Lindenhurst Village's South of Montauk Evacuation Now Mandatory

As of Saturday morning Mayor Tom Brennan has made the evacuation of residents South of Montauk mandatory. He also declared a state of emergency.

That’s according to the mayor and the village’s emergency service coordinator, Ray Fais.

The change from a strongly advised evacuation to mandatory evacuation was prompted by the Town of Babylon’s decision to declare a mandatory evacuation Friday night.

Both evacuations are beginning Saturday morning, but in Lindenhurst, the village is taking the lead on evacuating residents south of Montauk, including residents in the Venetian Shores area, which is technically under the purview of the town.

“We are working in conjunction with what the villages in Babylon Town are doing,” noted Tim Ruggeri, town spokesperson.

On Friday village officials said evacuation efforts were to begin Saturday morning at 8 a.m. However, village officials met Saturday morning to determine when evacuation efforts would actually begin, since it’s a coordinated effort with the Lindenhurst Fire Department.

“Chief Gallagher has authorized the trucks to go into the neighborhoods,” Fais told Lindenhurst Patch.

The fire trucks will be mobilized Saturday morning, and Fais said as soon as they’re ready to go, they’ll head into the neighborhoods south of Montauk to begin evacuation efforts.

In the meantime, residents should also note the following:

• An evacuation center at Lindenhurst High School at 300 Charles Street is set and ready to go as of Saturday morning.
• Village officials are urging residents to first find friends or family to stay with ahead of Hurricane Irene for the duration of the storm, as they don’t want to overwhelm the facility. This echoes what other government and emergency officials have been saying.
• The evac center at the high school will be open as a safe haven, a staging area to keep residents safe during the storm. It has a generator and water will be available, but no cots.
• It’s designed for the short-term not long-term. Officials said they would coordinate with the Red Cross to move residents to larger shelters if the need arises.
• Currently, the Red Cross opened two shelters in Babylon Town, which also has a mandatory evacuation in effect as of Saturday morning for residents South of Montauk. One is at Robert Frost Middle School in Deer Park and North Babylon High School. So far reports are that 30 people have checked into the facilities there already.
• The evac center at the high school as well as the two Red Cross shelters in Babylon Town will not accept pets. Pet owners being evacuated from homes south of Montauk are advised to call SCPCA at 631-382-7722 for more information about pet shelters being set up in Suffolk County.
• The Lindenhurst Marina will be closed and padlocked at 4 p.m. Saturday. Village officials started calling residents with boats docked there and Shore Road to tell them to remove them ahead of Irene.
• Village officials also urge residents to secure their property, and tie down and put away anything loose that could be taken up and become a projectile in heavy winds ahead of Irene.
• In particular, village officials ask that freestanding driveway basketball hoops be laid on their side and secured.