Long Island nor'easter this weekend leaves trail of fallen trees, outages and coastal flooding

A powerful nor'easter that battered Long Island on Saturday had slowed by late Sunday afternoon but had plenty left for the region.

The wet conditions were expected to continue through Sunday evening, with new rainfall potentially reaching one inch, according to the National Weather Service, with wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said at a Mineola news conference that the county had "gotten through the worst" of the storm, which caused coastal flooding, downed trees and power outages across the region.

"This was extremely difficult," Blakeman said. "It was a tough storm, especially with the sustained winds, the high tide, and of course, the full moon didn't help."

PSEG Long Island had restored power for nearly 94,000 customers by Sunday afternoon, with about 13,000 still without power. The utility said more than 1,000 employees had fanned out across Long Island, according to a news release.

"We don't expect to lose too much more power in the homes, unless we have down trees," Blakeman said. 

After some early delays, the Long Island Rail Road was "on, or close to, schedule," Blakeman said. He added that NICE Bus was "moving a lot smoother" thanks to some road closures being cleaned up.

All lanes of Middle Neck Road between Piccadilly Road and Wooleys Lane in Great Neck were closed due to a tree and utility pole down. In nearby Sea Cliff, a fallen tree on NY 107 had closed all lanes in both directions.

In Port Washington, Shore Road had been flooded "for the better part of 24 hours," North Hempstead town spokesperson Umberto Mignardi said.

April and Ford Pace, of Freeport, said water was shooting out of the sink in their home Saturday.

"It was coming through the stairs, through the foundation of the house," April Pace, 44, said. 

The Paces bought their home in 2021 but have routinely suffered from flooding, Pace said. They have lost their car and their deck in previous floods as their flood insurance has jumped from $950 to $3,000.

Every spring, officials repave Freeport's Nautical Mile just a stone's throw away, Pace said. But they haven't touched the quiet block on South Ocean Avenue that has prompted several neighbors to move away since Paces bought the home.

Early Sunday morning, April Pace watched as a neighbor kayaked from one end of the block to another. Still, even with a small lake out front and a flooded backyard, Pace said she wouldn't consider moving.

"This is my home. God gave this to me. If it means I need to do things to fight for the village of Freeport to do more, then they need to do it," she said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul warned New Yorkers to stay out of the water. But some people couldn't stay away.

A man who went swimming at Robert Moses State Park on Saturday was reported missing for almost 20 hours, before he contacted New York State Police on Sunday morning to confirm he was safe.

In Long Beach, a quartet of surfers took to the waves and emerged stoked after a less-than-ideal peak season. 

"The summer was awful," Brian Moir, 22, of Holtsville, told Newsday.

The New York Yankees' final game of the regular season, against the Baltimore Orioles, had been moved up to 1:05 p.m. in an attempt to avoid rain.

But as forecasts predicted more rain, the game did not start on time. 

"Please be advised today's game will not start on time," the team wrote on X.