Mandatory Evacuation For Downtown Port Jefferson

At 10 a.m. on Monday, streets will be barricaded and businesses were told to shut down ahead of Hurricane Sandy as village officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of the downtown area in Port Jefferson.

At an early morning meeting at Village Hall, Mayor Margot Garant noted that she liked what she saw when she drove down Main Street.

“Right now downtown looks beautiful,” she said. “It’s quiet. It’s empty.”

Constable Chief Wally Tomaszewski said that officers went around the village on Sunday giving out notices warning business owners to be cautious and that officials might order downtown closed as early as Monday morning.

“We passed out 125 notices,” he said.

The notices also warn people to remove vehicles in the flood zone to higher ground.

As of 10 a.m. on Monday, Main Street will be closed.

Garant said that businesses in the village up to Old Post Road on Main Street were ordered closed.

At 9 a.m. on Monday almost every store downtown was closed and a few shop owners had come down to prepare for the storm.

The owner of The Port Shop on Main Street was busy placing sandbags by the front door of his store to block water from coming underneath.

“Yes, I’m worried,” he said but shrugged when asked how bad he thought it would get.

Additional help will come from Suffolk County Police for the village with one patrol car dedicated to the village helping code officers to prevent people from bypassing barriers, especially when the flooding starts.

Officials have urged residents to stay home. Schools, libraries and the Port Jefferson ferry all remain closed for the duration of the storm, as well as downtown businesses.

The village is working with emergency services to get the word out about possible dangers due to the storm.

“We made contact with people who might need extra care,” Garant said.

In case of an emergency village residents are encouraged to call 911 first. For all non-emergency calls, residents from the villages of Port Jefferson and Belle Terre can call (631) 403-6111 and they will be routed to the appropriate department in the village.