Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow Clean Up Sandy

There's a long line this morning at Tarrytown's McDonalds inside and out. There's a boat sitting next to the Senior Center at Pierson Park, apparently having washed ashore during the surge that brought the Hudson River higher than many had ever seen. There's a porta-potty on its side at Horan's Landing.

People gather in small groups to share their stories, in the way that freakish storms bring people together.

One woman reported on Facebook that her mother had to be evacuated from her Franklin Courts apartment last night as she had water in her bedroom, "the Hudson River came all the way to our building."

Murat Turk sent a photo of a tree branch smashing through his windshield. See more storm photos in our gallery here and share your own.

Trees are down "all over," said Phyllis Zagano, who actually came here from Long Beach, Long Island to high ground to stay with a nun in the Marymount Convent. Still they are without power, but operating on a generator, Sister Irene said.

Nearby EF School is in the dark. Even Dunkin' Donuts is without power. Sleepy Hollow Police report "everyone's without power."

Thousands in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow are without power, cable and phone, reportedly about half the population, and among the 163,000 out in the county. For exact figures click here. As of 9 a.m., even the Tarrytown Police nonemergency number is not going through.

In the Ichabod's Landing complex at the riverfront of Sleepy Hollow, it seemed impossible that tenants didn't fare worse than they did. One resident at 8 a.m. stood in front of his debris-covered garage entrance and chatted with his fellow neigbhors, who claimed a little water damage in their garages but not much else from waters that ran as high as the seat of the nearby gazebo. 

Sleepy Hollow DPW out to help with other peoples' problems last night also had their own as of high tide, when the river surged right up to their headquarters on River Street, turning the road itself into a river that police had to block off. 

There were only a few red flashing tower lights on the otherwise eerily quiet and pitch black Tappan Zee Bridge all night.

The bridge has just been reopened to vehicular traffic.

MTA chairman Joe Loda said this morning that by his estimate there are at least 100 trees down from 59th Street in Manhattan to Croton-Harmon along the Hudson Metro-North line. Crews would be walking the length to clear the path and there was no estimate when service would be restored. 

Stay tuned for updates as we assess damage and clean-up operations around the villages.

What's your situation? Share your Sandy stories and pictures here.

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