FEINER TO ASK GOVERNOR TO CALL NATIONAL GUARD TO SPEED UP RESTORATION OF CON ED POWER OUTAGES
TREES STILL DOWN...ROADS STILL CLOSED...WIRES DOWN
WHY SHOULD BROOKLYN, QUEENS, BRONX GET POWER BACK WED..STATEN ISLAND THURSDAY AND WESTCHESTER FRIDAY?
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner announced that he is asking Governor David Patterson to call in the National Guard to speed up restoration of Con Ed power outages. Feiner said that thousands of Greenburgh & Westchester residents are still out of power. Restoration of power in Greenburgh is progressing slowly. Some residents have reported that their power has been restored. But, many Greenburgh residents are still out of power. Trees are still down, roads are still closed, wires are down. It's dangerous.
The National Guard should be used to help Con Ed restoration teams get power back on and to help localities clean up the debris, remove downed trees. We have residents in the town who can't get out of their driveways because trees are blocking their driveways. If the National Guard provided local governments & Con Ed with assistance we could get back in shape much faster. The National Guard could also be used to direct traffic at locations where traffic lights are not working.
Feiner is also complaining that Con Ed is putting Westchester last on the list of communities that are getting their power restored. A press release sent out by Con Ed on Monday night indicated that all of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx will get back power Wednesday. Staten Island will get back power Thursday and Westchester will get back power on Friday. This is unfair. Con Ed should be giving equal treatment to all counties that are impacted by the power outages.
CON EDISON RESTORING CUSTOMERS
AFTER WORST STORM IN DECADES
NEW YORK – Hundreds of Con Edison, contractor, and out-of-state utility crews, plus thousands of company support personnel, are continuing to work around the clock to counter effects of the most destructive rain and wind storm to hit the New York area in memory.
The company expects to have all storm-related outages in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx restored by Wednesday afternoon, followed by Staten Island on Thursday evening, and Westchester on Friday.
With the ground softened by a huge snowstorm two weeks ago, an ugly mix of over four inches of rain and winds of up to 70 m.p.h. combined to knock trees over like matchsticks over the weekend, felling power lines and complicating clearance efforts, especially in Westchester County and Staten Island.
Over 173,000 lost power, easily eclipsing the outages caused by Hurricane Gloria in 1985, which affected 110,515 customers.
As of 8 p.m. tonight, the company had restored power to over 100,000 customers. Approximately 70,000 customers remained without power: 55,000 in Westchester County, 9,000 in Staten Island, 3,700 in the Bronx, 1,470 in Queens and 650 in Brooklyn.
Con Edison distributed 31,500 pounds of dry ice at four different locations today, and will resume distribution tomorrow (Tuesday) from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Utilities from Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky and Massachusetts are assisting Con Edison’s crews.
Con Edison has approximately 500 restoration crews now in the field, in addition to other field support personnel clearing roads and trees. The number of restoration crews is expected to grow to 675 by Wednesday as additional out-of-state crews arrive.
Con Edison has additional customer service representatives, electrical and construction crews, along with tree-clearing crews working around the clock to respond to customers and power outages that may occur.
Customers are urged to call Con Edison immediately to report any outages at 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). Customers can also report power interruptions or service problems at www.conEd.com and on their cell phones and PDAs. When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.
Customers who have already reported their outage need not call Con Edison again. They will be called by Con Edison when their estimated restoration time has been established.
During the restoration process, primary distribution feeders are restored first, with the highest priority given to restoring lines that supply the most customers. Next, the crews fix secondary facilities, such as transformers and secondary cables, again with highest priority given to lines supplying the greatest number of customers. Individual services, lines serving a single home, will be restored as crews become available.
Con Edison offers the following tips to prepare for a storm:
If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by tree limbs, leaves or water. Report all downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately. If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
If your power goes out, turn off all lights and appliances to prevent overloaded circuits when power is restored. Leave at least one light switch in the on position to alert you when power has been restored.
Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios or televisions are in working order. Use candles and oil lamps with care. Also, make sure you have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on restorations of electrical service can be heard on most local radio and television stations.
Avoid opening your freezer to see if food is still frozen. Every time you open the door, room-temperature air enters and speeds the thawing process. Most fully loaded freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 36 to 48 hours; half-full freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 24 hours.
The company is maintaining close contact with the New York City Office of Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to coordinate storm response as necessary.
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6 comments:
You're NUTS!
Dear FUWF,
True. Paul is one of my "special" children.
Dear God:
You made my day. Great posting. As I sometimes hear people utter " From God's lips to your ears."
HOW about trimming the TREES. How about getting tough with CABLEVISION.HOW about lowering taxes. HOW about doing your jobs instead of worrying what others are doing.
This was a horrific storm. Quit being an alarmist and let Con Ed do their job. So, it might take awhile...how about this: 65% of the people in India do not have electricity in the 21st century. Sometimes I think Westchester residents are spoiled crybaby's.
Feiner refused to approve overtime for the Greenburgh Police - can you imagine that we have over 100 officers and fewer than 8 were on patrol during the night when people had no power and no alarms? That's why he wanted to call out the National Guard - he wanted a freebie service from those who volunteer for disasters where there are too few resources. We have the resources, he just didn't want to pay for them. Just FOIL the overtime records for the last week - this is disgraceful. This is what our tax dollars should be used for. To put our citizens at risk just to save his budget and next election is just unacceptable. GET THIS GUY OUT OF OFFICE!
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