Day 10: Restoration or Desperation?
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(Updated on Thursday evening) Scarsdale Village's latest update shows that 1,777 or 29% are without power - an improvement over yesterday's stats. Ten crews are working on primary feeder lines on Palmer and Post Roads, on Weaver Street and in Murray Hill. Though we have received information from some that power has been restored, for others Con Edison has delayed the deadline for restoration until 11/11, despite their previous guarantee to bring everyone back by the night of November 9th. For those of you in despair, I am with you - as I have no power either. The Con Ed schedule now shows that we'll be back up on Sunday but it's beginning to feel like never. Our neighborhood is cold, dark and depressing.
In the Mayor’s phone call to residents on Wednesday she said she had spoken to Governor Cuomo but did not relay how he responded.
In other developments:
- Scarsdale Schools opened two hours late today due to the snowstorm.
- Scarsdale’s senior citizens who have been affected by the storm are now being offered free temporary accommodations at the Hebrew Home in Riverdale. Private rooms with full baths at the assisted living facility are available at no cost. The Hebrew Home at Riverdale is also providing hot meals for those in need. Limited transportation to the facility may also be available. If you know someone who would benefit, encourage them to take advantage of this generous offer. For more information contact Deborah Messina at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale at 800-567-3646.
- For those of you who asked, The State of Emergency is still in effect in the Village “until further notice.”
Obama Pumpkin: Wendie Kroll
Yesterday we asked those without power to send us their locations so that we could list streets where the power is out. After objections from a few readers we took down the list for security reasons. Good luck everyone - hoping you'll see the light soon.
Check the Con Ed outage map daily as readers continue to report that their complaints are being cancelled even though they remain without power. If you find that your outage is no longer reported, report it again.
(Photo Credit Top Picture: Diane Gurden)
Day Nine: 35% Still Out and a Burglary
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It’s hard to believe that nine days after the storm these daily updates are still needed. If your power has not been restored you are not alone. As of this morning, Wednesday November 7, Scarsdale Village reports that 2,151, or 35.7% remain without power. The good news is that more repair trucks are in the area. Today there are seven restoration crews in town with 26 bucket trucks. Con Ed has prioritized their efforts to restore the most customers per outage and has assured the Village that everyone will be back up by Friday midnight. According to the Department of Public Works, “Main feeders are being worked on and Con Ed has done all of the surveillance needed to assess the remaining outages and react to them. Con Ed continues to urge customers to continue to call the 800 number for outages.”
However, the company has not even scheduled all repairs. My outage involves approximately 75 homes and Con Edison told one of my neighbors this morning that no crew has yet been assigned, nothing is now scheduled but it should be repaired by Saturday, not Friday as shown on their website.
Even more disturbing is that a robbery was reported on Walworth Avenue on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect got into the house by breaking a window to the sunroom and entered several rooms, opened drawers, and took $500 in cash from a dresser in one of the bedrooms. As this area has no power, it is easy for thieves to get into dark, empty homes without functioning alarms.
The latest statistics on the Con Edison website reports only 1,844 outages in Scarsdale so it’s difficult to know what’s accurate.
Scarsdale’s situation remains one of the worst in the county . With 35% of customers in the dark, we are fourth from the bottom of the list, trailing Pelham Village where 57.5% are without service, the Town of New Castle at 50.8% and the Town of North Castle at 44.9%
Is your power still out? Email scarsdalecomments@gmail.com and give us your street and cross streets and we will create a list of outages and track the repairs.
On a more positive note, if you don't have internet and would like a wam place to work, Prudential Centennial at 4 Chase Road in Scarsdale invites you to come in and utilize their space. They are open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm and Sunday from 9:30 am to 4 pm and you can reach them at 914-723-5225.
Storm Update: Monday November 5
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Here’s the most up-to-date information we have received on the storm recovery, the election and schools in Scarsdale:
Outages: As of Monday morning, the Village reports that roughly 60% or 3,894 of 6,025 customers in the Village were without power. This is down from 4,509 without power on Sunday, so 705 homes were lit up since yesterday.
Scarsdale has received some of the poorest service around. Statistics from neighboring towns show that a far greater percentage of customers have been restored.
- In Bronxville, 10.6% or 267 of 2529 customers are without power
- In Larchmont 27% or 535 of 1983 customers are without power
- In Mamaroneck 25% or 3545 of 13963 are without power
- In the city of Rye, 48.57% or 2,948 of 6,070 customers are out.
There are five Con Edison crews in town consisting of a single line crew to cut power lines, one crew to clear trees, and three line restoration crews to restore electrical power. The single line crew will be working with Village crews to open the 6 dead end streets still blocked by electrical power lines and downed trees.
Con Edison continues to promise full restoration by Sunday November 11.
Meeting with Mayors and Trustees Tonight: a second information session with Scardale's Mayor Miriam Flisser and Village Trustees will be held tonight at 7 pm in the Scott Room of the Scarsdale Library. Everyone is welcome to attend and pose questions to Village officials.
Gas Shortage: An Edgewood resident reported to Scarsdale10583 that a Con Edison assessor arrived at her home this morning in a black SUV. The woman explained that Con Edison is running out of gas and therefore she was asked to drive her own car. The Con Edison worker also said that gas shortages are limiting the utility’s ability to make repairs. However, according to an email from Scarsdale Village, “County Executive Rob Astorino attended an Emergency Operations Center meeting at the Scarsdale Emergency Operations Center late last night. He stated fuel supplies are adequate and deliveries continue.”
The Election: All eight voting locations will be open tomorrow, Tuesday November 6th from 6am to 9pm. Voting will take place at Edgewood, Fox Meadow, Greenacres, Heathcote and Quaker Ridge elementary schools as well as Crossway Firehouse, the Scarsdale Library and Scarsdale Village Hall. If power is not restored to Edgewood Elementary School, FEMA will bring emergency generators to power the voting machines.
Scarsdale Schools: School is back in session at Scarsdale High School, Fox Meadow, Greenacres, Heathcote and Quaker Ridge. The Village hoped to have power restored to the Scarsdale Middle School and Edgewood by this morning, but Con Edison did not come through so school was cancelled for these sites this morning. School will be open on Tuesday November 6.
Board of Education meeting tonight: A Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Monday night November 5 Board at the High School at 8 p.m. The pre-meeting with Greenacres parents will be at 7:15, as scheduled, also at the High School. At the start of the regular meeting, Board President Liz Guggenheimer and Superintendent McGill will give an update on current developments. The rest of the meeting agenda has been pared back; the education report on Global Education will be re-scheduled at a later date.
The Library: The Scarsdale Public Library is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights until 9 pm. They now have internet and their online catalogue – and can offer internet access on the libraries computers. However there is no wifi for personal computers.
Storm Update: Election Day
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Some progress was made on November 5th in restoring power to Scarsdale homes and schools. All seven schools are powered up and open and Con Edison reports that they restored power to 912 customers in Scarsdale. However the counts from the utility are suspect as I know from personal experience that many homes were removed from the outage list last night – even though no power was restored. If your power is still out, go to the Con Ed site and make sure your complaint remains active – if not, re-enter your address. http://www.coned.com/
According to Con Ed, as of Tuesday morning, 49% of Scarsdale customers remain without power. Scarsdale10583 received a list of outages for all of the 45 towns and villages in Westchester County served by Con Edison. What’s remarkable is that Scarsdale’s percentage of restored customers is third from the bottom of the list of the 45 locations shown. Only New Castle with 55% out of power and North Castle with 50% out trail Scarsdale’s 49%. Why our service is so abysmal will undoubtedly be a subject for discussion in the months and years to come.
As far as we know, Con Edison is promising that most customers will be restored by Friday night November 9 – with everyone back on line by Sunday November 11. Except for those two deadlines, they have supplied little information about how the work will be staged and what areas will come back sooner.
To add insult to injury, a Scarsdale10583 reader sent it the following about Con Edison: “Con Edison released a quarterly earnings report Monday night at 8:30 pm. tonight at 8:30 Monday night. "Consolidated Edison Inc.'s (ED) third-quarter earnings jumped 15% as the utility company increased its rates, though electric sales slipped.”
If you’re mad as hell and can’t take it anymore, file a complaint with the New York State Public Service Commission:
If you have access to a printer use the following text to draft a letter to the Public Service Commission and send it to the address below or send you complaint via email:
Dear Secretary Brilling,:
I write as a resident of New York State, Westchester County, and the Village of Scarsdale. In every sense of the word, I am powerless.
I am not only without electrical power, but without any power to change the horrific treatment Con Ed has given to the Village of Scarsdale and other Westchester residents following Hurricane Sandy. Just from what I saw on the streets of my community, it is clear that Con Ed was not adequately prepared for the storm, did not allocate sufficient resources to the Village of Scarsdale, assigned Scarsdale a lower priority than other municipalities, did not begin assessing damage in the Village until many days after the storm, and did not communicate accurately any restoration information. The Con Ed outage map was inaccurate. The "Check Status" portion of the Con Ed website provided either no restoration time or a default time over ten days after the storm and over a week after New York City power was restored. Eight days after the storm, 50% of residents remain without power.
These are just a few of the glaring deficiencies obvious to consumers and residents of the Village of Scarsdale. Presumably, other deficiencies are more apparent to your offices or will be determined after investigation. I request that your office begin a full investigation of Con Ed's deficient service to Scarsdale residents and report the results publicly and to me. In those results, please indicate what changes will be made so that Scarsdale residents will receive appropriate priority and service from Con Edison in the future, and what penalties or other disciplinary action will be imposed upon Con Ed.
Respectfully submitted,
[Name]
Secretary to the Commission
Hon. Jaclyn A. Brilling
Secretary to the Commission
New York State Public Service Commission
Empire State Plaza
Agency Building 3Albany, NY 12223-1350
Phone: (518) 474-6530
Fax: (518) 486-6081
Email: secretary@dps.ny.gov
Or use the following link to file your complaint online:
http://www.dps.ny.gov/complaints.html
Got Questions? Get Answers Today
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Scarsdale Village Mayor Miriam Flisser and Village Trustees will hold an informational meeting with residents in the Scott Room of Scarsdale Library at 4 pm today. Everyone is invited to attend and hear a briefing on the storm and what is being done to restore Scarsdale.
And for those looking for entertainment instead, SCARVAC – the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps invites you to watch the New York Giants game today at 4 pm at their heated headquarters at 5 Weaver Street in Scarsdale.
