Longo Flynn of Montauk and Eileen Kapell were among the many who secured their boats.

And, said Flynn, "There was no traffic coming east for a change."

Dorothy Marino of Hampton Bays said all their deck furniture was bungee-corded down, with a solar cover to protect the pool. The hummingbird and bird feeders were taken down and the generator in the garage was primed and ready to go.

"Flashlights and candles are at the ready, and books and playing cards are, too," she said. And, of course, there is the joy of food in the storm, she said. "I'm putting a stuffed pepper casserole in the oven for tomorrow. Brownies are going in shortly."