Community Corner
Main Street Prepares to Weather the Storm
Hurricane Irene will put a damper on one of the biggest weekends in town for Sayville businesses.
Jackie Gustafson, who owns the Sayville General Store, usually waits until Labor Day to change up her window displays for the fall.
But this year, she'll be making the switch a little early. The reason? Hurricane Irene.
In preparation for the storm, Gustafson took down the wooden signs that hang outside of her store. She also emptied her windows, which are usually chockful of home goods and art.
Her efforts were echoed throughout the town, as store owners put up boards or, at the very least, decorated their windows with big looping x's of masking tape.
Some stores, like Bunger Surf and Shake, are taking advantage of the storm. On planks of wood, Bunger is advertising what they've dubbed a "hurricane sale." Others, like Brinkmann's Hardware and Stop and Shop, are doing brisk business selling hurricane prep essentials.
Find out what's happening in Sayville-Bayportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
But for many business owners, the hurricane couldn't have come at a worse time. Summer is a lucrative seasons for Sayville businesses, and Irene has put a damper on what would otherwise be one of the busiest weekends of the year.
"There's no business yesterday, and it's almost non-existent today," Gustafson said. "That part is huge."
Still, she is making good use of the quiet time, getting her store ready for fall merchandise. "We're trying to make good use of the down time," she said. "I figure we were going to re-do them anyway."
Matt Sherman, who owns the Patchogue Ferry, brought about 800 people home from Fire Island on Friday and Saturday. But he wont be able to capitalize on the steady stream of late season beach bums.
"This week would be one of the top vacation weeks of the year," he said. "It's definitely impacting my business."
Still, at least one local businessman has turned Irene into opportunity. Rick Ackerman of Sayville Mirrors is offering to board up windows of local stores and homes.
"We've done quite a bit" of business, he said. "Whoever wants them done."
He said he's mostly gotten calls from homeowners, and he plans on working late into the night to finish all the orders. "This is what we do," he said.
