Community Corner

Nanuet Residents, Businesses React to Sandy

Some have power and some don't, but everyone's being as kind a neighbor as possible.

 

For all Patch posts that are Hurricane Sandy related, check here. 

Nanuet residents are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy and are trying to return to normalcy as soon as possible.

Find out what's happening in Nanuetwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We lost power Monday around 5 p.m. and I have two kids, a wife and a dog at home,” said Todd Jones. “We have a generator. The problem is that we can’t get gas. We siphoned gas out of our car for our generator. A lot of people have it worse though.”

Jones said that a tree went down on several wires near his house.

Find out what's happening in Nanuetwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We have power. The storm was frightening,” said Valerie Portelle, 10. “There were no damages. One tree fell, but did not fall on any of our property. It almost fell on a neighbor’s garage.”

For other Nanuet residents, they were not as fortunate to avoid property damage.

“The shingles all blew off our roof and water leaked into the bedroom,” said Michelle Mazzaro, a Nanuet mother. “Fortunately, Dominick Caponigro of D.J.C Enterprises tarped our roof and will be able to fix it. We also lost a tree, but fortunately Curtis will be able to save it. We love that tree. I can’t complain, we have a roof over our head.”

Mazzaro lost power Monday night around 7 p.m. for about 48 hours.

“I have three kids, but the hardest thing is the baby (who just turned 1) because it was so cold in the house,” she said. “And thank god my husband’s business, Aldean Press, is up and running.”

For many small businesses, being able to be have power at their establishment is important because it’s their main source (or only source) of income.

Gail Schnider, who works at Jimmy's on Main in Nanuet, said that they opened for dinner on Wednesday after throwing out all spoiled food and replenishing.

She was much more relieved that power returned to Jimmy's because her son has a wedding this Saturday at the restaurant.

"My son lives in Garnerville. I told him to go to Jimmy's and check on the awning after the storm. Their wedding ceremony is going to be under the awning outside the restaurant this Saturday so I wanted to make sure it was still ok," said Schnider.

Tom Moor sat at the bar in Jimmy's on Main, where he's a regular customer. He lost power for about four days. He's in his 80s and lives by himself in New City. 

"I live alone so when power went back on for me, it was a surprise. The lights just went back on and I heard some voices. I found out later that (the voices) were coming from the television. I went room to room checking everything. I couldn't believe it," he said. "I have large oak trees in my back yard. My car was covered with leaves and looked like camoflauge."

He added that his neighbor was a great help because although he remembered his radio for the power outage, he forgot batteries. If you know of someone or a business that's been kind or helpful, recognize them with a thank you in this Patch post. 

Last Friday evening, parents and kids got a chance to let off some steam with a Trunk or Treat event that was voluntarily organized by a few Nanuet mothers.


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