Our community was just hit hard by the effects of Tropical Storm Isaias. The Long Island Herald reported that, ‘Five Towners remain without power,’ explaining that, ‘power is not expected back on until Aug. 8 at 11 PM,’ late Saturday evening.
This storm hit Lawrence extremely hard as of August 5th 644 homes still without power,’ approximately 25% of the village. You do not have to look far to see the storm’s damage as many streets around Lawrence are closed including parts of Central Avenue due to fallen trees and powerline damage. This storm while not as bad as Hurricane Sandy is a vivid reminder that the Village of Lawrence must do more to guarantee that we are better prepared for all potential and future natural disasters.
After Sandy ravaged Lawrence and much of Long Island as well as the Village debated moving powerlines underground to protect against future storms like the one that just befell us this week. Yet nearly eight years later, little has been done, and its ever-present ramifications are severe.
Its August and it is hot and muggy, many of our elderly residents as well as our local businesses suffer tremendously when there is no electricity due to loss of air conditioning, refrigeration, and internet access. We must do more to guarantee that when the next storm hits, we do everything in our capability to not face this loss of power.
Lawrence candidate for mayor Danny Goldstein along with his slate of future Village Trustees namely Bruce Backman, co-founder of -Re-Open New York and Dr. Joel Preminger, has already pledged to work tirelessly in their first term to work with officials from Nassau County, the Town of Hempstead and PSEG Long Island to develop plan to get all of our power lines underground. It was supposed to be done after Sandy, but it will get done now.
While Danny Goldstein and his team were in touch with Lawrence residents assisting them and hearing their concerns, as usual current Mayor Alex Edelman was avoiding homeowners, shirking responsibility, and passing blame onto others as Village Hall was in full disarray.
Danny Goldstein and his team understand the importance of leadership that is both responsive and responsible to the people. This storm negatively impacted so many in our community and is but another painful reminder that our current leadership in Village hall must change.
-Bruce Backman is a candidate for Trustee in the Village of Lawrence and is a small business owner and was most recently a spokesman for Re-Open New York, a coalition of small businesses adversely affected by the recent Covid-19 Lockdown
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