Important Information from Mayor Stevens --Monday March 15

At a municipal conference call today with Con Edison we were advised that there are still 67,000 customers in Westchester without power. There has been little restoration of power in the county. Most of the effort has gone towards de-energizing power lines so that trees that are blocking roads can be removed. Restoration of power can't really begin until Con Ed can get to the lines.

As of this morning Con Ed had two crews in Scarsdale working on de-energizing lines so that our village workers could remove trees. Scarsdale Village has also retained the services of an outside tree removal company to aid in the work. Con Ed is now saying that they expect to begin to restore power in Scarsdale starting later today but that many may not be restored until Thursday or Friday. Con Ed is bringing crews in from other parts of the country and they expect to have 160 crews working in the county with five assigned to Scarsdale. We hope to see these additional crews later today.

Con Ed advised us that some people who now have power may experience a loss of power as repairs are made. These outages should be temporary but could last two or three hours. Dry ice is available to everyone at three locations- New Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Street; Saxon Woods Park - Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, and Empire City in Yonkers. Distribution hours are 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

In the village, 70% of households are still without power. Village Hall is open but is also without power. At one time we had 180 trees blocking roads and trees have damaged forty to fifty homes. Crews from the Scarsdale Department of Public Works are working non-stop with Con Edison to clear fallen trees.

As of noon today there was only one East West traffic corridor open: Mamaroneck Road to Fenimore Road. Post Road was open from Boulevard to White Plains. Heathcote Road, Drake Road and Weaver Street all had blockages. Sections of almost all major roads have been compromised by fallen trees and wires.

For those without power, please be careful when using candles; we have already had house fires. For those who have had some tree damage, please make sure that your chimneys have not been damaged and make sure your carbon monoxide alarms are working.

Building Department personnel are available to help people with damage to their homes. We have also instituted an emergency procedure for obtaining building permits.

If you do have power, think about taking in a neighbor or a friend without power - or at least inviting them over to warm up. Please check on any of your neighbors who are seniors - especially those who live alone. If you think that someone needs help, call the police at 722-1200.

Carolyn Stevens
Mayor