UPDATE 11:15AM: Halloween Postponed, Thousands Still Without Power

For instant Hurricane Sandy updates, follow New Providence-Berkeley Heights Patch on Facebook and Twitter.

Update: Wednesday, 11:15 a.m.

Here's are the latest updates from Joe Steiner and Organization Resources:

CURRENT 10 a.m. NUMBERS OF CUSTOMERS EFFECTED BY THE STORM FROM THE JERSEY CENTRAL POWER AND LIGHT WEBSITE ...

• SUMMIT - 8,617
• NEW PROVIDENCE - 4,772
• BERKELEY HEIGHTS - 3,561

Best information is that this will be a multi - day outage. No one is making any promises.

FROM OVERLOOK HOSPITAL: All inpatient, emergency and radiology services are open. Most outpatient services are open, however, please call ahead to make sure.

SUMMIT MEDICAL GROUP: All Summit Medical Group locations are closed Wednesday. They are updating their website regularly. http://www.summitmedicalgroup.com/

NEW PROVIDENCE FARMERS MARKET HAS BEEN CANCELLED

HALLOWEEN UPDATES:

• SUMMIT: Tentatively rescheduled for Saturday, November 3. No Trick or Treating on Wednesday.  
• NEW PROVIDENCE: No Trick or Treating on Wednesday. New Date to be announced.

BUSINESS UPDATES: We took a quick drive early this morning down the Springfield Avenue Corridor (before dawn). It was very dark. There are lots of downed trees, sporadic road closures.   We can tell you that there is limited power in all three downtowns. Long lines at the Gas Stations that are open. Many of the food establishments are open, some with limited menus. Hoboken Farms Sandwich Shop has moved their production location to their new cafe at the Equinox fitness facility located at 68 River Road in Summit. Charging Station available, as well as food and beverages.

 SUMMIT INFORMATION:

 SHELTER / CHARGING STATION
 The Summit Middle School is open for those who need sheltering and will serve as a charging station. Those displaced residents with pets, may bring their pets with pet carrier.

CLOSINGS
 Summit Public School, Library, Community Center, YMCA, Connection are closed on Wednesday, October 31

OPENINGS
 City Hall will be open on Wednesday, October 31. Most stores and restaurants are open in Downtown Summit

UNION COUNTY STATE OF EMERGENCY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM WEDNESDAY. ALL COUNTY BUILDINGS AND OFFICES ARE CLOSED AND ONLY ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL AND EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT FOR WORK.   Meals on Wheels and home delivery has been suspended for October 31. All County Parks and Park Facilities are closed until further notice.  Please do not enter the parks, as many trees are down and can be dangerous.

FROM NEW PROVIDENCE:

Farmer's Market Cancelled. Trick or Treating Postponed.

If you are without power and need to charge your cell phone and or laptop you may do so at the Municipal Center. The newly installed generator assures that power will be available. Please bring your cell phone or laptop charger.

If you lose power call JCP&L at 1-888-544-4877 and report it. Don't assume that they are aware of your specific outage. By reporting the outage, it will be registered.

The New Providence Police phone number is 908-665-1111. PLEASE USE 9-1-1 FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY.

FROM BERKELEY HEIGHTS MAYOR JOE BRUNO :

Our Friends at the Berkeley Heights YMCA have announced that all regular classes and the fitness center will be closed on Wednesday but between the hours of 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM will be open to ANY resident wishing to use the facility to take a warm shower and charge electronic devices.

Travel should continue to be restricted today to allow emergency personnel and utility crews the opportunity to assess the damage and begin the clearing process and repairs

During ANY cleanup around your home DO NOT approach or attempt to handle ANY DOWN WIRES. Assume all wires are live until confirmed and cared for by the appropriate authorities. Report any down wires.

For current information here are a few websites that should have handy: NJ State Site www.ready.nj.gov , County Site and to sign up for alert updates from both the County and Township www.ucfirstalert.org  and of course we will post updates on the Township website at www.berkeleyheightstwp.com

REMEMBER YOU HAVE TO REPORT: If you lose power call JCP&L at 1-888-544-4877 and report it. Don't assume that they know, by calling it will be registered.  

Update: Wednesday, 10 a.m.

It's day two following Hurricane Sandy and not much has changed in New Providence, Berkeley Heights and Mountainside.

All schools are closed today and all Halloween activities have been postponed or canceled, which we announced yesterday. A State of Emergency is still in effect in all three communities so please do not leave your homes unless it's an emergency.

The number of power outages in New Providence and Berkeley Heights has actually gone up since Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., although outages went down between 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Here are the latest outage numbers from the JCP&L power outage map, as of 9:30 a.m.:

• New Providence – 4,619
• Berkeley Heights – 3,685
• Mountainside – 335

Outages in nearby communities as of 9:30 a.m. today:

• Summit - 8,656
• Chatham Township - 4,393
• Chatham Borough 3,636
• Long Hill Township - 3,786
• Springfield - 7,313
• Warren - 5,216

New Providence Update

The New Providence Ofice of Emergency Management issued the following Code Red Alert just after 9 a.m. today:

"As of this AM, most of New Providence is still out of power. for the safety of our children, the downtown halloween walk, as well as all trick-or-treating, is canceled. If conditions permit, Halloween will be rescheduled to another date."

At this time, A&P Supermarket in New Providence is open, but may not be operating under normal business hours yet. However, residents should NOT leave their homes unless it is an absolute emergency.

The New Providence Municipal Center did reopen today. The New Providence OEM still has a shelter open in the New Providence Municipal Center GYMNASIUM. Residents can bring their mobile devices and laptops to the shelter, as there are charging stations available. However, residents must bring their own charging devices.

According to the Borough of New Providence website, "Order of Municipal Court Judge Donald Bogosian, the Berkeley Heights and New Providence Municipal Court sessions scheduled for Wednesday, October 31, 2012 are cancelled. Persons scheduled to appear during these sessions will be notified of a new court date."

The New Providence Farmers' Market is cancelled for today.

Berkeley Heights Update

Berkeley Heights Police Chief Michael Mathis issued the following reverse 9-1-1 message Tuesday night around 9 p.m.:

"For the safety of our children, Halloween Trick-or-Treating is suspended for Oct. 31 until further notice.

Berkeley Heights sustained major storm damage from Hurricane Sandy. For everyone's safety, all non-essential personnel must remain home and off all the roads. Many trees, power lines and utilities remain down, which will be extremely hard to see due to the power outages still in effect. Treat all power lines as if they are live because they are deadly.

In addition, several utility poles have been compromised that may fall. JCP&L is aware of these poles and the dangers, and is currently working to repair them. Many trucks are in town attempting to restore power to those affected.

The assessment of the township will be completed tomorrow, when we'll provide an updated message. Please stay home and be safe. Thank You."

The Township of Berkeley Heights posted the following on their website:

Our Friends at the Berkeley Heights YMCA have announced that all regular classes and the fitness center will be closed on Wednesday but between the hours of 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. will be open to ANY resident wishing to use the facility to take a warm shower and charge electronic devices.

Kings Food Market in Berkeley Heights and Short Hills is also open. However, residents should NOT leave their homes unless it is an absolute emergency.

Mayor Joe Bruno's update from Tuesday:

** The cleanup has begun and the assessed damage widespread. Township personnel will be addressing all cleanup activities based on safety and priority. Please be patient as we work through this difficult and inconvenient time.

** During ANY cleanup around your home DO NOT approach or attempt to handle ANY DOWN WIRES. Assume all wires are live until confirmed and cared for by the appropriate authorities. Report any down wires.

• For current information here are a few websites that should have handy: NJ State Site www.ready.nj.gov , County Site and to sign up for alert updates from both the County and Township www.ucfirstalert.org  and of course we will post updates on the Township website at www.berkeleyheightstwp.com

• If you lose power call JCP&L at 1-888-544-4877 and report it. Don’t assume that they know, by calling it will be registered.  

• The Regular Police Number is 908 464-1111. PLEASE ONLY USE 911 FOR AN EMERGENCY.

If you should lose power contact JCP&L by calling 888-544-4877  (1-888-LIGHTSS) or at the 24/7 Power Center at outages at www.jcp-l.com.  The 24/7 Power Center features a dynamic on-line map that delivers fast and accurate outage information to desktops, smart phones and mobile devices. If you should need to power up your phone or computer Please feel free to come to Town Hall where we and charge up. Please review the alerts on UC First Alert or monitor the NOAA website at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov or the National Weather Service at http://www.weather.gov/nyc.

Any additional information will be distributed as soon as we receive it.

Editor's Note: We sincerely hope you, your families and your friends are safe and well in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

If you have ANY information and photos you can share about the damages to your neighborhood, please share them with us so we can share with your neighbors.

You can:

1. Email photos and info to caitlin.mahon@patch.com and we'll add them to directly to the Patch homepage. 

— OR —

2. Post your photos and information here for residents of New Providence, Berkeley Heights and Mountainside to see: http://patch.com/A-zc4x

OUR CONTINUOUS COVERAGE OF HURRICANE SANDY

We'll continue to provide you with as much information as we can in Hurricane Sandy wake in the New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Mountainside area.

To stay up-to-date on Sandy's aftermath and the long restoration process, be sure to bookmark this link. It contains every article published on New Providence-Berkeley Heights Patch about Hurricane Sandy: http://newprovidence.patch.com/topics/hurricane-sandy-in-new-providence-berkeley-heights-mountainside

For even more news and updates about Hurricane Sandy, subscribe to our free newsletter, "like" us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NewProvidencePatch or follow @NewProvPatch on Twitter. We will post upates on the storm as they become available.

Be safe, everyone!