Neighbors Remain Snowbound Among Unplowed Roads In Suffolk County
MEDFORD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The blizzard late Friday and early Saturday left an extensive trail of damage in Suffolk County, and some residents remained snowbound two days later.
Chopper 2 HD got a bird's eye view Sunday of the damage. The roof collapsed at the AMF Bowling Alley in Smithtown due to the weight of the snow; fortunately, no one was inside at the time.
Not far away in Selden, the roof of a home also collapsed because of the snow. It was bad enough for the house to be condemned.
And as CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reported, some drivers in Suffolk County remained stuck in the snow, long after the blizzard went on its way.
A CBS 2 photographer helped one driver who was stranded a full two days after the storm first hit.
"We were stuck over here and stuck over there," said Hamid Altun of Selden.
Others were furious that their municipal governments had failed to clear the snow. Phil Nociforo was at home Sunday night, and so was his car. And there was nowhere to move it.
"We haven't seen a town of Brookhaven truck come by," Nociforo said. "Basically feast or famine; basically, the neighbors have been helping out and we're appreciative."
Nociforo walked a half hour to the store to get the essentials -- snow salt, water, and pizza. Once he returned home, he was begging for the town of Brookhaven to send plows to his neighborhood so he could get his car out.
"You've got two days of ice pack," he said. "If the town is listening, we'd like to get plowed out first thing tomorrow."
In Coram, Royal Road has not even been touched. The snow was at least a foot and a half high with not a plow in sight.
"The town is supposed to here," said Mike Gallo of Coram. "The taxpayers pay, and like you just said, not a plow in sight. It's terrible. And I've been pulling cars out all day with my jeep. I just pulled out a National Grid van."
Meanwhile, as CBS 2's Steve Langford reported, near the corner of Poplar Lane and Syracuse Avenue in Medford – the new snow capital of New York State – one older man was waging a lonely battle to liberate his street.
Muttering about paying his taxes, he didn't want to say much else. But some of his neighbors did.
"Where's the plows?" said John O'Keefe, whose street has not seen a plow.
"We e-mailed, we called them, and I'm sure my neighbors are calling them too -- so nothing," he said.
Down the street, a fuel truck was stuck so badly, it looked like it might tip over.
"This road doesn't look like it's been plowed at all -- 2 feet deep right here," said truck owner Ron Alcus.
But if the roads are clogged, the trusty old train has to be the ticket, even if the tracks look like the Siberian Express. If anyone's going to take the Long Island Rail Road from the Medford station, somebody is going to have to shovel.
Amid all the gloom about being stuck in Medford one man says people should chill.
"Be a little patient," he said. "Stay home spend some time with the family. Go play with the kids in the snow."
And wouldn't you know, that fuel truck that looked so hopeless was gone 20 minutes later.
Parts of Suffolk County were hit with more than 30 inches of snow during the blizzard. The Long Island Expressway was shut down between exits 57 and 73 so crews could clear the snow.
The expressway had been expected to reopen around 9 p.m., but nearly an hour after that, it was still closed.
How has the blizzard affected your community? Please leave your comments below...
