Snow Removal Efforts Receive Mixed Reviews from Mineola Residents

Although it’s been over a week since the recent blizzard, the snowstorm that hit the day after Christmas was a major topic of discussion on Wednesday evening’s meeting, the first presided over by new Mayor Larry Werther and newly appointed Trustee Scott Strauss.

According to Village Department of Public Works (DPW) Superintendent Tom Rini, the storm that hit the Sunday morning after Christmas and lasted until Monday morning dropped 20 inches of snow on the village. If the snowfall total wasn't enough, DPW workers charged with clearing the snow had to deal with heavy winds, capable of creating snow drifts.

Still, Werther and the board complimented Rini's men for the job they did in clearing the snow, pointing out that the village roads were more passable than county roads such as Roslyn Road, Willis Avenue, Mineola Boulevard, First Street, Second Street, Main Street and Westbury Avenue, which are the responsibility of county workers to clear. 

"Conditions were worse than last year's storm [before Christmas],” Rini said. “It was a very difficult snow removal operation. We did the best we could.”

According to Rini, workers hit the streets at noon on Dec. 26 treating the streets followed by plows at 6 p.m. He estimates that the snow removal for the storm costed $46,000 including $13,500 in overtime and $13,000 in salt, although the village has stockpiled salt leftover from past years. 

Among the problems village workers ran into were cars being left on the streets, which is against village code when a slow emergency is declared. According to Werther, a decision was made not to ticket cars during the storm because it was the day after Christmas and residents may have had family members in town.

Also, according to Rini, some businesses plowed snow into the street. In the days following the storm, a pile of snow on the corner of 2nd Street and Roslyn Road blocked the right turning lane onto Roslyn Road, backing up traffic on 2nd Street. The pile was eventually removed by village workers.

Despite the efforts of the crew, there were some concerns expressed over not only snow removal, but how the village looked for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. 

Resident Rick Ueland said that village workers did an excellent job clearing the streets, but efforts dropped off two days after the storm. He mentioned narrow streets that emergency vehicles would have trouble getting through, snow in the middle of the street and fire hydrants not being shoveled out. "Why aren't we out there being proactive? We did a great job until Dec. 28," he said.

Rini said he will not put plows back on the road because, by two days after the storm, many residents have cleared their sidewalks and driveways and the plows would be putting the snow back on what was cleared. "We've been hauling snow ever since [the storm]. I have 13 men in the highway department. I don't have an army," he said. 

Strauss, an ex-chief of the , said its the moral obligation of residents and businesses to clear the hydrants in case of an emergency. He added there was a case in which there was a serious fire on Evelyn Road and the department could not initially find the hydrant, but fortunately put out the fire successfully. 

Resident Nancy Desorbo was quite unhappy with the way the village looked not with snow, but with garbage pickup. Desorbo said she was going to a friend's house after Christmas Eve mass at and was dismayed by the amount of garbage left in front of businesses on Jericho Turnpike and Mineola Boulevard. She said the site was repeated on New Year's Eve as well. 

"It was a disgrace to look on Christmas Eve and say this is our village," she said.

This year Christmas Eve fell on a Friday, and Rini said the businesses know that village workers do not pick up garbage on a Saturday. "Why did they put it out? That's the question,” he said. “It should never have been put out. We'll make sure this year that notices go out.”

Werther said the actions of the businesses who put garbage out are not appreciated and will be dealt with far more harshly in the future.