Snowed in and stuck: Nassau neighbors raise emergency concerns over unplowed streets
Residents in two Nassau County neighborhoods say their streets were left buried in snow days after the latest storm, raising serious concerns about emergency access and public safety.
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It’s like déjà vu for some residents in Nassau County.
After another snowstorm swept across Long Island, homeowners in two neighborhoods say their streets were left buried in snow, with no plows in sight, raising concerns about safety and emergency access.
In Farmingdale, Joana Von Der Linn says Cedar Place has consistently been one of the last streets to be cleared following snowstorms over the past two winters.
“We're both essential workers. Rain, snow or shine. I have to get to work,” Von Der Linn said. “There's elderly people on the block. An ambulance tried to get down and couldn't. A police car couldn't come down.”
By Monday night, part of Cedar Place was partially cleared. But Von Der Linn says it wasn’t the Town of Oyster Bay that did the work. Instead, she says neighbors used their own trucks equipped with plows to open up the road. She warns the situation can quickly become dangerous.
“We did have a car that got stuck on the street, get abandoned sometime this morning. Somebody was able to tow it out, but it's a huge safety issue,” she said. “If fire, EMS or safety personnel can't get down the street, I hate to say it but people could get really hurt or die.”
Cedar Place wasn’t the only road residents say was left untouched. In Plainview, News 12 found more than a foot of snow still covering Azalea Court. Neighbors there, who spoke off camera, expressed similar concerns about whether emergency crews would be able to access the block if needed. They said no cars were parked on the street at the time and that neither private plows nor town or county crews had come through.
Hours after News 12 visited both neighborhoods, the town of Oyster Bay says they plowed both streets.
