In an effort to enhance its response to those areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy, Islip Town is establishing a Mobile Command Unit (MCU) that as of Wednesday afternoon was scheduled to be in the Oakdale/Sayville area and West Islip, town officials told Patch.
The MCU will be deployed at the corner of Idle Hours Boulevard and Woodlawn Avenue in Oakdale, and will later be set up in West Islip at a time and location to be determined, a town spokesman said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Councilman Anthony Senft told Patch that officials are hoping to have most town services operational by Thursday as the Town continues to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. While Town Hall is without power, Islip’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 401 East Main Street in the hamlet of Islip is fully operational.
Employees at the EOC have received more than 700 calls from Town residents for a variety of issues ranging from power outages, to downed trees and flooding, Senft said.
“The biggest challenge we face now is coordinating with LIPA on tree removal where we also have downed power lines,” he said. “We have been able to clear those areas where the trees are not entangled with power lines.”
Senft said that since much of Long Island's power infrastructure has been devastated by Sandy, LIPA is working to first restore power to primary arteries and make sure services such as hospitals have power.
“Once LIPA begins hitting the neighborhoods our crews are standing by to work with them to clear the streets,” he said.
In terms of damage, Senft said Fire Island along with southern sections of West Islip, Oakdale and Bay Shore are among the hardest hit, and Town marinas along the Great South Bay as of Monday were still underwater.
He said building inspectors would be out checking on the structural integrity of residential and commercial properties damaged by Sandy.
