Nor'easter Causing West Orange Problems
Parisi: Township working to restore power as storm hits; shelter opens at West Orange High School, curfew relaxed.
A tree fell on Nance Road in West Orange during Hurricane Sandy.
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The nor’easter that is currently bringing snow and windy conditions to West Orange may bring power outages to the township over the next few hours, township officials announced around 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The township said their main concern right now is restoring power to “the few remaining streets and homes that are still without service.”
In fact, Mayor Robert Parisi told residents in a reverse 911 call PSE&G officials may temporarily turn off power to residents currently with power to restore power to nearby wires.
The township also announced:
- A shelter is now open at West Orange High School for township residents only. Residents should bring blankets, prescriptions and any personal need items. Pets are not permitted.
Parisi said the shelter will stay open until further notice. - The town-wide 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew is currently relaxed through Thursday, Nov. 8. Residents are reminded to exercise caution when walking or driving. Parisi says the curfew will be restored beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday.
- Gas stations in town will continue to close at 6 p.m. nightly and reopen at 6 a.m. until further notice.
- Full-day school sessions are planned for Thursday and Friday.
- Commuter Jitney Shuttle service to the South Orange train station continues to be suspended.
womama
8:04 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
None of the streets have been salted as of 7pm, causing cars to shimmy. They have have days of notice this storm was coming, why were the streets not salted? I had to take 280 to get home to avoid the traffic on Prospect caused by closure of Mount Pleasant Ave. What's going on?
womama
1:15 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012
The streets were not salted, causing cars to shimmy and have drivers lose control. Mount Pleasant was closed, making Prospect a parking lot. Northfield was also closed, driving traffic onto already crowded Prospect. The storm has been forcasted for days, where are the salt trucks?
M
1:15 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012
how were you even able to travel on 280? It was a mess last night.
Mark Paulson
1:15 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012
Valero Gas on the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and Ward Street in Bloomfield has plenty of gas. I just filled up. The wait is between 0-10 minutes. 630 Bloomfield Avenue Bloomfield, NJ 07003 (973) 743-2727
Gunny
1:15 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012
That's odd womama I saw several put last night. Also, do t forget, we have a smaller workforce now.
womama
4:10 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012
This is what makes me nervous when people want lower taxes. Lower taxes equal lower service. Storms past, streets were salted before the first flake fell. Last night, around 6-7 pm, they had definitely not been salted, and hilly streets were closed. Our power restoration is painfully slow, in part to smaller workforces.
Mayor Robert Parisi
11:07 am on Friday, November 9, 2012
Sorry for the inconvenience you experienced. The roads you reference are County roads and maintained in summer & winter by Essex County employees and subcontractors, not West Orange. There are roughly 85-90 miles of municipal roads and streets in our Township that our municipal workforce maintains and had properly salted and plowed with this latest snow event. The power outages, though frustrating, have been corrected relatively quickly given the extent of damage the electrical system suffered. All repairs and efforts made toward power restoration are being made by PSEG employees and their subcontractors; our municipal workforce has no role in power restoration. It is true our workforce is smaller than several years ago, but these shortages have no impact on the frustration you mention. If you would like to speak more about these matters, please feel free to call my office at 973-325-4100.
Brett Kaiser
5:42 pm on Thursday, November 8, 2012
HOW Do you know the roads were not salted? That's just pretty plain ignorant don't you think? As far as people crying about Lower taxes...the MAJORITY of the property tax is NOT Going to the town. I am ALL FOR an increase in the town budget for more services and Make West Orange the Envy of all the other towsn (Hint: It increases your property value)
Ken
11:07 am on Friday, November 9, 2012
Worth noting, maybe, that the roads with serious problems last night -- Northfield & Mt. Pleasant -- are not town roads, but county and state (west of Prospect, I believe) roads. West Orange did its usual excellent job, at least in the streets in my neighborhood, but they're not able to treat the county & state ones.
Gerard Kelly
11:07 am on Friday, November 9, 2012
West Orange is not responsible for salting Essex County roads.