Sloatsburg Residents Proud Of Response To Irene, One Year Later
SLOATSBURG, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The Rockland County village of Sloatsburg, like most of the Tri-State Area, was not spared the damaging force of Tropical Storm Irene one year ago.
WCBS 880's Sean Adams On The Story
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But what you hear when you ask residents about it is quite different from what you hear in many other communities.
"They did a phenomenal job. Everybody pitched in," one man told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams.
"Everybody pitched in. It's a real family community," said a woman. "People on every block in this town are related. So, everybody took in family. They took in friends."
You don't hear complaints.
Up there in the Ramapo Mountains, where it's more rural than suburban, people pride themselves on being strong and self-sufficient. It's a frontier can-do spirit.
When a dam broke in Orange County, the Ramapo River inundated Sloatsburg, flooding homes, washing out two bridges, and isolating some neighborhoods.
In just two months, the state rebuilt the Seven Lakes Drive Bridge and a temporary bridge reconnected Waldron Terrace. A permanent replacement is on the way.
Mitigating future floods is really out of the village's hands, so Mayor Carl Wright has asked the state for help.
"We have asked those agencies that have responsibility, to assess, to clean out, to take the steps to make it safer," he told Adams.
How are you doing a year after Irene? Sound off in the comments section below.
