North Jersey towns forced to be creative communicating with residents in Sandy
SUNDAY DECEMBER 9, 2012, 9:17 AM
BY ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
With power, phone and cable lines down for days — and in some cases, weeks — after superstorm Sandy, local officials had to be resourceful to communicate with residents.
Officials posted messages on municipal websites, Facebook, Twitter, sent emails or text messages and in some cases even handed out fliers.
William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, said, “I think that local officials learned from last year’s ice storm and Irene the importance of getting out accurate information, even if it’s not the kind of information people want to hear.”
Mahwah Mayor Bill Laforet said, “People without power live by their cellphones. What they see out their window is all they know. And not knowing what’s going on causes the most anxiety.”
Allendale officials learned that posting information on the town website wasn’t very helpful.
“A lot of people didn’t have Internet access because the power was out, and a lot of older people don’t have computers,” Mayor Vince Barra said.
