Post-Sandy Clean-Up Continues in Malverne, West Hempstead, Lynbrook [Photos]

Residents in Malverne, Lynbrook and West Hempstead spent Wednesday working to clean-up the mess left behind by Hurricane Sandy.

The Department of Public Works for both Malverne and Lynbrook, and the Town of Hempstead's Highway Department have been working around the clock to clear away downed trees and branches throughout the communities.

However, some large trees that fell on area homes and onto roadways were still there Wednesday afternoon.

On the corner of Erie Road and Champlain Avenue in the Lakeview section of West Hempstead, a large telephone pole that had snapped from Sandy's powerful wind gusts still laid in the street surrounded by downed wires Wednesday morning.

Nearby Lakeview resident Tina Nieves was told by her insurance company that it would be atleast three days before anyone would come to survey the damage to her home on Pinebrook Avenue. The trunk of her neighbor's large tree snapped around 6:30 p.m. Monday and landed on the roof of her home, crushing her attic, her heating and AC ducts, her son's bedroom and the nursery she had built for her unborn son.

"It was about an hour after the lights went off. We were already in the dark when it happened," she recalled. 

Luckily, her son, Sheldon, was not in his bedroom but rather in the kitchen with his mother when the tree fell. Her husband, Curtis, was upstairs but in a bedroom located toward the back of the house, away from the point of impact.

"It was literally raining into my attic," Nieves said. "The [nursery] took the biggest impact."

Nieves has filed a claim with her insurance company and submited an application with FEMA.

"We're not sure if [the house] is even structurally sound," she said. Right now, she is staying with relatives but has been coming back to her home to check on her pets -- two cats and a dog -- who are living in the portion of the house where the lighter parts of tree, its top branches, are resting on. 

In Malverne, a large maple tree was still resting on a home on Morris Avenue Wednesday afternoon. The homeowner said it fell around 7 p.m. Monday night but surprisingly, his family didn't even hear it land on their home, nor did it appear to have caused any damage to the house. Still, he spent Wednesday cutting off the tree's massive branches with a chainsaw along with his neighbors. 

Two houses down, another Morris Avenue resident invited Patch into her backyard where her neighbor's tree had completed demolished her garage when it fell during Hurricane Sandy.

And in between Hendrickson Avenue and Whitehall Street, and and surrounding blocks, neighbors continued to clear away the massive trees and branches that had landed on their homes, cars, lawns and roadways.

As of 1:30 p.m., the Long Island Power Authority was reporting that more than 2,200 of its customers in Malverne, 3,100 in West Hempstead, 4,695 in Lynbrook and 1,945 in Lakeview were experiencing power outages still. 

Related Stories:

• Driving Still Dicey 2 Days After Hurricane Sandy
• Hempstead Town Working to Clear Sandy's Mess
• Hurricane Sandy Hits N. Lynbrook Hard [Photos]
• Massive Trees Fall on Maple Avenue Homes
• Sandy Sets Crossroads Farm Chickens Loose [Photos]
• Hurricane Sandy's Aftermath: Post Your Photos

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