Town: All Hands Still On Deck

Three weeks after Hurricane Sandy roared through the area, Town of Oyster Bay officials said that operations have only slightly calmed.

"It's still all hands on deck," said Town official Marta Kane as fleets of yellow trucks fly in and out of Town facilities, dumping debris and heading out to get more.

"We have anywhere from 50 to 75 trucks on the roads" continuing to remove debris from around TOBAY, said Kane. "And we have a whole other fleet working south of Merrick Road alone."

Town of Oyster Bay land next to the Cerro Wire property in Syosset is being overtaken by countless piles of chopped up trees and bags full of debris. The nearly 1,000-foot-wide property is lined with piles two and three stories high, just behind a lingering set of trees leftover from Hurricane Irene.

Also filling up with debris are town parks and beaches, which have been closed since Sandy hit. Combining the parks, beaches, and staging areas, the Town has about 10 sites across the area filling up with debris, said Kane.

So where will it all go?

Debris, which is being hauled specifically to the two staging areas in Bethpage and Massapequa, will be picked up by the Town's regular carters.

"As for wood, such as that from trees related to the storm cleanup, we have several locations throughout the Town where we keep debris until we can have it ground up and later distributed through the Town’s mulch program," said Kane.

Wood will also be sorted for the TOBAY free firewood program, which begins later in the winter and operates out of the Department of Public Works.

Officials were unavailable for comment on the effect debris removal will have on the budget.