LIPA has been widely criticized over the past two weeks, with locals and politicians skewering the utility company over its performance and communication at the same time praise poured in for the actual crews who worked for so long to restore power.
In effort to get power restored and roads accessible, Town of Smithtown employees were working with LIPA while elected officials offered information on local recovery efforts. Public safety and Highway Department crews worked overtime to cut up downed trees that blocked local roads, remove trees and collect debris.
John Valentine, director of Emergency services, said Hurricane Sandy did twice the damage of Irene in 2011. He estimated the clean up efforts will take weeks.
After Tropical Storm Irene, many residents criticized Smithtown's elected officials for their lack of response, feeling the town government had left them in the dark. Patch readers called for them to 'wake up' and be proactive.
Shortly before Sandy, Smithtown debuted a new town website that has a black bar across the top of the page prominently displaying it's Emergency Alert with updated storm recovery messages.
So, we'd like to ask: How would you rate the Town of Smithtown's response to Hurricane Sandy? How does it compare to Hurricane Irene?
Tell us in the comments below.
