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Tri-State Area Heat Advisory: 'Feels-Like' Temperatures Soar Above 100 Amid Heat Wave

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Tuesday was the hottest day of the year in New York City, and summer has only just begun.

Tuesday afternoon, the Mobile Weather Lab recorded a temperature of 94.2 degrees, but the "feels like" temperature was 104 degrees, and temperatures hit 95 degrees in Central Park.

Newark, New Jersey, set a record at 102 degrees with a "feels like" temperature of 109 degrees.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Tuesday for most of the area.

WATCH: CBS2's Lonnie Quinn With The Latest Forecast

In Coney Island, families and friends are spending the hot day trying to find relief in the water. But some said they actually embrace the heat.

"For me, it's good. I like hot," one person told CBS2's John Dias.

That's a sentiment echoed by one New Yorker who is originally from Puerto Rico.

"I'm from the islands, so I love the heat. I work remote, so I get to enjoy my AC," Zaida Montes said.

Watch John Dias' report

Many others were less enamored by the summer scorcher.

"Tell me what you don't like about it," CBS2's Hazel Sanchez asked one woman.

"Sweating," she said.

Health experts are warning about hazards in the heat and are urging people to avoid strenuous activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., which is why Peter Grande of Brooklyn got out extra early for his workout -- 7 a.m. -- and then went right home to, "Stay in the air conditioning, try not to overdo it."

But many don't have a choice. Construction crews, movers and delivery workers were out making ends meet in the blazing sun.

"No complaints. Come to work. Come to work," one man said.

"Boiling in here. Melting. I'm melting," said a man inside a moving truck. "But I gotta do it."

"I work as a porter. On days like this, it's real exhausting. Definitely have to stay hydrated. Try to stay indoors and in the shade as much as you can," Upper East Side resident Otto Puello said.

Watch Hazel Sanchez's report

Air conditioning units were blasting all across the city.

Air conditioning service crews were out across the city, working on just about every block.

"I'm tired," Howard Lupowitz told CBS2's Cory James.

Tired and drenched in sweat. Lupowitz's company, Mike's Air Conditioning, has been dispatching crews around the clock.

"We can't keep up," he said.

He says Tuesday, they received hundreds of frantic calls from people trying to stay cool. It was so many calls, Lupowitz says he had to stop repairs and focus only on installations, a service not possible for every customer.

"There's some inventory shortage of certain sizes," Lupowitz said.

CBS has also learned getting parts for AC units that use Freon is a bit of a challenge, too, because production of it was stopped by the federal government, causing a race for old Freon that is rising in price.

It's bad news for people like Midtown resident Joseph Khaloyan, who is down a unit.

"Up there, it's about 80 degrees ... It feels hotter than that," he said.

Con Edison says so far, the outages have no exceeded the norm for this time of year. Only a couple hundred customers had no service during peak heat Tuesday, but the power company says it's prepared for the worst.

"For the summer of 2021, we invested about $1.5 million in the electric delivery system," said Allan Drury, with Con Edison. "That money goes into the cables. It goes into transformers. It goes into what we call network protectors."

The power company is urging people to try to keep thermostats to the highest comfortable temperature to conserve energy.

Customers on the Upper West Side and in Queens were asked to conserve energy Tuesday evening in the hopes it would help reduce voltage in both areas by 5% to protect equipment and maintain service while crews make repairs.

Con Edison says customers can help conserve energy by not using washing machines, dryers or microwaves. Additionally, anyone who was multiple air conditioning units is asked to just use one and set it to the highest comfortable temperature.

Public city pools are now open from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. seven days a week. Masks are required in buildings, but not on pool decks or in the water, Dias reported.

Web Extra: Summer Safety Tips, Cooling Center Locations & More

Cooling centers across the city are also opened as the potentially dangerous heat makes its way across all five boroughs. Emergency Management Commissioner John Scrivani is advising the elderly to be careful.

"Stay indoors and use air conditioning, if you haven't and it's available. If not, you can go to one of our cooling centers," Scrivani said.

And if you're looking to beat the heat at city beaches, keep in mind that lifeguards are on duty until 6 p.m.

Some say with all that, it's not so bad.

"You know what? We're complaining about the heat. We forget the winter. We forget the minus-10, minus-15, right?" one man said.

Others say winter sounds nice right about now.

"I feel nasty, disgusting," Brooklyn resident Isaac Askarinam said.

"So you would rather it be snowing and cold?" James asked.

"Hell yeah," Askarinam said.

New Yorkers are reminded to check on older neighbors, children and pets.

CBS2's John Dias and Hazel Sanchez contributed to this report.

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