Patchogue's Snow Removal Efforts To Continue Into Middle Of Next Week, Mayor Says

PATCHOGUE, NY — The snow removal efforts will likely continue in the roughly two-square-mile Village of Patchogue until the middle of next week, Mayor Paul Pontieri told Patch.

Mother Nature dumped close to three feet of snow in some parts of the region, prompting snow removal efforts not seen since Nemo in 2013 due to milder winters.

The volume and weight of the snow is making for a more difficult job for the village's Department of Public Works 25 staffers, who have been working non-stop, making multiple passes, according to Pontieri.

The last big storm in January was an easier job.

"But this one here, it's got a mind of its own," he said. "And then it snows this morning again.

"So you just really can't catch up right now," he added.

The workers have not continued to work through the night like the first day, as they have been relieved to go back to take care of their own properties.

Pontieri said residents are going to have to realize that the snow removal efforts are not a "simple" one.

"The roads are going to be black and dry, and the snow is going to be off the curbs soon, but it's going to be a long, arduous process," he said. It's not something done in a day or a week – probably by the middle of next week.

The storm is also a case of sticker shock.

"I think that's the other piece that people have to realize, too, is the cost," Pontieri said, adding that the village budgets for typically about $70,000 from its fiscal year from July to June. "Well, we had a number of these storms on Sundays, which is double time, and then it rolls into overnight. It becomes time-and-a-half after midnight. We're probably in a hole now for 75,000, but we have the reserves."

Snow removal has cost the village around $150,000 so far, which reserves will cover.

Another two storms will put that number close to $200,000, he says.

In the meantime, workers have been piling the snow at the sides of streets and in parking lots so residents can get by.

Pontieri said the plows were out again on Wednesday, making passes in front of Village Hall, repeating what was previously done.

"This isn't a one-day process, okay?" he said. "It takes time to get all this stuff done."