NYC Heat Wave: Con Ed Under Fire After Cutting Power To Some Brooklyn Neighborhoods
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Nearly 20,000 Con Edison customers across the five boroughs woke up without power Monday morning.
Brooklyn and Queens were hit the hardest during Sunday's heat wave.
Web Extra: Click To See Con Edison's Latest Outage Map
Power lines caught fire Monday in Marine Park, and transformer fires erupted overnight in Astoria, Jamaica and Hollis.
Con Ed intentionally shut off power to some Brooklyn neighborhoods to prevent more widespread problems.
Watch: Mayor De Blasio Provides Update On Power Outages
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the move unacceptable and demanded a full investigation. He said if the private company can't do its job, the city might eventually have to find an alternative.
"This was obviously a predictable situation, and therefore preventable. What we're getting continually is no clarity, no answers, no real timelines from Con Ed," the mayor said Monday.
Con Ed said the extreme heat and record-breaking usage caused the outages.
"We are completely focused on getting customers back in service, and we regret the distress they are under. The actions we took were necessary to prevent longer outages to the impacted customers that would have occurred as a result of additional equipment damage," the utility said in a statement.
First, the company said service would be restored Sunday night, but they then changed their estimated restoration time to Monday morning.
Residents spent the sweltering night in the dark.
"Everything started to dim out, the lights were dimming, the air conditioner was getting slower and slower, and then full no power. My fridge, my oven, everything went off at the same time," Mill Basin resident Lynne Sabag told CBS2.
"I think this is ridiculous. They found the hottest day and just shut us off," resident Shuli Reisch said. "We have babies, we have older people in the building."
Larry Devito saw his lights come back on about 15 hours later.
"Miserable, hot, sweaty, got no sleep last night, and I don't think anybody around here got sleep," he said.
Joseph Avantazo Jr. stopped by Sunrise Nursing Home to check on his 86-year-old father after the facility lost power.
"You reach a certain age and it could put a scare on anyone," he said.
Monday morning, Con Edison said power would be restored Monday afternoon, but many were still suffering without service in the heat Monday evening.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo blasted Con Ed on Twitter, saying, "We've been through this situation with ConEd time & time again & they should have been better prepared – period."
The governor deployed 200 state police officers, 100 generators and 50 light towers to Brooklyn to help. The Red Cross also set up a temporary shelter at JHS 278 in Marine Park.
Con Edison started handing out dry ice on Avenue K on Monday afternoon. Many angry customers showed up not just for the free ice and water, but to give the company a piece of their minds.
"I've really, really reached a point of no return ... What I'm trying to find out, somebody just give me a logical explanation," Mill Basin resident Drewscilla Jones said. "Why are we, at 2019, here? That's what I'm trying to find out. Why are we here?"
It's a question they've been asking over and over since Sunday evening.
"It's taxing with the heat and the humidity that's inside the house," Joseph Jones said.
"My throat is getting, like, it's closing up, and I think it's my asthma," Dashawn Martin said.
"They're charging more money, but still giving less service," Joseph Jones said.
At La Torre Deli on Flatbush Avenue, thousands of pounds of meat ended up in the trash. Their ice cream was melted, and their shelves were emptied.
"Everything is garbage," deli owner Gonzalo Ramos said.
The whole block lost power Sunday evening.
Aliotta Pastry Shop tried selling what they could Monday, but they had to throw everything else away.
"Businesses, workers, all of this going to waste," one employee said.
Even when Con Ed does fully restore power, small businesses like La Torre Deli will continue to lose money.
"Customers gonna come, and we have nothing to sell, so maybe it's gonna take one or two days to prepare everything again," Ramos said.
The owners of both La Torre Deli and Aliotta Pastry Shop said plan to file claims with Con Ed for all the spoiled food. Residents can also file claims for their spoiled food.
Storms Monday evening knocked out power to even more customers. More than 14,000 Con Edison customers still didn't have power as of 10:54 p.m. Monday. According to the company's website, thousands of people in Brooklyn and Queens may not have their electricity back until 3 p.m. Tuesday.
