The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

While Long Island farmers likely lost 80-90 per cent of their banana crop due to Hurricane Sandy, Tribune Business was told yesterday, but many homes and businesses were likely to be “back to normal in a few days”.

Mario Cartwright, the former Long Island Chamber of Commerce president and ex-DNA candidate for the island, said Long Islanders were tough people who, when faced with adversity, did not rely on the Government for help.

Speaking to his Shell wholesale/retail franchise on the island, Mr Cartwright said the fuel pumps had become waterlogged and were not working properly, forcing him to serve customers “directly from the fuel truck”.

He expressed optimism, though, that his business would return to normal within the next few days.

“We think this storm was stronger than Irene,” he told Tribune Business. “Some of the homes lost asphalt, shingles, and we had some flooding that is receding, so we fared quite well.

“BEC did very well in restoring power. They’re on top of their game.”

The Long Islanders who fared worst appear to have been the farmers. “There are a lot of banana farmers,” Mr Cartwright said.

“Most of the trees were flattened in a large number of the banana pits I saw. The farmers have been hit pretty hard, and have probably lost 80-90 per cent of their crop.

“They typically sell their produce to the Government packing house in Clarence Town, and that had half its roof blown off.

“The farmers are going to see it in their profits, but in terms of people getting back to work, I think we’ll be back to normal in a few days.”

While Sandy would definitely have a “negative impact” on Long Island’s economy, Mr Cartwright said the precise effects were hard to quantify at this stage.

“Long Islanders are a very resilient people,” he told Tribune Business. “We don’t sit in the corner and cry, and wait for the Government to come. People are doing what has to be done to get their homes and businesses back to normal standard.”

Mr Cartwright said that where government help was required was in assisting Long Island’s farmers, helping them to clear debris from their lands, and getting seeds and plants in the ground.

The Clarence Town packing house also “needs urgent attention”.

While Long Island’s agriculture industry had declined in recent years, given that farming was “not as profitable as it was 30-40 years ago”, Mr Cartwright said the sector was still “reasonably significant enough” to matter to Long Island’s overall economy.