The Village of Freeport was severely impacted by superstorm Sandy. Our community sustained record flooding and road closures due to downed trees and power lines. The Village of Freeport, despite the significant damage, was one of few municipalities on the South Shore of Long Island that was able to restore power quickly to many of its customers in the wake the storm. Residents of surrounding communities that were without power flocked to Freeport to purchase gasoline and other basic necessities. This sparked long lines of motorists and pedestrians, many with frayed nerves, to line up for hours at gas stations in our community. For many motorists there was almost a fixation with gasoline. The officers in our department are equipped and trained to handle crowd control. However, the thousands of nervous motorists and pedestrians waiting in long lines to purchase gas presented a different challenge. This created a logistical problem for our department. The officers of our department, some of whose homes were severely damaged by the storm, took a crash course in “gas line management.”  We found that it was vital to maintain an open line of communication and coordinate with the gas station owners. Despite the many obstacles, our officers were able to face this unprecedented challenge and succeeded in maintaining control amidst a very difficult situation.    

Freeport Police Department

Ray Horton

The Department of Public Works (DPW) performed amazingly in response to the storm. Despite sustaining severe damage to the DPW facilities and flooding of many of employee homes, our response was deemed heroic by many.  The selfless dedication of the DPW team made the community’s recovery well-organized.

Freeport Department of Public Works

Rob Fisenne