Library, Stores Packed Monday

Every single outlet in the was in use Monday, as thousands of Farmingdale residents remain without power following Hurricane Irene.

"I brought up power strips from the basement for more outlets," said library director Debbie Podolski.

The library did not lose power after the storm, but had a delayed opening on Monday to check for damage. Podolski said residents were grateful to have access to the internet, to charge their phones and to watch tv.

"They were happy to be able to communicate with the world," Podolski said, who lost power at her home.

The library has two networks to accommodate residents. One went down during the day, but residents with laptops could access the wi-fi and additional computers were configured for patrons. Podolski said that many library books were taken out.

A director in the corporate office of Doherty Enterprises, the company that owns the Panera and Applebees restaurants on Long Island, said both chains were extremely busy across the island.

"Several were able to stay open during the storm and have been extremely busy yesterday and today," said Dave Kuhnlein. He said that sales have been up since residents without power are dining out and wanting wi-fi. He said Applebees was especially busy late Sunday night.

He said some locations did have to close though so it's early to tell if business was helped or hurt.

"We'll see once the dust settles," he said.

The library anticipates high traffic until power is back in Farmingdale, which could come as late as Friday.

Director Podolski summed the day up like this:

"After the storm, people stormed the Farmingdale Public Library," she said.