Long Island's post-blizzard digout on Day 2: Plowing, shoveling back to normal

Long Island continued to dig out after a history-making storm dumped as much as 31 inches of snow on parts of the region, with road crews and residents alike Tuesday clearing streets and front yards and the LIRR closer to resuming regular service.

The Island might see snow move in Tuesday into Wednesday after midnight and potentially mix with rain once the sun comes up, with about a half-inch of snow on the South Fork and an inch in most other places, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki said.

Better by the weekend

Sunshine is in the forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with daytime highs near 40 degrees.

Six people on Long Island — three outdoors in Suffolk and three in Nassau — died Monday during the storm, spokespeople for both counties told Newsday. One of the people who died in Suffolk was shoveling snow at the time, county spokesperson Mike Martino said. In Nassau, the three deaths were related to shoveling, according to county spokesperson Chris Boyle.

In New York City, where during the earlier cold snap and snowstorm at least 19 people died outdoors, some of drug overdoses and most with homeless histories, no one is known to have died in connection with the latest storm, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday.

Jess D'Amelia, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul, said no deaths from anywhere statewide as a result of the storm had been reported to the state’s emergency management office.

The Long Island Rail Road, which completely shut down during the storm and has gradually resumed service, said commuters could expect a return to “regular weekday service” Wednesday, except for a few areas with lingering effects of the storm.

'Massive snow piles'

The unofficial snow total of 29.1 inches at Long Island MacArthur Airport broke the 27.8-inch record set in 2013, according to the National Weather Service.

Central Islip reported 31 inches of snow.

Vincent Piccoli, Babylon Town’s public works commissioner, said about 95% of the town’s roads were passable as of Tuesday afternoon. He said workers are now widening travel lanes where possible and over the next few days will begin the process of "addressing the massive snow piles" created by plowing roadways.

"It has certainly been a very long and tedious effort for our storm-equipment operators," he said.

Piccoli said department employees reported to work at 4 p.m. Sunday and since then have only each had eight hours of sleep in two, four-hour shifts.

As local and state governments plowed roads and other byways, some Long Islanders found themselves on their own to dig out private property.

That proved to be an impossible duty for Gloria Pena, 87, of Smithtown, who lives in a senior living community and rides a motorized wheelchair. Pena said she missed her dialysis appointments Tuesday because the community’s management did not, initially, plow.

Eventually, she said, a pathway was cleared following her complaints, but others remained covered with snow.

Outreach to homeless

Outreach workers sought to reach some of the most vulnerable Long Islanders — homeless people exposed to the elements.

Maureen’s Haven operates winter shelters and 17 host sites in Suffolk and on the East End, said the organization’s director Dan O’Shea.

Many of the sites have been at capacity, with about 35 people per night for the past month, following a large January snowstorm, bitter cold and Sunday’s blizzard, O'Shea said.

The organization takes referrals and makes outreach to anyone in need of shelter from the cold, he said.

"We do everything to not turn anyone away," O’Shea said. "A lot of people have stayed ... for several weeks since the first storm."

He said outreach efforts are higher in areas like Riverhead, working with the community to make contact with people in need of warm shelter.

"It's so cold out there, we don't want people to risk getting sick or worse," O’Shea said. "There's so much snow in the wooded areas. I can't imagine walking out to get out of the elements."

Mail delays

Other organizations, such as Hamptons Community Outreach, were searching homeless encampments in wooded areas in the Hamptons to prevent people from potentially freezing to death.

The organization’s founder and director, Marit Molin, said everyone they made contact with was staying in motels, paid for by donors.

During the storm Monday, there were disruptions to mail delivery, but service resumed Tuesday, said Amy N. Gibbs, a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service.

“But in reality it is going by route and by address — and it really is depending on safety conditions," she said.

Gibbs said postal carriers are having to contend with conditions such as snowed-in mailboxes and icy porches.

She urged residents to clear an area around their mailboxes so carriers can gain safe access.