Heights Seeks Solution to Communication Problems During Emergencies

It’s been more than a month since Superstorm Sandy wrecked havoc on the borough and although things have since returned to normal the impact it had on this community is not to be forgotten any time soon.

“This 100-year storm comes just about every other year now and we have to plan ahead to survive what may be coming next,” Mayor Rose Heck told residents who came to a special forum Tuesday to discuss the aftermath of Sandy.

Borough leaders spoke of the impact the storm had on the community and what can be taken way from the experience in order to better handle such an event in the future.

The borough was impacted in multiple ways in the days that followed Sandy. People all over had no power, no heat. Some businesses were shut for more than a week and access to a fuel was a major issue all over the state. 

On top of all those challenges there were also communication issues. Whether it was lack of access to the Internet due to power outages, to weak cell signals, to not finding access to what was happening in town it’s something the borough leaders and residents say needs to be improved.

One resident said although she regularly followed news sites for updates she missed some information such as the announcement that the borough had opened a charging station at the senior center.

Another resident said he had no communication from the borough whatsoever during a 36-hour period where two trees down on both sides of Ottawa Avenue kept him and his neighbors trapped on their block.

Police Chief Michael Colaneri said the borough is working at improving communication with residents for situations like Sandy. Before the storm hit he encouraged residents to sign up for Nixle alerts which can send a text message to one’s cellular phone from the police department concerning advisories.

The department has since teamed up with the county’s Swift 911 service which he encourages all residents to utilize. It’s a Reverse 911 system that will call one’s phone with a message about information one would need in an emergency.

Discussion of using a loudspeaker to make an announcement to residents from an emergency vehicle riding down the street was raised once again. Chief Colaneri believes that this could cause more harm than good as many may not get all the details and instead of alleviating the situation it could just cause more panic.

In addition there were other problems that just arose from the storm such as the DPW offices which were flooded out and without power for days. DPW Superintendent Bill Spindler told residents they tried to get the phones transferred to Borough Hall through Verizon without success and therefore many were unable to reach the department. After two days they managed to power the office with portable generators in order to get the office operating once again.

Thanks to working phones and Internet access at Borough Hall although there was only generator power, Mike Kronyak, borough administrator, was able to stay in communications with residents and stayed on top of PSE&G. He told residents he worked with a member of their team who happens to live in town who served as the borough’s “life line” during this time. Kronyak said he kept a map of all outages which he learned of from residents or from just driving through the town to find which areas were in the dark.

Chief Colaneri said they stepped up patrols at night in the areas where that were in the dark.

Although the borough did see its fair share of hardships caused by Sandy, the borough fared well compared to some of its neighbors like Moonachie and Little Ferry. Even towns like Wallington and Carlstadt had it worse, said the mayor.

Also there were no reported major injuries during the storm and Chief Colaneri pointed out during the time there were no traffic lights working on Route 17 there were zero crashes.

Kronyak relayed that the senior center was open each day as a charging and warming center during day hours and had residents expressed the need they would have extended the hours. Had there been a need to open a bigger shelter for residents in need the borough would have done so at the high school which has partial generator power but it never came to that, said Kronyak.

Both Kronyak and the mayor said they had encouraged many of the elderly residents in town who had no power to seek the many shelters available in the area however they insisted on staying.

The police chief said another thing he’d like to establish an updated list of all those in town with special needs so that OEM can be sure to check on each one in such an event. 

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