Schools Closed, LIRR & Village Prepped for Storm

With just several hours until snow is expected to start falling in Babylon Village, and forecasters now predicting as much as 18 inches by end of day Wednesday, the Babylon School District announced schools will be closed tomorrow and the MTA says railroad service is already being impacted by storm preparation work.

Village officials haves not announced any closings as yet, but the highway department has its seven plows and two sand trucks at the ready to start clearing the 46 miles of streets once the storm hits.

At tonight’s village board meeting Mayor Ralph Scordino made a public request that residents try to keep cars off the streets and begin clearing sidewalks and nearly fire hydrants as feasible during the storm event.

The MTA advisory website reported that the 6:53 p.m. train from Ronkonkoma due in Greenport at 8:17 p.m. was replaced by bus service as the Long Island Rail Road prepped to get tracks and systems ready for the weather. The LIRR suffered severe service disruptions and service suspensions during the recent blizzard event two weeks ago.

The MTA said it started preparations on Monday by deploying  snow fighting equipment across the rail network, outfitting buses with chains and filling its salt trucks.

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday night service on the Babylon branch was listed as ‘good’ on the service update site.

“Our goal in this and all storms is to continue providing service so long as it is safe for our customers, employees and equipment. We recognize the importance of public transportation especially when conditions are difficult. Doing this safely means service may be temporarily suspended or curtailed to avoid stuck trains and buses. We ask that you continue to monitor this page and the Current Service Status box for updates,” stated the MTA’s website advisory notice.

 The Babylon School District, through its Connect-ED system, alerted parents around dinnertime that schools would be closed Wednesday.