Sigh Of Relief As Henri Moves By With Less Damage On LI Shore

SHIRLEY, NY — Relieved residents across the south shore headed to the waterfront to get a look at water conditions after Tropical Storm Henri rolled in with less damage than what was originally expected on Long Island on Sunday.

As of Saturday afternoon, the storm had been predicted to be a Category 1 Hurricane — the first to make landfall on Long Island since Gloria in 1985 — under the expectations that it would wreak similar damage to that of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Under those circumstances, hundreds of homes were destroyed after a massive storm surge produced flooding in low-lying areas along the south shore of Long Island.

For Andrew Celesca it was his son Weston's first tropical storm so he wanted to show him what the beach looks like and brought the little guy down to Shirley Beach.

"We were cooped up in the house and we just wanted to get out," said Andrew Celesca.

The storm proved to be not what Celesca expected, and he was thankful for that.

"It's better than what we thought it was going to be, so we got lucky," he said. "We were pretty nervous that it would be a pretty strong storm, so we are happy with what we got, compared to what it could have been. We were pretty nervous we were going to lose power, but it doesn't seem like it will be the case now."

Despite the downgrade to a tropical storm, the bridge to Smith Point County Park was still closed to motorists, as County Executive Steve Bellone indicated Saturday afternoon when he announced there was a voluntary evacuation order in place for Fire Island and county beaches would be closed.

So, anyone looking for a glimpse of the water conditions for themselves — surf cams aside — had to take a ride over to the nearby marina.

Anyone looking for more of a peek had to settle for a bayside view at Smith Point Marina, where there were cars lined up doing just that.

Others took a drive to Shirley Beach where there was slightly some more wave action. The surrounding neighborhood had significant flooding during Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy, but not this time around for Henri.

"It was disappointing," said one man, who recently moved to the area.

There was some flooding, though nothing out of the ordinary in Mastic Beach. Some back roads around the bay were flooded in areas like Riviera Drive near Marina One.

Cranberry Dock also had some flooding, but by the early evening the rain was clearing up and a rainbow was trying to break out from the clouds, drawing some spectators looking to snap some shots for social media.

Steve and Susan, who did not wish to include their last names, stopped by the dock to see what the water conditions were like. Steve, who grew up in the area, said he witnessed the damage that took place in Mastic Beach after Superstorm Sandy. After the storm surge that breached the barrier island, some blocks were flooded halfway to Neighborhood Road — Mastic Beach's de-facto Main Street.

When asked if he was happy that the lightning didn't strike twice so to speak, Steve said, "Oh yeah, isn't everyone?"

In Bellport and Patchogue, residents flocked to the village marinas to sit and watch the surf from their cars as it lightly started pelting rain again.

Former Freeport resident Jason, who did not wish to give his name, had experienced Superstorm Sandy and said that he was relieved the storm was not as significant, then joked about moving to yet another flood-prone area, adding, "We're gluttons for punishment."

In Port Jefferson, officials were similarly glad that the village dodged a bullet as far as expected flooding.

In a post on Facebook, officials said they are "extremely grateful that somehow the village stayed in a cone of protection as Henri swerved around us for the last 12 hours."

"We are thankful for everyone's cooperation and hope that minimal damage was incurred by those impacted by Henri's path," the post concluded.