Thanks to Our First Responders

 

Dear Editor,

 

Sandy obviously created a number of problems for all of us. We’ve lived in Rye for over 30 years and have never seen anything like it: damaged homes, loss of lights, heat, hot water, trees down on property, damaged homes, shore clubs, boardwalks. We all have our tales of woe.

 

But for me there was an incredibly positive experience through this ordeal. It has to do with our DPW.

 

My wife Judy has emphysema and must inhale two drugs morning and night through a nebulizer, which must be plugged into an electrical outlet. She was due for her evening inhaler about an hour after a tree came down at the end of our driveway, blocking my car. There was no way I could get Judy to any of the places I could take her with access to an outlet.

 

At this point, around 6 p.m., I called DPW, just hoping to be able to leave a message for someone to come first thing in the morning. I had already resigned myself to the fact that my wife would have to skip that evening’s dose. To my surprise, however, a “live” person, Pam Fazzino, answered the phone. I described my problem and said I hoped she could have someone come the next day. Pam’s response was: “We hope to be there there shortly.”

 

Without exaggeration, I had three DPW trucks and five workers at my house within ten minutes! At that time, the storm was raging and the howling wind was bending over trees near the downed one. The workers did their work under the most deplorable conditions and cleared the driveway enough so that I could get the car out.

 

These workers were truly our “first responders”, and we are indebted to them. Thank you Chip Rigano (foreman), William Weeks, Peter Catalano, Ernesto DiRenzo, and Patrick Lemon.

 

With all of the hardships we all suffered from Sandy, Judy and I also have an incredibly positive experience that we take away from it and are so appreciative of that.          

 

Sincerely,

 

George Hammel