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Winter Storm Update

Posted on: December 16, 2020 - 1:19pm
Winter Storm Update

Borough Offices (Except for Emergency Services) will be closing at 3:30 p.m. today in anticipation of the snowstorm. Borough Offices (Except for Emergency Services) will be closed to the public on Thursday December 17, 2020, however, Borough staff will be working remotely and residents can call to transact business. The Oakland Senior Center will be closed on Thursday December 17, 2020, but the scheduled Zoom Fitness class will still take place. In addition, the Oakland Public Library will be closed on Thursday December 17, 2020. As a reminder, Southside garbage collection for Thursday December 17, 2020 has been suspended and pickup will resume on Monday December 21, 2020. Governor Phil Murphy has declared a State of Emergency effective at 2:00 p.m. today, and all non-essential travel is discouraged. Please report any non-emergency matters to the Oakland Police Department at (201) 337-6171.

The Borough is closely monitoring the winter storm as forecasted by U.S. National Weather Service (NWS). Accumulation predictions from the National Weather Service predict 12-16 inches for the Borough of Oakland, with snowfall beginning around 4:00 p.m. today.

  • As a reminder, according to Borough Ordinance 7-10, parking on Borough streets is prohibited during snow storms. This parking restriction is in effect until the storm has ended and the streets have been sufficiently cleared of snow. This ordinance is in place to allow DPW employees to properly plow the streets without interference and to ensure the roadway is clear of snow and ice well beyond the end of the storm.
  • As a reminder according to Borough Ordinance 12-5, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to clear the sidewalk and fire hydrant located on your property of all snow and ice. By shoveling your sidewalk and clearing snow from around the fire hydrant, it creates a safer walkway for children and other pedestrians. It also gives our volunteer fire personnel easier access to the hydrant in case there is a fire emergency in your neighborhood.

Service Interruptions:

Orange and Rockland Utilities:

If you experience a power outage, don’t assume that O&R automatically knows about it. Customers can report the outage and check to see when their lights will be back on by:

  • Visiting www.oru.com/ReportOutage from any computer or web-based mobile device
  • Accessing O&R’s mobile app from your iPhone, iPad or Android device – download via Apple Store or Google Play
  • Text messaging by texting “OUT” to 69678 (myORU)
  • Calling 1-877-434-4100

Once it is safe to assess storm damage and begin service restoration, O&R crews will give priority to making repairs that clear major community roads – work that also restores power to a sizable number of neighboring customers. At the same time, crews will restore power to critical and emergency facilities (police and fire stations, and hospitals, for example). Then, crews will focus on getting power back on to those locations that will return electricity to the most customers quickly. Crews then will work their way down to restore smaller outages and individual customer’s outages.

The following video describes the typical storm repair and power restoration process: https://youtu.be/JeGU8ID4_m0

Altice/Optimum:

In the event Optimum services are impacted, customers can visit “My Account” for service updates. You can also:

  • Message Optimum at optimum.net/chat
  • Send Tweet to @Optimumhelp
  • Call us at (866) 950-3278

In addition, you can sign up to receive service alerts via text or voice message by going to My Account. Once they’re set up, Optimum will notify you directly when outages affect service. You will receive restoration timing and other updates until your Optimum service is restored.