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In Wake Of Sandy, Situation Grows Dire In Lewisboro

LEWISBORO, N.Y. – Two days after Hurricane Sandy struck on Monday evening, the town of Lewisboro remains almost completely without power, and residents and officials are growing impatient.

Sen. Greg Ball, center, helps distribute dry ice and water at the Lewisboro Town House on Tuesday as Town Clerk Janet Donohue, far left, looks on.

Sen. Greg Ball, center, helps distribute dry ice and water at the Lewisboro Town House on Tuesday as Town Clerk Janet Donohue, far left, looks on.

Photo Credit: Bob Dumas
A tree leans precariously across Route 123 in South Salem.

A tree leans precariously across Route 123 in South Salem.

Photo Credit: Peter DeLucia

“We have not been assigned a [NYSEG] crew to out with our highway department and start clearing trees,” said Deputy Supervisor Peter DeLucia, who noted there has not been any power restoration since the storm passed. “It’s frustrating. The highway department is ready, willing and able to go out but we have to wait for them.

“Our needs are extraordinary and we are trying to get a tree crew and a line crew here. NYSEG has just been giving us a lot of lip service,” he added.

Highway Superintendent Peter Ripperger said that, in the meantime, his department is doing what it can.

“Parts of the roads are opened up, but we can’t get into the lake areas,” he said. “Our secondary roads are dead.”

Andy Weingarten, a Lower Salem Road resident, went to the Town House on Tuesday afternoon to pick up dry ice and expressed his disappointment with the response time.

“I could hardly get out of my road,” he said. “We wouldn’t be able to get emergency vehicles in if we needed to. God forbid that something happens; then we are really in trouble. I’m not worried about the power. We just need to be able to get in and out.”

State Sen. Greg Ball (R-Patterson) went to the Town House on Tuesday to help distribute dry ice and bottled water. He also said he was frustrated with NYSEG’s handling of the crisis.

“It’s evident that this place is a mess,” he said. “We have seniors who are trapped in their homes without power. [NYSEG] has to be more responsive. They’ve brought in crews from Texas but they don’t know their way around here. This [crisis] cannot be a matter of weeks; it has to be a matter of days. We are going to have a very bad situation if we can’t take care of this in a couple of days.”

Meanwhile, residents can go to the Town House or the fire stations in Vista, Goldens Bridge and South Salem to pick up bottled water and dry ice, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis. While schools remain closed, John Jay Middle School is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for people who want to use the showers or toilet facilities.

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