Mayor: Cleanup Efforts in Village 'Outstanding'

Village of Farmingdale said cleanup after Hurricane Irene is going well in the village.

"Everyone has really stepped up the plate," he said of village crews and LIPA on Tuesday.

During the weekend storm, two out of three of the village's water wells lost power and had to operate on diesel fuel. Starkie said he was concerned because if the wells shut down completely, residents could have been without both power and water.

Fortunately, the diesel was able to keep the wells running until power was restored to them around 2 p.m. on Monday.

Since Sunday, village crews have been working 12-hour shifts clearing trees and debris around town, according the mayor. Starkie donated a dump truck and pitched in all day Monday helping to clean up.

Starkie said he hasn't heard of any businesses on Main Street that lost power and that they all seem to have weathered the storm well.

"Never discount the local merchants," he said, adding that True Value Hardware,  "an enormous flashlight assortment," more than all the box stores and that some stores like Stuff-A-Bagel actually were able to open for residents during the weekend.

Overall, he said the village was lucky.

"There were towns where whole neighborhoods were washed away," Starkie said. "We took a hit but we did ok."