Business & Tech

Surviving Sandy: No Power? No Problem; Making Due at the Pathmark

People and businesses in Port Jefferson Station are doing what they can to survive the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

In the same shopping center in Port Jefferson Station, the Staples is closed. The Sears Hardware is also closed. But the Pathmark is open.

The power is out. There are no perishables for sale and according to someone who answered the phone at the store, what power they do have for minimal lighting and registers comes from a generator. Yet they’re accepting credit and debit cards.

The store is eerily dark with whole aisles that used to have an abundance of milk, ice cream and frozen peas blocked by upturned shopping cards and yellow tape but they’re open. You can shop at the Pathmark.

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“They’re doing the best they can,” said Pat Eisenhower, a Port Jefferson Station resident who was shopping there on Thursday. “It’s admirable to have some people working.”

With area banks closed, getting access to cash is hard so she’s appreciative that they were accepting her debit card.

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“The registers work,” she said. “Using a debit card, that helps.”

Eisenhower feels fortunate because her neighborhood wasn’t as affected by the storm as others. She still has power and cable.

“I went to church and thanked God,” she said.


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