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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Information about the curfew
I spoke with Michael Zierler yesterday to get some answers about the curfew, since he was (maybe "is," I'm not certain) acting as public information officer.
The resolution's intent was twofold, he told me.
First was to prevent people from being out in potentially dangerous conditions because they were curious. "You can stand outside your house," Michael told me, but "nobody should be out just to see what's going on outside."
The village and town wanted emergency services personnel to be able to focus on things like downed trees and flooding, instead of people "intentionally swimming in the river or accidentally driving through flood areas," Michael offered as examples.
Likewise, the curfew was to keep the streets clear for essential emergency vehicles. "The entire personnel had been working for 16 hours already," Michael told me, and empty streets removed both a distraction and a potential delay in the form of vehicles.
Police advised downtown businesses to close, and rode up and down the streets announcing the curfew over their speakers. Notifications were spread via social media, local access cable, municipal websites, and over the phone to anyone who called any town or village office.
There was also a countywide ban on driving, Michael said, although New Paltz police were not stopping people "just for driving." No checkpoints were set up to stop drivers.
Another underlying concern was the fact that it was impossible to assess roads for damage. West of the Wallkill, where they won't be checked until the bridge is passable again, there's still a travel ban to the best of my knowledge.
The resolution's intent was twofold, he told me.
First was to prevent people from being out in potentially dangerous conditions because they were curious. "You can stand outside your house," Michael told me, but "nobody should be out just to see what's going on outside."
The village and town wanted emergency services personnel to be able to focus on things like downed trees and flooding, instead of people "intentionally swimming in the river or accidentally driving through flood areas," Michael offered as examples.
Likewise, the curfew was to keep the streets clear for essential emergency vehicles. "The entire personnel had been working for 16 hours already," Michael told me, and empty streets removed both a distraction and a potential delay in the form of vehicles.
Police advised downtown businesses to close, and rode up and down the streets announcing the curfew over their speakers. Notifications were spread via social media, local access cable, municipal websites, and over the phone to anyone who called any town or village office.
There was also a countywide ban on driving, Michael said, although New Paltz police were not stopping people "just for driving." No checkpoints were set up to stop drivers.
Another underlying concern was the fact that it was impossible to assess roads for damage. West of the Wallkill, where they won't be checked until the bridge is passable again, there's still a travel ban to the best of my knowledge.
A Message from Mayor Jason West
We've lifted our travel bans on most of the roads east of the Wallkill. We didn't know until later this morning which of our roads were safe to drive on. There is a list of closed roads posted on the New Paltz Police Dept. website. Please don't drive around the barricades: it's inconvenient, but they're there for a reason. Until the Wallkill recedes, we can't get crews and equipment west of the Wallkill to inspect those roads. DO NOT move the barricade blocking the bridge, even if the road looks clear. We will unblock the roads when we know they are safe to walk and drive on. So there is still a travel ban on roads west of the Wallkill. I understand how many people will ignore that unless we physically stand there on every street and stop people from driving. However, please help out by not risking your lives by driving down a street we have clearly told you is unsafe to drive on. The person who put up that barricade knows something you don't. They know what's down that road, and took the time to leave as clear a message as they can to anyone who may see it, that they should not go down there. Please respect that. I know a lot of people were inconvenienced yesterday, but it was necessary to free up enough of our very limited, exhausted people and resources to deal with this crisis. We were very lucky; it could have been much worse, and there will be lots of articles written about it. But be proud of your emergency workers. The police, firefighters, EMTs, Red Cross, community volunteers, Trustees and Town Councillors, the public works employees of the Town and Village, the Town and Village Clerks and others were mobilized coordinating our efforts. And everyone involved did a fantastic job.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Absorbing Irene
As the sodden ground tries to absorb the flood waters, we are all trying to absorb the impact of Irene on New Paltz.
I've spoken with many people and some public officials about the state of affairs right now and their impressions of same. This is, without a doubt, the worst situation New Paltz has faced in well over a generation.
I don't have time to compile what I've learned quite yet, so only two quick time-sensitive items:
I've spoken with many people and some public officials about the state of affairs right now and their impressions of same. This is, without a doubt, the worst situation New Paltz has faced in well over a generation.
I don't have time to compile what I've learned quite yet, so only two quick time-sensitive items:
- South Oakwood has a short closure due to a tree falling on a power line.
- The nursing home on Jansen Road had its entrance bridge completely destroyed . . . again. No vehicle access unless they've finished patching together a temporary solution.
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