Vanderhoef Warns Worst Of Storm Yet To Come

Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef spoke to workers at Emergency Operations Center in Pomona on Monday morning and thanked them for their efforts as the county awaited the full impact of Hurricane Sandy. He said power outages were anticipated late Monday afternoon.  Vanderhoef said the declaration of a State of Emergency in the county would allow him to ensure that property was saved and people’s lives protected. 

“County government is open for business,” said Vanderhoef, indicating that county workers were needed for storm response efforts.

Vanderhoef said the county along with the Red Cross opened the field house at Rockland Community College (RCC) to shelter residents and their pets. He said the hurricane had already affected residents in parts of Piermont and Stony Point.  A representative of Gov. Cuomo’s office was working alongside the county, town, O&R and United Water employees at the center.  Vanderhoef thanked the emergency coordinators. 

“Again my very special personal thanks to each of you for being here and for making sure we do the best we can on this historic storm,” said Vanderhoef.  “It’s a long lasting storm so take your time and be patient. We’ll be resting you as we can.”

County Fire & Emergency Services Coordinator Gordon Wren said about 35 representatives of county and municipal agencies and utilities would be helping to coordinate storm response. County departments included highways, sheriff, parks, purchasing, schools, transportation, and social services along with Palisades Interstate Park Police.

Program Coordinator Chris Jensen said shelters were operational in Stony Point, the Village of Suffern, Piermont and Sloatsburg. He expected residents from Haverstraw, Stony Point and Spring Valley to stay at RCC in Suffern, which will provide food and beds. Residents should bring their personal hygiene items, medications and any food required for a special diet.

Jensen said Grassy Point and River roads in Stony Point had about a foot of water on them before noon and had been closed. The Ba Mar Trailer Park in Stony Point was evacuated because it is adjacent to a marsh, which is susceptible to tidal flooding expected later in the day.