Briarcliff Post-Sandy: 'It Ain't Over Until It's Over'

The following is from Briarcliff Manor Village Manager Philip Zegarelli:

“… it ain’t over until it’s over”:  Yogi Berra had it right but his words are more significant now than ever.  Our review of open Con Ed service “tickets” and our own inspection indicates that power has been restored in VBM.  However, if there are any homes NOT with power, you need to call and report the situation to Con Ed at 1-800-75-CON ED to create a new “ticket”; get the “ticket number”and send the ticket number to me at pzegarelli@briarcliffmanor.org.   

1.      OK, but what about the restoration of other services such as telephones or Cable TV? The restoration of telephone lines has shifted into a high gear for line restoration.  In most cases, they were precluded from work until Con Ed restored power.  If you have an outage, you need to call the number on your billing statement from your service provider. Like the Con Ed “tickets”, then send us any information for our own listing. The same applies to Cable TV. Cable TV lines also had to await Con Ed restoration. Please contact your own Cable TV provider. Check your billing information for contact numbers and send us any information for follow-up by VBM.  Lastly, Village of Briarcliff Manor is not responsible for clearing telephone or cable wires from downed or snagged trees.  We will assist your service providers with the cleanup but Village employees cannot clear these lines.  

2.      Double check your own residential service connection: Con Ed is responsible for your service from the pole to what is called the “splice” at your home. You are responsible from the “splice” to the meter (and into your home electrical panel).  You may have power but your service line may have lingering damage. If you have an individual service outage, you need to hire an electrician and file for a VBM Electrical Permit. The work requires inspection... it is for your own protection. Questions: call the Building Department at 944-2770.

3.      Storm Related Damage Clean-Up: Our DPW has been working extended hours since the storm and will continue to do so.  FEMA and SEMO have set a hard deadline date for FEMA/SEMO reimbursement damage costs to 30 days from the storm date. This is a fixed period to report to FEMA/SEMO.  We require that you have your storm debris (both Hurricane Sandy and the nor’easter) curbside by SUNDAY, 25 November, in manageable sizes so that we have time to pick it up.  Unfortunately, the timeframe is not unlimited … this is how the reimbursement is calculated. Anything placed curbside after 25 November will be the responsibility of the home owner. Please direct questions to DPW at 941-9105.  

4.      Pouring Water on a Drowning Person Department:  with all of the storms and associated problems, the NYCDEP gave many communities a Catskill Aqueduct (CAT) shutdown notice during the middle of the power outage. The shutdown was for routine maintenance.  On behalf of all CAT users affected by this notice, VBM told them to “get real” and they postponed it.  Now that power is restored, the NYCDEP has scheduled a shutdown for this Thursday.  We are ready for Thursday’s shutdown and all tanks will be topped off.  Lastly, the results are in for our most recent quarterly test: we were below in all test ranges including HAA5 (HALOACETIC Acid). This is testimony to the new FWSP project significantly enhancing the quality of VBM water.

Other Items:

• Generator installation: call the Building Department at 944-2770 for rules and guidelines.
• Parks, Trails and Fields: we are opening the parks and fields on a cautionary basis. Please be watchful of your surroundings … especially for tree hangers and other debris.
  
  

… REMINDER …
The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center is now open at:
The Westchester County Center
198 Central Ave
White Plains, NY 10606
Hours of Operation: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM, 7 days a week
Parking: Parking is free to those visiting the FEMA DRC.

The center will be staffed with representatives from:

• Con Edison to answer customer questions about outages and restorations;
• FEMA to help individuals, households apply for financial aid for losses and damages caused by the storm;
• The Small Business Administration (SBA), which will help businesses apply for low-interest loans for storm-related damages … and … SBA representatives, who can explain low-interest loan packages available to individuals, non-profits and businesses of any size;
• A variety of social services agencies to provide residents with recovery assistance; a
• The Department of Health, which will be giving free tetanus shots to anyone involved with cleanup, at the County Center  Friday, Saturday and Sunday and at other locations. 

FEMA strongly advises that people register prior to visiting the disaster center. Residents can apply for FEMA aid without coming to the County Center. The first step is to register either by calling FEMA’s registration number 1-800-621-3362; or logging intowww.disasterassistance.gov. For those with speech or hearing disabilities, use the TTY number at 800-462-7585.
Go to FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Center Locator: at http://asd.fema.gov/inter/locator/home.htm