HACKENSACK, N.J. (PIX11) - Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh was staying vigilant Tuesday as he toured areas of the city affected by this week's storm, with a close eye on the Passaic River, which was being churned violently by the swelling Great Falls.
"Who knows what happens after the river crests," said Sayegh.
The mayor said depending on how the crest affects city residents, he could be rescinding his state of emergency declaration as soon as Wednesday.
"We reached out to the governor's office yesterday to ask if he was going to declare a state of emergency, but it looks like only North Jersey really got impacted in this fashion," said Sayegh. "I know Little Falls is having issues as well with flooding, Pompton Lakes, Wayne. The governor did not declare a state of emergency, but his office did reach out to us, again, today, to see how they can help."
Gov. Phil Murphy's office told PIX11 News he is up to date on all flood-related matters but did not have plans to visit any sites.
From Morris County, to Passaic, to Bergen, the storm's impact was felt in water rescues, flooded basements and road closures. Some of those areas, like Lodi, saw water levels recede on Tuesday.
"Fortunately we came through this pretty well," said Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco, who says he won't be asking the state to declare an emergency. County residents in need of aid are asked to reach out to his office.
"We did have some damage to our parks, and again, those are along the river, not unexpected, but we'll have to address those now as the water recedes and dries out," said Tedesco. "All in all, we did really well here."
The New Jersey chapter of the American Red Cross said it has been in touch with several towns about what their current needs are and that volunteers are on standby, ready to head out wherever they are needed.
