Suburbanite: Worst Storm in Teaneck History

Worst Teaneck storm in history? We would say yes.

458,000 without power.  200 large trees uprooted and thrown about like toothpicks. 70 roads closed by debris. Two men killed in a sad tearful tragedy.  Is our breath that fragile? Yes it is. And so what to do? Make every day of your life count for good and beauty and add value to the this so ephemeral enterprise that we only borrow for a few moments.

Teaneck still shaken by storm
BY HOWARD PROSNITZ

Local and state officials declared a state of emergency Saturday evening as a violent nor’easter tore through the state, downing trees and electrical wires and killing at least two persons in Teaneck.

On Tuesday, PSE&G spokesperson Nicole Swan described the storm as the worst in the company’s history. She said that 37,000 customers remained without power, 30,000 of them in Bergen County. At the storm’s height, 458,000 customers lost power. The utility expects that power will be restored to all customers by Thursday, Swan said.

Teaneck Police Chief Robert Wilson said on Tuesday that 200 complete trees had been downed in the township including both public and private trees. All major road closings had been resolved, he said, except for those on Queen Anne Road and Roemer Avenue. More than 70 complete trees had been removed from roadways since Saturday, Wilson said.

Both police and fire headquarters lost power Friday and had been operating on emergency generators as of Tuesday.

"I have been here for 25 years and have never seen anything of this duration or magnitude," Wilson said.

In the most serious episode of the storm, two Winthrop Road residents were killed when a 50-foot maple tree fell on them as they were walking home from Sabbath services.

The tree, in front of 1558 Jefferson Street, split about 10 feet from the base, crushing Lawrence Krause, 49, and Ovadia Mossaffi, 54.

The men were returning from Shaarei Orah, a Teaneck Sephardic congregation, at approximately 7 p.m.

Police had to wait for PSE&G to shut off power before extricating the bodies, which had become entangled in downed live wires. Police were uncertain whether the men had been walking on the sidewalk or in the street near the curb...more...