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aMITyvIllE _____________
HERALD RECoRD
Ansanelli running for Amityville Village Board
Copiague musicians honored at All County
This week’s Pet Column
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VOL. 112 NO. 8
MARCH 4 - 10, 2026
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BRAVING THE ELEMENTS - AND THE FLAMES
Carolyn James/Herald photos
Paul Mazza/Zone2 photography
Long Islanders worked to dig out of the biggest snowstorm in more than a decade.
Firefighters from departments throughout Babylon Town fought apartment blaze in WB.
Village, Town dig out after blizzard hits LI
Church shelters victims of West Babylon fire
By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
A powerful blizzard swept across Babylon Town and surrounding villages on Feb. 22–23, leaving behind heavy snow, ice, strong winds and widespread disruptions. The storm, which forecasters had warned could bring “historic” snowfall, dumped 20 to 23 inches in many communities, followed by another 2 to 3 inches on Feb. 25, with isolated areas reporting even higher totals. Snow began falling late Sunday morning and intensified overnight, combined with gusts up to 40 mph that reduced visibility and created treacherous driving conditions. Local authorities urged residents to stay home and avoid travel, and school districts announced closures for Monday and Tuesday. The blizzard caused widespread power outages, primarily out East, leaving homes and businesses without electricity. Utility crews worked through the night to restore service. Emergency services reported numerous accidents on snow- and ice-covered
roads. The Long Island Rail Road and major bus lines operated on limited schedules, and flights at Long Island MacArthur Airport and JFK experienced significant delays or cancellations. Locally, employees from Amityville Village and the Town of Babylon worked to open roads, particularly for emergency vehicles, and then clear them for regular traffic as schools reopened and people headed back to work. “It has been almost 20 years since we have had to deal with some 20-odd inches of snow,” said Amityville Village Mayor Michael O’Neill, explaining the challenges village employees faced. “The problem was more volume than anything else.” O’Neill said the village maintains 38 miles of roads and that employees logged 600 man-hours from Sunday evening through Monday, using 75 tons of sand and salt. “I think they did a phenomenal job and people have said to me that when they leave the Village and head into other communities they see just how good a job our DPW workers have done.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
By CAROLYN JAMES cjames@liherald.com
As flames tore through the Fairfield Suburbia Gardens complex in West Babylon Tuesday night, February 24, Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church opened its doors to displaced residents seeking warmth and shelter and to firefighters who were able to set up command centers there. Within minutes of the evacuation, parish staff and volunteers transformed church space into an emergency refuge, offering residents a place to sit and regroup amid bitter cold temperatures and uncertainty. “I knew immediately that it was the right thing to do,” said Brian Miller, a dea-
con at Our Lady of Grace who also serves as chaplain and a member of the West Babylon Fire Department. “I knew immediately it was the Christian thing to do.” The North Amityville Fire Company responded, and Amityviile sent an ambulance. Babylon, Lindenhurst, North Lindenhurst, Deer Park, and West Islip Fire Departments, and the East Farmingdale, and North Babylon Fire Companies. Wyandanch-Wheatley Heights Ambulance Corps also responded with their rehab equipment and Babylon Central Fire Alarm responded with their Mobile Command unit. The blaze broke out at the complex on Great East Neck Road shortly before 7:30 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2