Dear Con Ed: You suck.
Yes, NYC's power company, Con (Artists) Edison spent about a week bungling and lying and bungling some more before they finally got all the power back up in northwestern Queens. For some, the power first went out on Monday, 7/17. As mentioned earlier, this blogger gal noted that something was, well, not right on Tuesday as her AC grumbled its way through the night in 100-degree weather. Boy, was that fun. As it turns out, my apartment was experiencing a brownout, and the power grew dimmer and dimmer and dimmer.
Wednesday, the power was almost gone, Astoria was in the dark, and I came home to a fridge full of spoiled food and melted frozen spinach. With cooking not an option, I found one restaurant that was still open. I walked there and back with a flashlight in hand. It felt like camping, only without the s'mores and Girl Scout leaders singing folk songs.
No, there was no looting or burlary. Just a lot of really pissed off people walking around on a humid summer night.
Oh yeah, I should add that at one point I called Con Ed to get some automated message telling me that they were working on the problem and to call back tomorrow. Con Ed claimed that 2,500 people were without electricity. Who were they trying to kid? Five neighborhoods--Astoria, Woodside, Hunter's Point, Long Island City, and Sunnyside--were without power. Only 2,500? There's a Con Ed plant right in Astoria. Couldn't they have just looked out the window?
It wasn't until Friday that the company admitted that--WHOOPS!--the number of people without power was closer to 25,000. They'd based their initial count of 2,500 on the number of people who called them. They conveniently ignored the people who'd tried to call but couldn't get through because the lines tied up with other irate customers. Meanwhile, city councilmen Eric Gioia and Peter Vallone Jr. and Assemblyman Michael Gianaris were fuming. Forget able-bodied, healthy folks like yours truly. As Gianaris pointed out, the loss of power was actually life-threatening for some.
There was also the risk of accidents because the traffic lights weren't working. Con Ed is very, very lucky that nobody suffered heatstroke or was hit by a car.
Although Bloomberg seems miffed at Con Ed for playing coy with the numbers, he still praised the president, Kevin Burke. Burke, meanwhile, kept a low profile until the following weekend. Power wasn't even fully restored to all of Queens until today.
Angry? Me? Hell yes. Con Ed has been dishonest and inept through the whole crisis. Bloomie, though he tried to play nice, admits that if he'd known the true extent of the blackout, he would've devoted more resources to it sooner.
At one point, I called the office of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and spoke to a very nice man. According to him, Con Ed had been given 3 billion dollars to upgrade their systems. So what did they do with the fucking money, anyway?
Seriously, they should bring criminal charges against the company for reckless endangerment and, possibly, criminal negligence. Yes, I got my power back over the weekend and I'm still pissed off.
Well, as of today, Queens has all its power back...just as Staten Island suffers a power outage. This time, Con Ed says 10,000 people are affected, which no doubt means the actual number is much, much higher.
Hang in there, S.I.! With any luck, your electricity will be restored before Labor Day!
Wednesday, the power was almost gone, Astoria was in the dark, and I came home to a fridge full of spoiled food and melted frozen spinach. With cooking not an option, I found one restaurant that was still open. I walked there and back with a flashlight in hand. It felt like camping, only without the s'mores and Girl Scout leaders singing folk songs.
No, there was no looting or burlary. Just a lot of really pissed off people walking around on a humid summer night.
Oh yeah, I should add that at one point I called Con Ed to get some automated message telling me that they were working on the problem and to call back tomorrow. Con Ed claimed that 2,500 people were without electricity. Who were they trying to kid? Five neighborhoods--Astoria, Woodside, Hunter's Point, Long Island City, and Sunnyside--were without power. Only 2,500? There's a Con Ed plant right in Astoria. Couldn't they have just looked out the window?
It wasn't until Friday that the company admitted that--WHOOPS!--the number of people without power was closer to 25,000. They'd based their initial count of 2,500 on the number of people who called them. They conveniently ignored the people who'd tried to call but couldn't get through because the lines tied up with other irate customers. Meanwhile, city councilmen Eric Gioia and Peter Vallone Jr. and Assemblyman Michael Gianaris were fuming. Forget able-bodied, healthy folks like yours truly. As Gianaris pointed out, the loss of power was actually life-threatening for some.
"They [Con Ed] acted recklessly by releasing numbers the knew were false, and people's health was put at risk....We had diabetics who couldn't keep their insulin in the refrigerator. We had seniors in highrises who couldn't get food and water."
There was also the risk of accidents because the traffic lights weren't working. Con Ed is very, very lucky that nobody suffered heatstroke or was hit by a car.
Although Bloomberg seems miffed at Con Ed for playing coy with the numbers, he still praised the president, Kevin Burke. Burke, meanwhile, kept a low profile until the following weekend. Power wasn't even fully restored to all of Queens until today.
Angry? Me? Hell yes. Con Ed has been dishonest and inept through the whole crisis. Bloomie, though he tried to play nice, admits that if he'd known the true extent of the blackout, he would've devoted more resources to it sooner.
At one point, I called the office of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and spoke to a very nice man. According to him, Con Ed had been given 3 billion dollars to upgrade their systems. So what did they do with the fucking money, anyway?
Seriously, they should bring criminal charges against the company for reckless endangerment and, possibly, criminal negligence. Yes, I got my power back over the weekend and I'm still pissed off.
Well, as of today, Queens has all its power back...just as Staten Island suffers a power outage. This time, Con Ed says 10,000 people are affected, which no doubt means the actual number is much, much higher.
Hang in there, S.I.! With any luck, your electricity will be restored before Labor Day!
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