Thursday Afternoon: Briarcliff's Progress [Updated]

Update, 4:20 p.m.:

Briarcliff Manor Village Manager Philip Zegarelli was noticably frustrated this afternoon as he finished a conference call with Con Edison.

"Everything is tipping in the wrong direction," he said, sitting alongside Chief of Police Norman Campion. "We are here trying to keep in balance and in sync and to assure our residents that we are doing the best we can."

The call, Zegarelli said, revealed that "near-complete restoration" in the village may not be until the end of next weekend, or November 9 and 10.

"I'd say in most of the communities north of 287, they have one Con Ed crew for each municipality—that's it," he stated. "I think we are being starved, unfortunately, for attention."

As of today, Zegarelli said there are more outages than ever as Con Edison purposely turns off some wires in order to safely remove trees.

"They are trying to clear what they call 'TOWs'—trees on wires," he explained. "The problem with that, which is obviously frustrating, is there could be a local sector and all you have to do is connect it and that area can be on—that isn't happening. That is creating problems." 

Zegarelli said the village's emergency responders have been going "non-stop" since Hurricane Sandy hit and the sudden gas deficit in the area has been a blow. A gasoline delivery scheduled to arrive in the village earlier this week was, without notice, "diverted someplace else," leaving emergency vehicles in a precarious situation.

"There needs to be a fair and equitable distribution," he said. "I had this on order for several days and not to get it is a concern of mine."

This afternoon, the Citgo gas station at the North State Road and Route 9A intersection had lines spilling onto the street. Zegarelli said he directed the police, fire, DPW and ambulance units to fill up there as well, leaving the village's remaining supply as backup.

"A lot of gas stations are out of gas," he said. "People's feelings and nerves are going to fray. They are beginning to fray right now."

To know:

• Briarcliff Manor's regular garbage/recycling pickup schedule is in effect.
• Clean up, but do not put leaf piles in the streets—keep sewers, catch basins and sidewalks clear
• Create separate piles for leaves vs. branches/wood. Large logs and tree trunks must be cut into "manageable sizes."
• The Scarborough Metro North station is open

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Original story:

Briarcliff Manor is slowly getting back on its feet as of Thursday afternoon.

However, as little progress has been made with restoring power to many village neighborhoods, including the Pleasantville Road area near the high school/middle school campus, all local schools will remain closed Friday:

From the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District website:

Thursday, November 1st and Friday and November 2nd the Briarcliff Schools will remain closed due to continued power outages and downed trees both at the Briarcliff Schools and around the Briarcliff community. This revised decision was made after discussions with Briarcliff Village and ConEdision.

At this time Briarcliff Middle School/High School does not have power and many of the Briarcliff roads are still unsafe to travel. 

The 8th grade trip to Ellis Island will be rescheduled.

Our first priority is safety of our students, staff, and families.

Be Safe.

In nearby Pocantico Hills, the PTA said today that, "...in the event that electricity is restored and the roads are deemed safe, school will be open on Friday, November 2."

Local businesses with power have been hubs for community members to seek shelter, warmth and power for electronics over the past few days.

Pleasantville Road retailer Wondrous Things wrote on Facebook today, "just to let everyone know, our "Charging Station" is still up and running! if you need to charge your mobile devices or need to use the phone, just stop in."

also on Pleasantville Road was also packed following Sandy—Owner Abigail Wallace was serving up hot drinks and food as customers recharged their phones, tablets and computers.

As of 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, Briarcliff Manor Police reported Scarborough Road has been completely reopened, as has North State Road.

Major streets still closed or being worked on now include:

• South State Road
• Chappaqua Road at Morningside Drive and Burns Place
• Holbrook Road
• Meadow Lane

Check back shortly for an update from the village manager.