Falling Trees, Dangerous Roads Leave Long Island Residents In Despair
STEWART MANOR, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Snow, sleet and ice took down trees, left intersections flooded with slushy muck, and had residents fit to be tied on Long Island Wednesday.
As CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported, conditions grew dangerous in some areas. One Nassau County postal worker on the job for only weeks escaped serious injury Wednesday in Stewart Manor, when a tree fell.
"I didn't have enough time to react, to tell you the truth," the postal worker said. "Within one or two seconds, the thing cracked and caught me on the backside."
The old sycamore had been under duress from heavy snow, and snapped without warning.
"I'm really shaken up, to tell you the truth," the postal worker said.
Around Long Island, freezing ice continued Wednesday to stress anything hanging overhead. Power lines were covered in a menacing glaze of ice, while branches tumbled suddenly onto the Long Island Rail Road tracks just east of Stewart Manor.
"I could see the trees hitting the train," one LIRR passenger said.
"They actually backed it up and I had to get off the train," another said.
For those who drove, windshields crackled with ice. Neighbors were helping neighbors as everyone suffered through the misery, but getting through the snow and ice has become emotional for some residents.
"It's just one after the other, one after the other," a woman said, her voice cracking.
Snow fatigue also has been felt by pet owners, who are trying to get their pets to exercise, but are worried about freezing feet.
"Once of my concerns is Cooper," one man said as he held his dog. "He's just having – the ice goes into his paws."
Meanwhile, potholes grew to 6 inches and became filled with sleet. At Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, crews fought flooded intersections with backhoes.
And some nearby homeowners shoveled water, while others had to drive through precarious streets of salty lakes.
Walking was treacherous and miserable too.
"It's very dangerous," one woman said.
"It's scary, because you don't know if you're going to be falling over backwards," a postal worker in Bethpage said.
"We're New Yorkers," another man said, "but I'm ready to go south."
And as municipal crews run out of salt, sand and patience, kids have also worried that days off from school will mean fewer vacation days.
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