Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 6

6 Keeping Cool Under the Big Top must work in the upper reaches of the cavernous circus tent where temperatures may be up to 30 degrees hotter than on the flow start sweating right away" said Antonio Rodrigues saying that perspiration is dangerous because harder fen- the catchers to get a grip on the flyers Rodrigues said the aerialists chalk themselves from fingertips to elbows on a hot day They also rigged a square window Can at the top of the tent near the platform in an effort to get a breeze The circus is to remain in Commack through tomorrow the same day that forecasters say the heat wave will break They will decamp for the parking lot of Shea Stadium where they will perform until Sunday Today however the tigers and elephants and downs will have to endure another day of mid-80s temperatures and high humidity love clown James Houser said sardoni By Phil Mintz STAFF WRITER Question: gray and drinks 2000 gallons of water on a hot day like yesterday? Answer: The 10 elephants at the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros Circus who like their human handlers were trying to make the best of another steamy summer day at the current stand at the Long Island Arena in Commack On a day when temperatures backed down from the weekend's high 90s to a more bearable but still steamy upper 80s Conti a 40-year-old Asian elephant lounged by a water trough swooshed up water into her trunk and then emptied the liquid into her mouth As she did so Dan Davis an elephant handler confided that what really bothers the elephants who are hosed down twice a day is odd weather not the heat not the case for the circus aerialists who cally of the heat was a polar bear in a past he said under his bright pink and white face makeup the sun helps me with -my While some Long Islanders went to the circus yesterday many others returned to work thankful that a cold front from Canada moved into the area and brought some moderation from a weekend of near-record-breaking heat While it was a little less hot yesterday real surge of cooler air be in until Wednesday and then through the dose of the said Hank Berg of Metro Weather Service The temperature reached 89 degrees in Dix Hills yesterday Metro Weather reported Long Island Lighting Co reported lower electrical usage yesterday because of the cooler weather relatively lower temperatures are making the said spokeswoman Suzi Halpin of the difference between a 99-degree and 90-degree day people are using fewer air conditioners and pool peak demand at 5 pm was 3625 megawatts which was less than the projected 3725 Saturday and respective peak de- mands of 3541 and 3437 megawatts broke the weekend records for the respective days that were set in August 1988 Attendance at Long three biggest beaches returned to average levels for a Monday officials reported About 40000-45000 people were at Jones Beach yesterday Sunken Meadow State Park had 5000 patrons and Robert Moses reported an attendance of 26000 Meanwhile for those who had to work through the day or otherwise endure the heat the best advice may be from tiger handler Ian Umstead who explained how his charges handle the weather best way for them to avoid the heat is to sleep through he said less movement the cooler they Joshua Rickman and Neena Thomas contributed to this story plenty of water Elephant handler Al Spines and Conti have their own remedies to beat the heat but both use Cold Reception for Hot LIRR Shop lot cleaner The only thing is the old place was better Three months ago the railroad compiled a $25-million list of unworkable equipment at Hillside that needed to be abandoned or modified The railroad is still reviewing some of that equipment Because the Hillside ventilating equipment sat unused for four years during the delays belts on the machines rotted and bearings froze officials said working vigorously to get all 600 air ventilating units up and said LIRR spokesman Brian Dolan who explained that it will cost the railroad $25000 to make the repairs of this afternoon 90 percent of the units are Nearly 1600 people work at Hillside including about 630 workers represented by the unions The railroad says it has saved more than $6 million by squeezing its move-in from a one-year By Maureen Fan STAFF WRITER The Long Island Rail Road officially moved into its multimillion-dollar maintenance shop yesterday amid complaints of unbearable heat and admission that kinks still need to be ironed out The Hillside Maintenance Facility in Hollis Queens is four years overdue and $210 million over its original budget with its price tag recently revised to $381 million The beleaguered project has been plagued by mismanagement delay shoddy workmanship and other problems that prompted a 2V4-year ban on funding for the facility from the federal Urban Mass Transit AHminigtratinn fact is hundreds of millions of dollars too much and it's too said Sheldon Schachter chairman of the Council hope not seeking applause They should quietly move in without muchfanfprq-r Yesterday union and railroad officials agreed that improvements were needed in three arras: better ventilation overall air conditioning in locker rooms and expansion of cafeteria hours beyond the day shift The railroad says it is working toward solving all three like moving into a new house find there are problems We expected said Nick LaRocco assistant chief mechanical officer in charge of the transition to Hillside from the old facility in Morris Park the Bronx But John Caggiano head of the union called the efforts They had eight years to plan When the doors open not ready A number of the air-conditioning systems are not in working order A number of the ventilation units are not in working On Friday temperatures within the facility readied 110 degrees union officials said Ed Yule general chair- man of the United Transportation Union the largest union representing conductors and track workers wrote a letter to the railroad describing the conditions as and demanding that his members have a and healthy work Railroad officials concede they were not prepared for the current heat wave but they said they are working on the problem They timed the move to the new facility to a period of low ridership and a low number of out-of-service cars But about a half-dozen workers yesterday said they were upset by the working conditions Vincent Bertone a machinist in the air-brake shop) said place is very hot Nearly $400 million and not enough windows The ventilation Another machinist Bob Campaign said Hillside was an improvement over the antiquated Morris Park facility which has been in use since 1888 about he said a NEWS DAY TUESDAY JULY 23 1991 Please see HILLSIDE on Page 27.