A Mighty Wind

Almost three days after a severe windstorm hit Harrison, its ramifications continue to be felt in all parts of town.

On busy Mamaroneck Avenue traffic lights remain out and police are having to deal with the ensuing traffic problems.

In the Winfield Glen area, trees are down and electricity remains off with no firm time fixed for repair. Police had to be called in to remove a tree that had fallen, blocking the only road in and out of the Glen. Generators have been knocked off electric poles and live wires are running across some residents' properties.

"We have a several step process before we will have electricity restored," said Harrison Resident Cary Frankel. "The electric pole on our property was knocked down by a large tree. We need to get the tree lopper in to cut it away from the pole. Even after electricity is restored to this area, we will need a separate crew to put up a new pole and reattach the power lines to the house. It may be a while before we get power back on. My wife is staying in the city until it is reinstated."

Further down Winfield Avenue, centenarian Anne Geismar and her attendants remain in her house despite two days with no heat, running water or toilets. Neighbors are helping out by delivering extra firewood to keep the downstairs living room they are camped in warm enough for habitation. There is concern about how long they can remain in the house in the present conditions and where they would go if forced to relocate.

Things are no better on the other side of town. In Purchase it took Howard Schur three different tries to get from his home to a main road.

"Downed trees are blocking all the streets. We have no electricity and now that we are out of the house, we will be staying with friends in the city until our power is restored," sail Schur. We packed enough clothes for three days and hopefully things will be back to normal by then."

It is even worse when residents are dealing with the issue for the second time.

Rachel Chalchinsky and her family of six have been 'homeless' twice this month.

"Two weeks ago we were without power for three days. We moved in with neighbors when the temperature in our house dropped too low to stay. We just got back home and threw out all the groceries and restocked, when the windstorm took the power out again," she said. "We are now about to go into the third day without power this time around, and no time line for when things will get better."

Vivianne Rattet had her daughter stay with friends while she and her husband moved into a hotel.

"We, and many of our friends and neighbors, just packed up and drove until we found a hotel with a back-up generator, or one situated in a different area that wasn't affected by the outages," she said.

That will be increasingly difficult to find the longer the power is out. In addition to Harrison, widespread outages have been reported in Armonk, Bedford, Hartsdale, Mamaroneck, Scarsdale and surrounding areas. Greenwich has been declared a state of emergency due to the number of downed trees and the electric and water damage.

Firemen, police and Con Edison utility workers are working around the clock dealing with the storm damage and ensuing problems that will only get worse the longer the power remains off.

The overall disruption to local families, businesses and services remains to be seen.

Unfortunately, the cost of private and public damage comes at a time when Harrison is already struggling to cover existing budget deficits. This must only further exacerbate the outstanding problems we will have to face once the worst of the storm's physical effects have been taken care of.