Hempstead Town Snow Crews Expected To Work Into Late Evening

WANTAGH, NY — The Town of Hempstead crews are expected to work through late Tuesday to make up for lost time when their efforts were thwarted by high winds during the nor’easter.

High winds pushed snow back on to roadways previously cleared and snow crews were further hampered by low visibility which slowed down their plowing efforts throughout the town’s 1,200 miles of roadway, according to Town Councilman Christopher Carini.

“I’ve heard a lot less complaints,” he said, noting the size of the storm in relation to previous storms. The bulk of complaints received has come from residents in cul-de-sacs and dead ends, which are difficult areas to clear due to their structure and location, he said.

The crews have been catching up since the winds died down, completing most of the clearing, but they will continue to work into late evening, Carini said. In the meantime, officials are asking that residents refrain from shoveling or blowing snow back into roadways because it will freeze and that will make it more difficult to remove the second time around, he said.

“We will have crews out there working throughout the day and the night,” he said.

Officials fears that warnings of coastal flooding along the shore did not come to fruition last night, according to Carini. Officials had feared the worst but hoped for the best because they had been warned earlier by the National Weather Service about the potential for coastal flooding in areas that are already vulnerable from damage rendered during Superstorm Sandy.