As of press time, officials in New Paltz, Gardiner and Highland were still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and assessing the damages.
High winds and rain hit the area Monday night. “The winds came from the east, as opposed to the normal westerly direction,” said county Emergency Management Director Arthur Snyder. “This stressed the trees in an unusual manner.”
On Sunday evening, County Executive Michael Hein declared a state of emergency throughout all of Ulster County. This State of Emergency and the travel restriction ended on Tuesday at noon.
Locally, New Paltz and Highland schools were closed on Monday and Tuesday.
New Paltz officials set up a shelter at the SUNY New Paltz Athletic & Wellness Center gymnasium and according to Snyder, nine people used the shelter on Monday night.
In Gardiner, town officials prepared on Sunday to evacuate houses on Bevier and Forest Glenn roads. Jenkins-Leuken landmark barn was down, according to Gardiner supervisor Carl Zatz.
The Wallkill River did not exceed its banks, but there were several fallen trees, including a 150-year-old maple tree that tore down power lines and closed off John Street in New Paltz. No injuries were reported, but residents of two homes needed to be evacuated, as there were live power lines down.
Because of the storm, The Night of 100 Pumpkins at The Bakery in New Paltz will all take place on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. Bring carved or painted pumpkins to The Bakery on Friday by 7 p.m. so they can be judged and displayed.
In Highland, supervisor Paul Hansut said that they were fortunate, as predictions for a nine-foot surge from the Hudson River came in at about five feet. “Mariner’s Harbor Restaurant (located at the base of the Hudson River in Lloyd) did have about five feet of flood water surge into the restaurant,” said Hansut, who was at Mariner’s when he spoke to the New Paltz Times assessing the damage and working with the owners and town crew to help with the clean-up.
“The county was very concerned with our water plant on Mile Hill Road,” said Hansut,” So our employees came in and sandbagged it, which helped to keep it protected as the water surged.”
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