Update: FEMA, Lindy Schools Agree: Let's Do This Next Week

Update, November 20, 10:30 a.m.: According to the Lindenhurst School District, FEMA reps will not be at the November 20 Community Forum meeting. And the meeting venue is still at Harding.

Original Story:
At the end of the open portion of its business meeting in the nearly empty auditorium of the Lindenhurst High School on Wednesday night, the Lindenhurst Board of Education reset its plans to have FEMA representatives meet with the public.

FEMA
With approximately half a dozen FEMA officials in blue uniforms clustered near the back of the auditorium where hundreds of seats were left unoccupied, one BOE member said it took nearly a week to get a commitment from FEMA to appear - and the agency’s answer had come too late to get people out to the meeting.

“We could've filled this place,“ said Robert Vitiello. “We didn’t get an answer till five after 11 a.m. on Wednesday, so we had no time to get residents here. Why did it take four and a half days to get people to say they’d be here?“

“I’m sorry it took so long,” agreed Marybeth O’Leary, a spokesperson for FEMA in the region.

“We were out in the field, going door to door, looking for displaced people. The federal government is a process. I know; I work there. It drives me crazy. But we have to be judicious stewards of the money we’re given. It drives me crazy,” she said.

Some Board members are among those whose homes were wrecked by Hurricane Sandy’s record-high flood waters South of Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst.

While Vitiello’s comments were pointed, at least one BOE member thanked FEMA for their work. And a resident of the hardest hit area in South Lindy spoke up from his seat in the auditorium on FEMA’s behalf.

“These people have been working hard,” he said. “They’re out there helping us.”

When asked, O’Grady said FEMA will appear next Tuesday night, November 20, 8 p.m., at a Board sponsored Community Forum tentatively set for Harding Avenue Elementary School.

The exchange between the BOE and FEMA came on an evening in which the continuing effort to grapple with the effects of the recent devastation was the principal conversation before the Board, as it was the first meeting since Sandy hit Lindy hard on October 29.

Sandy Resources
Along with printed meeting agendas in the back, FEMA and the Board had hand-outs for those who attended about such issues as safety tips when returning to a storm damaged home, and contact information for FEMA, the New York State Hurricane Sandy helpline and more.

And many of these resources have also been posted on the Lindenhurst School District's website.

Devastation and Community Outpouring
Board Member Ed Langone praised the outpouring of support in the community for neighbors who've suffered storm damage and, in many cases, been displaced.

“I don’t think there's any area anywhere remotely like what we’ve seen here,” he said. “I can’t believe how helpful people in the community have been.”

Schools Superintendent Richard Nathan led the evening off with praise for the efforts of the community to recover.

“I led a caravan on a tour of South Lindenhurst’s devastation,” he said in his opening comments. “It left us numb. We saw houses with roofs, boats everywhere.”

But the superintendent was heartened, he said, by a sign he saw posted on one street, which read, "Sandy may have flooded our streets, but it won’t dampen our spirits."

He also had praise for school staff which had been out in support of District residents, noting teachers and staff have been among those reaching out in recent weeks - visiting student homes with clothing and food, going door to door with fliers, helping to distribute food at the firehouse, “or just talking with the kids.”

Nathan added, “Kudos to our staff.”

The school system itself, he said, is up and running again.

“We’re back,” said Nathan. “All the schools are functioning. We’ll continue with regularly scheduled teacher conferences.”

Upcoming Events
A Fall Festival, organized to replace the canceled Safe Halloween, has been set for Friday, November 16, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the LHS. (Read more about this here.)

A community Thanksgiving dinner will also be held at the high school on the holiday, next Thursday, November 22, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Information about both events have also been posted to the District's website.

And to attend Thanksgiving, sponsored by Chateau La Mer and the Lindenhurst Community, RSVP to 631-867-3700 or SKennedy@lindenhurstschools.org by Monday, November 19, according to the website.

Latest and Related Coverage:

• Hurricane Sandy Long Island 
• The Latest on Sandy
• Lindenhurst High School Hosts Fall Festival on Friday for Lindy Kids

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