Marlboro Public Works Still Cleaning Up After Sandy

After the biggest storm in Marlboro Township's recent history, the Department of Public Works is still hauling debris left by Hurricane Sandy off of its streets.

Bob DiMarco, Superintendent of the Marlboro Department of Public Works, said the storm had the department working overtime until mid-January.

"In January, we cut back to the eight-hour day and no Saturdays just to give our guys a break. Now we're back to 10-hour days, five days a week."

DiMarco said in the height of the aftermath, DPW employees were working 10 hours per day, five days a week and adding eight hours every Saturday.

Now, as the department continues to catch up to regularly scheduled brush and leaf pickup, a second round of storm cleanup is almost finished.

DiMarco said zones 1 through 6 have received at least two rounds rounds of brush pickup, while the department is currently working on zones 7 and 8.

The delay? A combination of some residents and area landscapers putting out multiple piles, even after second rounds of pickup, and the sheer volume of brush Hurricane Sandy created.

"It's a combination of both. We've been through every zone for brush collection at least once, and in most of the areas twice," DiMarco said.

DiMarco said while everyone has had one round of brush collection, some residents have not had any leaf collection. That problem, he said, should be remedied by the end of March.

"Our main concentration was on brush collection, we have a lot of roads that were basically one lane because brush was piled in the street," DiMarco said, commenting on the immediate aftermath of the hurricane.

"To give a sense of proportion, we will soon exceed 170,000 cubic yards of collected brush; equivalent to a football field stacked as high as an 8-story building."