Road Closures, Stopped Bus and Train Service in Preparation for Storm Juno

Stay home and catch up on your favorite shows on Netflix.

That’s the advice County Executive Rob Astorino gave Monday afternoon to residents who will be impacted by the looming blizzard.

Speaking from the Emergency Operations Center in Hawthorne, which was activated at 4 p.m., Astorino said that all county roads, including parkways, will remain open during the duration of the storm to accommodate emergency vehicles. As hundreds of Westchester residents head home this evening ahead of the storm’s peak, he urged people to remain in their homes and stay off of the roads for the remainder of the night.

“In regards to travel, common sense should prevail here. Don’t go out if you don’t have to,” said Astorino. “If people stay home and heed the warnings, we should be fine.”

However, Governor Cuomo has enacted a roadway closure. As of 11 p.m. any driver on the road in several counties (including Westchester) will technically be committing a crime and could face a fine.

Bee-Line bus service will be suspended as of 8 p.m. tonight and is scheduled to remain out of service until Wednesday morning. Astorino said if the storm is less severe than predicted, limited service could resume by Tuesday night. Metro-North service will also be suspended as of 11 p.m. Monday.

The approaching storm is currently predicted to bring up to two feet of snow to Westchester, but Astorino assured residents that power outages are not currently a major concern. Although local energy companies Con Edison and PSE&G are prepared with extra crews as a precaution, it is expected that the powdery snow and the absence of foliage on the trees will reduce the number of downed power lines and trees.

Astorino said the county Department of Social Services and Human Services is currently working to get all homeless residents into county-run shelters, but doesn’t believe there is currently a need to open emergency shelters in any municipality. In the event of massive power outages, warming shelters will be established as needed.

To find out about shelters, residents are advised to call their local village, city or town hall for information, he said.

The county executive also reminded residents to check in on their neighbors during the storm, especially the elderly and medically frail.

“Please, if you can, lend a helping hand either with shoveling or snow blowing,” Astorino said. “If you’re making a run to the store asking them if there’s anything they need right now, if there’s anything left on the shelf, would be good.”

For updates and information on the storm, call 211 or visit the county’s website at www.westchestergov.com.

Local Governments, Schools Close

Meanwhile, the Town of New Castle has declared a snow of emergency from 6 p.m. on Monday through 6 a.m. on Wednesday, while the Village of Mount Kisco enacted a snow emergency starting at 3 p.m. on Monday until further notice.

The Village of Pleasantville closed offices at 1 p.m. on Monday and will remain closed through Wednesday morning.

The City of White Plains is diverting all available resources toward snow removal and as such, there will be no garbage collection on Tuesday. If you live on a Tuesday-Friday garbage collection route, your garbage will be picked up on Wednesday and Friday this week. There will be no paper recycling this week. Paper recycling resumes on Wednesday, February 4.

White Plains wants parked vehicles off the streets. As a courtesy, the City is offering free parking to White Plains residents for vehicles registered to addresses within the City of White Plains in the following parking garages: Lyon Place, Hamilton-Main, Chester-Maple, and Lexington-Grove East and West (Galleria) starting at 3:00 PM today through 9:00 AM on Wednesday, January 28. All other garages, lots and on street parking will remain subject to normal enforcement. There will be strict enforcement of the City’s ban on overnight on-street parking, as vehicles left on the street severely impair our ability to clear the snow, can create hazardous conditions and significantly impede storm recovery. Vehicles left on the street will be ticketed and may be towed.

All White Plains Youth Bureau after-school and evening programs and all Recreation and Parks programs and activities, including those at Ebersole Ice Rink, are canceled for January 27.

A State of Emergency has been declared in the Town of Greenburgh ahead of the blizzard. All cars should be off Town roads by 9 p.m. Residents are reminded to keep all vehicles off town roadways for the duration of the storm. If town roads are not passable by Town emergency vehicles /snow plows due to parked cars, cars will be towed.

United Way says area residents should add the free confidential Hudson Valley Region 2-1-1 helpline to their list of critical phone numbers in anticipation of the pending snow storm.

United Way’s 2-1-1 helpline offers callers information and referrals to health and human services organizations most appropriate for their needs. Call specialists can communicate with callers in more than 200 languages. The line is available from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

You can dial 2-1-1 for information pertaining to shelters, warming stations, road closures, power outages, donations, recovery services, and other disaster-related services.

The helpline reduces caller anxiety by getting them connected to the right service providers while reducing non-emergency calls to 9-1-1 and taking the burden off frontline response agencies where people frequently call when they don’t know where else to turn.

United Way’s 2-1-1 helpline was launched in 2005 as a collaborative effort of the United Ways of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties, and community and government partners.

For more information dial 2-1-1 or log on to the 2-1-1 website at  http://www.hudson211.org.