Village, Town and LIPA Handle Storm Aftermath

Tuesday night snow totals varied between 8 and 12 inches across Farmingdale, making town and village plows busy Wednesday.

"We're in very good shape," said Phyllis Barry, Town of Oyster Bay spokeswoman. "All town roads have been plowed at least once, and we're going back to do more plowing."

Barry said there were no noteworthy trouble spots or problems as the town worked through the night to get roads ready, beginning by laying a sand salt mixture on the street and moving to plows as the accumulations grew more than two inches.

"This was nothing like the Cristmas blizzard. This was a piece of cake," Barry said.

The town used about 300 pieces of their own equipment for snow removal, but hired outside contractors  to clear out the town's commuter lots.

In the , plows began after midnight once a plowable amount of snow accumulated, according to Mayor George Starkie. Starkie said the Village has eight trucks out plowing, including one heavy duty six-wheel truck for the hills.

The Village is responsible for plowing all area roads except Route 109 (Conklin Street). Main Street is technically not a Village road but the Village handles it anyway.

"We can't wait for the Town because it is our main thoroughfare," Starkie said. Since Main Street is so narrow, snow must be removed from the road after each storm, during which the Town of Oyster Bay partners with the Village for removal. Snow removal on Main Street will occur within the next few days, as it did

The Village allocates $20,000 for overtime work like off-hour plowing each year. The amount of overtime from the last storm is still being calculated.

"I have not seen the pay period yet, but I'm sure the $20,000 took a major hit," Starkie said. "It may be very well be that we exhaust it this winter, but that’s why we have contingency money to work with."

LIPA is currently reporting no outages in East Farmingdale, South Farmingdale or the Village of Farmingdale. U.S. Postal Service is operating and the is open.

The LIRR Ronkonkoma branch reported delays up to one hour this morning, with two AM rush trains canceled. Delays have since been reduced to around 20 minutes at the Farmingdale station.The LIRR is planning to operate a normal evening rush hour schedule on all electric territory branches.