With many of my constituents still without power in my south shore Long Island district due to the flooding and winds from Hurricane Sandy, I wish to issue a statement in reaction to the news of the resignation of Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Chief Operating Officer Michael Hervey.
While LIPA's linemen and other field workers have worked hard during the recovery from Hurricane Sandy, the agency has shown a breathtaking lack of organization, preparedness and communication in ways that can only be held accountable at the highest levels of the agency.
Mr. Hervey’s resignation will be welcomed by thousands of Long Islanders still without power and will hopefully also signal a new chapter for our region’s power infrastructure.
We need to reorganize LIPA and modernize Long Island’s energy grid into one resilient and smart enough to bounce back from major storms much faster – two weeks without power in the most powerful first-world nation in the world is simply unacceptable.
Carolyn McCarthy is the representative of New York’s Fourth Congressional District. She was first elected in 1996.
