Rockland Storm Update: Buses to Resume Limited Schedules Wednesday

UPDATE: Rockland's TZx commuter buses will resume at 7 a.m. Wednesday with limited service from the Palisades Center Park & Ride to Tarrytown. There will be no Spring Valley, Nyack & White Plains service.

Also, TOR will begin limited service on some routes at noon. More details will be sent as road conditions improve.

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — With a wild winter storm here, local utilities and governments announced news and resources.

SEE: Snow Totals Change Again for the Hudson Valley

Some Metro-North trains will start running this evening. SEE ALSO: Limited Metro-North Trains Will Be Restored At 6 p.m. Tuesday

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a ban Tuesday morning of tractor trailers on the New York State Thruway and select interstates, including I-84. Read more here.

Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for all 62 New York counties to begin at midnight Tuesday. Above-ground subway was suspended at 4 a.m. and it’s likely NYC buses, LIRR and Metro-North will be suspended Tuesday.

SEE ALSO:

• Cuomo Declares State Of Emergency For New York
• SUEZ Preparing For Massive Snowstorm
• State Police Warn Motorists To Be Cautious In Traveling During Snowstorm

Safety

The Metro New York North Red Cross offers tips here for residents to help weather the storm.

O&R reminds residents for safety’s sake, don’t touch or approach any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also want to call your local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives. Maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from downed wires and anything they are in contact with including puddles of water and fences. Supervise your children so that they are not in the vicinity and keep pets on a leash or otherwise secure. If a fallen wire is draped over a car, do not approach the car and make rescue attempts. Remain a safe distance away, and try to keep the occupant of the vehicle calm. If possible, emergency personnel should handle the situation.

Report outages

• Go to www.oru.com from any computer or web-enabled mobile device;
• Use the O&R mobile app from your iPhone, iPad or Android device;
• Text “OUT” to 69678 (myORU); or
• Call Customer Assistance at 1-877-434-4100

Also, O&R offers these tips:
· Have emergency equipment within reach --- portable radio, flashlights, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Keep O&R’s toll-free number 1-877-434-4100 near the phone to report power outages.
· If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it or that someone else will report it. To be sure the outage is reported, please call O&R toll-free at 1-877-434-4100 to let O&R know what happened. The more information you can provide, the more O&R can help you.
· Remember: if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.
For more information, visit O&R’s Storm Center at www.oru.com.

Announcements

The attorney general of New York reminded people that during a snow emergency there is the possible that others will try to take advantage of the situation and raise prices.

SEE ALSO: NY AG Warns Against Snowstorm-Related Price Gouging

Countywide

BOCES Rockland is closed Tuesday.

The Rockland County Legislature has rescheduled all committee meetings slated for Tuesday. The meetings will instead take place on Wednesday. All times and the location remain the same. Visit the Legislature’s page on the County Government website for all agendas.

Rockland County Highway Department has been preparing for the storm since Sunday. "All 24 first-line and three tandem trucks are being put into service," Superintendent Charles "Skip" Vezzetti said. said. "All 170 miles of County roads will be kept open for emergency vehicles, with an emphasis on our major (primary) routes during the peak of the storm."

• Applications of an anti-icing agents were put on county roads beginning at 8 a.m. Monday.
• The county has 4,200 tons of road salt ready to use. Workers in the Highway Department have been told to report for work at 3 a.m. Tuesday.
• All trucks and equipment have been fueled, checked and calibrated, Vezzetti said. Trucks have been pre-loaded and are ready to go from County facilities in Stony Point and Orangetown.
• The county's Emergency Operations Center will be opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
• County government will remain open Tuesday for essential services.
• Representatives from the state Department of Transportation and the state police will be stationed in the Rockland Emergency Operations Center for the duration of the storm.
• Numerous county services have been cancelled as the blizzard approaches.

"Please use common sense – high winds and blowing snow will make conditions very hazardous," County Executive Ed Day said. "Don't go out unless you have to."

TRANSPORTATION:
Transport of Rockland (TOR) and TAPPAN ZEExpress (TZx) bus services suspended service by 2 a.m. Tuesday. Service is expected to remain suspended all day Tuesday.
TRIPS Paratransit bus service is cancelled for Tuesday.
TOR, TZx and TRIPS services are anticipated to resume on Wednesday, as conditions allow.
Go to www.rocklandbus.com for service status updates or to sign up to receive text/email service alerts.

HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH:
Department of Health clinics, including the chest/TB clinic, sexually transmitted Infection clinic, family planning and WIC clinics, have been cancelled.
Patients with appointments have been notified that their appointments have been rescheduled. The STI clinic will be open for walk-in visits from 3 to 7 p.m., Thursday.
For more information call 845-364-2997
All clinics and non-emergency services offered by the Department of Mental Health have been cancelled forTuesday. Please call 845-364-2275 for information.
This list will be updated regularly. Please check here or the Rockland County Facebook page.

O&R

O&R announced it also has hired 100 additional contract workers to supplement its workforce to aid in the field forces’ repair efforts. Those additional workers will join damage assessment, site safety, customer service operations and the wide array of O&R teams that support those field operations.

Severe storm activity has the potential to cause power line damage and electric service interruptions. O&R is ready to repair storm damage and restore service as needed.
Overnight Monday through Tuesday 12-24 inches of snow is expected, falling at times at a rate of 2-4 inches per hour. Strong northeast winds are predicted 20-30 mph sustained with gusts 35-50 mph during that period.
Storm damage preparations began over the weekend when O&R declared a Storm Watch in response to the severe weather forecast.

Clarkstown

Clarkstown schools are closed.

The senior citizens club is cancelled for Tuesday.

Clarkstown Police have issued an advisory about roofs and heavy snow.

The Clarkstown Highway Department asks that you remove vehicles from the roadway, as they slow down the snow removal process.

Clarkstown town officials said:

• Town remains officially open.
• Garbage and recycling collection for today is cancelled.
• Bulk pickup for this Wednesday, 3/15, is postponed until next Wednesday, 3/22. Thursday and Friday bulk pickup is still scheduled for this week.
• Justice Court sessions (9:30am and 1:30pm) for Vehicle & Traffic Trials has been cancelled for today. You will be notified by mail of a new date to appear.
• Clarkstown Mini Trans has suspended all bus routes today.
• All Recreation programs and meetings are cancelled today.
• At this time, Congers and Street community centers will open as normal at 2pm. However, please call the centers before arrival to confirm. Central Nyack and Pascack Community Centers are closed.

Grandview-on-Hudson

Village offices will be closed.

Nanuet schools are closed.

Nyack

A Snow Emergency is in effect. All cars must be off streets; parking in village lots is free. Village offices are closed.

Nyack schools - closed

Orangetown

Albertus Magnus High School is closed Tuesday.

South Orangetown schools - closed

Pearl River

Pearl River schools - closed

Piermont

Village offices will be closed

Ramapo

Ramapo Central schools are closed

East Ramapo schools are closed

South Nyack

• South Nyack put its Snow Emergency Plan into effect at 1 a.m. Tuesday. Remember the Village does not permit overnight parking.
• Homeowners are required to have all sidewalks abutting their property cleared within 24 hours at the end of snowfall.
• Due to the inclement weather garbage collection for Tuesday is cancelled. Garbage bins should not be placed curbside until Thursday evening for the next garbage pick-up which will be Friday, March 17th.
• In addition, the Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Tuesday is cancelled. This meeting is rescheduled for March 22.
• Lastly, Village Hall will be closed on Tuesday, March 14th due to the impending winter storm. In the event of an emergency call 911.

Stony Point

Court and town board meeting are cancelled for Tuesday.

Suffern

Court is cancelled.

Statewide

With 12-24 inches of snow expected in the Hudson Valley, NYC and Long Island, and 8-16 inches upstate, the State Emergency Operations Center will open Monday evening. State agencies have already pre-positioned personnel, assets, and state stockpile resources – including sandbags, generators and pumps – to areas of the state where the storm will be at its strongest.

New York Thruway travelers can get real-time updates by following @ThruwayTraffic on Twitter or by visiting www.thruway.ny.gov to see an interactive map showing traffic conditions for the Thruway and other New York State roadways.

Check back with Patch as this list will lengthen.

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