Fayson Lakes Residents May Be Lucky, Some Say

Denise Malsky and her neighbor, Joan Naugle, were out picking up branches and raking leaves on their lawns in what would have been a typical fall day Wednesday.

But the Juniper Trail residents' yard work was anything but typical as the women were cleaning up debris left behind from Tropical Storm Sandy. As they worked, they spoke about the storm that Malsky described as one of the scariest she has ever seen hit Fayson Lakes.

"The wind was unbelievable," she said of Monday night's weather event. "It was pretty frightening. I had never heard wind like that before."

Naugle said it reminded her of last year's Tropical Storm Irene, but that she did not think Sandy's impact was quite as bad.

"It was awfully cold last year," she said.

Len Schirripa, a Fayson Lakes Road resident, said he thinks Irene may have helped prepare the area's natural surroundings for Sandy.

"Irene cleaned out a lot of trees, but the old ones have snapped," he said.

Schirripa and his wife, Linda, were out walking their dog near Sabey's Beach Wednesday afternoon. Their own street had been closed for most of Tuesday evening into Wednesday, but Len Schirripa said they were able to access Boonton Avenue still. The Schirripas had been without power since 4 p.m. on Monday.

When asked how they would pass time until their power was restored, they both looked at their dog and Schirripa said, "Same stuff."

Midland Trail resident Elaine Gott said she was not afraid of the storm, despite branches falling on her roof.

"Some people have it more bad," she said.

Naugle said she considered herself "pretty lucky," even though a tree smashed the front windshield of her new Jeep. Malsky also said she felt that Fayson Lakes was not hit particularly hard when compared with other areas.

"At least we have running water," she said.

Malsky and Naugle both said they planned to stay in their homes and not seek overnight shelter. To pass some of the time, they spent a few hours at Chili's, in Riverdale, for dinner. Malsky said she is already planning for days in the dark, something she is not particularly excited for.

"I'm a camper, so I'm kind of like, 'This is good.' But after two days, this is going to wear off," she said.

Gott said she also planned to stay in her home and ride out the power outage. She offered some advice to others who may be doing the same and get bored.

"Stay in the backyard and do something," she said.

Read more Tri-Boro Patch coverage of Tropical Storm Sandy here.

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