PEEKSKILL As flooding subsides and the sun begins drying out the streets, the city is returning to business as usual following tropical storm Irene. Route 9A was reopened early this morning after being closed at the Peekskill-Buchanan border due to severe flooding. Only the Bear Mountain Extension exit at Carhart Avenue was closed due to an earlier accident and was expected to be cleared by Monday evening.
Peekskill Police spokesman Sergeant Ray Henderlong said remaining power outages were very sporadic, with only a few houses still without electricity. Peekskill Deputy City Manager Brian Havranek said that the city may have actually sustained more damage after the initial storm had passed Sunday morning due to flooding of the Hudson River during high tide and high winds Sunday evening. High wind gusts Sunday evening caused several power outages due to fallen trees and damages power lines on Main Street, Paulding Street and Frost Lane. All had been repaired by Monday afternoon.
Havranek said there is some peeled up blacktop on Central Avenue and localized flooding on Highland Avenue, and crews are checking for other road and infrastructure damage. While there was significant flooding on Water Street amd the riverfront area, shown in photos above submitted by reader Karen OReilly, none of the businesses located there suffered any significant damage. The city garage on Louisa Street also flooded during the storm, which caused two employee vehicles to sustain significant water damage.
The Office of Emergency management (EOM) was run out of the basement of the Senior Nutrition Center on Nelson Avenue all weekend under the guidance of Police Officer Sean Echols. A temporary shelter was set up at Peekskill High School from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. after the office received inquiries from the public, and Havranek said four individuals took advantage of it. Some people just wanted to go somewhere for a piece of mind, he said.
The high school was just a temporary shelter that was put together on the spot and does not have an emergency generator. Havranek said that when it is built, the new central firehouse will feature an area that can be used as a shelter and has a built-in generator. Havranek also credited members of the fire department, who worked for 30 hours through the storm and were still volunteering to help pump-out flooded basements as of 9 p.m. Sunday night.
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