Bad Situation In Greenwich – Power Out For Much Of Town, Little Communication To Residents

Sam Romeo has seen plenty of storms in Greenwich in his 68 years there, but Hurricane Sandy has been the worst.

An elected member of the Representative Town Meeting, Romeo is heavily involved in the town’s civic affairs, and he said Wednesday that he did not see much short-term relief as the public schools will be closed for the full week.

“We’re dying down here. We’re devastated down here in Greenwich,” Romeo told Capitol Watch. “I have not seen a utility truck in three days. Last time I saw them, they were staging at the North Mianus School, the day before the storm. They staged there and then they left. Maybe they went to New York, but they didn’t stay here. Not a truck anywhere. And we still have roads that are blocked. I would think they’d open the roads so that emergency vehicles could get through. We still have trees that are on wires here.’’

With the power out, the normal activities of the town of more than 60,000 people have been thrown off course.

“We don’t have cable. We don’t have power. We don’t have Internet,” said Romeo, a longtime Republican who ran unsuccessfully for first selectman in the past. ”The radio station is even down. We’ve got the election Tuesday. There’s no way I think we can run it. They have authority to consolidate polling places, but there’s going to be arguments on both sides, claiming foul, if everything is not in order.’’

He added, “I’ve been on generator power since Monday at my house. I have a Wi-fi hot spot from Verizon so that I can get Internet, but most people don’t have that. There’s very little communication for the general public. … We’re pretty much in a disaster area right now.’’

The Greenwich residents who have working cell phones and generators seem to be weathering the storm.

“For years, now, I’ve been saying, don’t count on government,” Romeo said. “Be a Boy Scout. Be prepared. Get generators. Luckily, years ago, we put in a generator.’’

“This is probably the worst storm I’ve ever seen, and I remember the 1956 storm that took out downtown Stamford,” he said. “The dollar value and the damage is more devastating than that.”

He summed up the situation in two words: “very grim.”