Village workers rescue kitten from storm drain

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Village highway workers responded to a report of a kitten trapped in a storm drain on Brown Street Tuesday around noon. Worker Chris Sortile entered the drain to rescue the the kitten.
Village highway workers responded to a report of a kitten trapped in a storm drain on Brown Street Tuesday around noon. Worker Chris Sortile entered the drain to rescue the the kitten.
Courtesy Village of Valley Stream

Village Highway Department workers rescued an injured kitten from a storm drain early Tuesday afternoon.

According to Highway Department dispatcher Robin Giammarino, a homeowner near the corner of Brown Street and Arlington Avenue called the department at around 12:10 p.m. with a report that they had seen a small black kitten limping across the street near their house.

When the homeowner went to retrieve the kitten, it reportedly fled, falling into a nearby storm drain on Brown Street. Giammarino said highway workers were on the scene within roughly 30 minutes of receiving the call.

According to village Superintendent of Public Works Steve Acquavella, after opening access to the storm drain, a worker found the kitten buried underneath a mound of wet leaves.

“It most likely would have been dead if we hadn’t saved it,” he said, noting that the kitten was likely around 6 weeks old. It had suffered a broken front leg, and Town of Hempstead animal control had offered assurances that the kitten would be cared for, Acquavella reported.

He said the animal control workers had asked if the homeowner who originally noticed the kitten would be interested in keeping it. He replied, however, that he was allergic to cats.