More than 60 Con Ed customers who live in Jackson Heights on 73rd Street between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue were without electricity, heat and hot water Thursday night due to a power outage.
“Once again, Con Ed has failed its customers, said Daniel Dromm, a Jackson Heights Democratic district leader. “Almost a whole block of Jackson Heights residents was forced to suffer through an icy cold winter night without electric or heat. Con Ed must be held accountable.”
Con Ed was seen working in the neighborhood on Thursday. According to several 73rd Street residents, the workers finished at about 2 PM. Shortly thereafter, there was no electricity. Whether or not the two things are related remains a mystery. One resident reported hearing an explosion of some sort and then having no electric service.
“Con Ed gave no immediate reason for the outage,” Dromm continued. “That's a big part of the problem.” Once informed of the situation, Dromm went to the site at approximately 7 PM. “That was almost five hours after the outage began yet Con Ed had not contacted any of the customers to tell them what had happened or when the electric might be turned back on.”
“Worse yet,” Dromm said, “Con Ed had not begun working on the problem. When I arrived, Con Ed employees were trying to tow cars using a private tow company to access two manholes on the sidewalk.”
Dromm spoke with a number of the residents on 73rd Street. Many were bundled up in two sets of winter coats and complained of having no electricity, heat or hot water. Dromm knocked on several residents' doors to ask what had happened. Dromm could see lit candles through the windows in the affected homes.
“One resident said his neighbors had to leave their house with their children because it was so cold inside it was unbearable,” Dromm explained. “Another resident told me that her elderly handicapped neighbor had to climb the stairs by sitting down one step at a time.”
Dromm approached several Con Ed employees to ask what had happened. The workers said they didn't know what occurred and they did not know when electric power would be restored.
Dromm informed several residents that he would call a news conference at 11 AM on Friday morning, February 20, 2009 to put pressure on Con Ed to demand that . . .
1. When power outages occur, Con Ed employees inform local residents of the circumstances around the outage and about when they might expect service to be restored.
2. Customers be fully reimbursed for any and all spoiled goods.
3. When these outages occur on cold winter nights provisions be made to ensure the safety and well being of the residents especially the elderly and disabled.
4. Because the Jackson Heights neighborhood seems to have suffered a series of recent Con Ed problems over the last week, Con Ed report to the community its long term plans for ensuring the safe delivery of electricity.
5. Con Ed rebuild the rotting infrastructure so as to provide reliable electric service to our community.
6. Con Ed be held responsible for this particular outage and assure the public that it won't happen again.
Labels: CommunityOrganizing, ConEd
