Batteries, Bread and Booze: Residents are Ready

EASTCHESTER, N.Y. – Bread, milk and batteries were not the only things in short supply in Tuckahoe Saturday morning.

Lucia Bruno, owner of San Pietro Wines and Spirits, sold out of Jack Daniels whiskey and was selling more wine than she could keep track of.

“This is my first week in business and I had an earthquake and a hurricane,” said Bruno, whose store opened Monday.

Tahra Collins of Manhattan left her apartment in the lower Manhattan flood zone to ride out the storm in Tuckahoe. She came to town on one of the last Metro North trains before service was halted and stopped at Bruno’s in Depot Square to pick up some of the rapidly dwindling supply of wine

“My friends and I decided to spend the storm together,” Collins said. “We might as well make the best of it.”

Up the hill at Mill Road Wine and Spirits, assistant manager Julia Ehring has restocked shelves several times since word of the storm hit Eastchester.

“We have been very, very busy,” Ehring said. “We did our best to restock so we have everything our customers want.”

Eastchester resident Toni Viscio was one of those customers on Saturday morning.

“There will be six of us together tonight,” she said. “We are going to have a nice dinner, have some wine and watch a movie or two.”

While residents hope to make the best of a bad situation, town officials will be keeping a watchful eye.

Mayor Steve Ecklond declared a state of emergency in Tuckahoe Saturday afternoon. He joins Eastchester Supervisor Anthony Colavita in urging residents to stay indoors and to only call 911 if there is an emergency.

The village will continue to broadcast information on its local channel and website, Ecklond said.

In Eastchester, the club house at Haindl Field in the north end is stocked and ready for anyone who needs to be evacuated from their homes.

Colavita said Friday that if evacuations are needed Eastchester Police will notify residents and help get them to the safe center.

The National Weather Service continues to classify the storm a category one, which means winds up to 70 miles an hour and at least 10 inches of rain.

The storm is expected to hit sometime late Saturday night and continue until about 4 pm Sunday.

Both Bruno and Ehring said they plan to keep their stores open Saturday as late as they can to accommodate their customers.

“Now all we can do is ride it out and pray,” Ehring said.

 

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