Power Outages Spark Tension Between Neighbors

Power outages in a Hauppauge community off Townline Road is causing neighbors to turn against one another.

After Long Island Power Authority turned off power lines connected to a snapped utility pole at Townline Road and Village Lane Wednesday afternoon, a Hauppauge homeowner said he was surprised to find an unusual note scrawled below his mailbox.

A note written in pink sidewalk chalk reads, "Happy you got yours off. None of us have power. Thanks a lot ass!"

The message is not signed and there is no evidence to suggest who left wrote it.

The homeowner, who declined being identified in fear of further retribution, said he doesn't understand why a neighbor is blaming him for the power outages. He couldn't prevent Hurricane Irene from knocking down a tree on his property, pulling down power lines across the front of his yard.

"On [Wednesday], when a LIPA guy pulled up I was happy as hell. I thought they were going to fix the pole," he said. "But they turned the power off instead."

A National Grid employee in the neighborhood said the utility company had probably received a report that the downed power lines were a safety hazard from its work crews or a local resident.

A LIPA employee who stopped to survey the pole Thursday afternoon said he had filed a work report. When the utility pole will be replaced and power restored to Village Lane will depend on when a pole truck becomes available, as LIPA employee said the company has far less pole trucks than it does linesmen.

Meanwhile, the homeowner said he is without power like the rest of his neighbors. A resident on Arlene Court has run him an extension line so he could keep his refrigerator cold and power up a television for entertainment.

As far as the who left the sidewalk chalk note, he's not sure, but hopes the power is restored soon.

LIPA is reporting 294 customers out of 8,892 in Hauppauge are still without power as of 8 a.m. Friday. The utility company hasin hopes of restoring power to 95 percent of its customers affected by the storm by Friday.