A Word about Last Week’s Snow Storm
Every few years, Mother Nature humbles us and reminds us there are times when she is firmly in control. Last Thursday’s snow storm was one of those events. First, I am not offering any excuses or looking to deflect any blame – it is obvious that the Village’s efforts to keep the roads clear were not enough. However, I feel strongly that our D.P.W. did all that they could do under the circumstances. First, they prepared the Village trucks before Halloween – the salters and plows were ready. Secondly, contrary to popular myth, our roads were pre-treated with salt hours before the first flake fell and remained wet during the initial impact of the storm.
So, the big question remains…what happened? It was a terrible mix of severity of the storm and bad timing. The storm came faster and harder than originally predicted and it was just as commuters were headed home from work. While the roads had been pre-treated, during normal winter conditions, our trucks would then follow up by plowing or applying additional salt. But this time, they were all stuck in traffic, like all of us in the Tri-State area. As you can imagine, as the snow fell, and more and more commuters left work or exited trains, the situation spiraled downward. What occurred was gridlock like we had never experienced before.
Our department heads have had an internal debriefing session so that we can all learn from these challenging conditions. I appreciate the efforts of our D.P.W. and emergency responders and please know that I appreciate the patience that our residents exhibited during these “epic” traffic conditions. While we will do all we can to improve our response to all future storms, I ask that you keep Mother Nature in mind next time you make the decision to leave work early or decide to “ride it out”. Mother Nature never loses in these debates.
Halloween Thank Yous
Just a quick, belated, thank you to all those that donated to help residents of our downtown (a.k.a., Halloween Central) purchase candy. We received over $500 in donations and gave out 50+ large bags of candy.
While I’m at it, thank you to our police who helped make our Halloween another successful and safe affair. Also, we really think that reducing the number of cars coming in and out of the downtown area can only be a positive. We plan to reach out to our local churches to see if they’d be interested in allowing people to park in their large, mostly unused lots on Halloween. Residents could then easily and safely walk to Halloween Central. Another reason to already be looking forward to next Halloween.
Con Edison Outage Communication
Since the March winter storms that resulted in many outages in our Village, my staff and I have been in frequent contact with the folks at Con Edison. One aspect that they clearly need to improve upon is communication. During the March storms, some residents received robo-calls that power was restored when it wasn’t. Others received calls that power was yet to be restored when it was already back on.
Con Edison has outlined a number of initiatives to help improve their communications with their customers. The first of these initiatives is to establish a line of communication through mobile texts. Often during emergencies, mobile phone networks are the only reliable means of communications available. When Internet service and landlines are down, a mobile text often has the best chance of going through. Please take a minute to register your mobile phone with Con Edison by texting “Reg” to 688243, then follow the prompts after that. You’ll need your 15 digit Con Edison electric account number and your ZIP code. For detailed instructions, visit www.coned.com/text
Lastly, I want to wish everyone a very happy, safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving. I know that I am very grateful to live in such a special village with such wonderful neighbors.
Sincerely,
Brian C. Smith, Mayor
bsmith@irvingtonny.gov