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[UPDATE] Thousands Of Con Ed Customers Still Don't Have Power In NYC—With More Than Half In Queens

Sydney Pereira

Published Aug 9, 2020

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Young men ride their bicycles through a cordoned off area where power lines damaged by Tropical Storm Isaias lie in the street in Queens August 5th, 2020.

Kathy Willens/AP/Shutterstock

Sydney Pereira

Published Aug 9, 2020

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[SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATE AT BOTTOM] More than half of the power outages still plaguing NYC residents and businesses six days after Tropical Storm Isaias are in Queens, Con Edison said Sunday morning.

A total of 20,000 NYC Con Edison customers still don't have power, though most are expected to have service stored by 11 p.m. Sunday.

There are 11,000 impacted customers in Queens, 6,900 in the Bronx, 1,100 in Staten Island, and 1,000 in Brooklyn.

Westchester still has 35,100 customers without power. A majority will have to wait until 11 p.m. Monday to see service restored.

"We realize it's very frustrating to be without electricity," Mathew Ketschke, Con Edison's senior vice president of Customer Energy Solutions, said in a statement Sunday morning. "That's why we have crews working around the clock to restore power."

Another 600 contract workers are being deployed to help restore power for the remaining 55,100 Con Edison residential and commercial customers. They'll join 1,700 Con Ed employees and 1,500 mutual aid workers, the utilities company said.

The NYC Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Deanne Criswell said on Saturday, "Queens specifically has been the hardest hit."

Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee said on Twitter the claim that 95 percent of customers would see power restored by Sunday evening was "skewed."

In Brooklyn and Staten Island, 80 percent of households saw power restored by Thursday, while Queens didn't pass that mark until Saturday night, based on the borough president's office analysis of Con Edison's figures.

Con Edison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Councilmember Robert Holden spoke with residents in Queens where downed wires were still live, days after the storm passed.

During Tuesday's storm, 300,000 Con Ed customers lost electric service due to strong winds that downed trees and power lines.

If perishable food, medication, or other items spoiled due at least 48 hours of power outages, you can file a claims form to request a reimbursement here.

The utilities company will distribute dry ice in New York City and Westchester again on Sunday for residents who still don't have electricity, at the following locations:

The Home Depot, 11220 Rockaway Boulevard Park in Ozone Park, Queens—10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., or until supplies run out
The Staten Island Mall, 2655 Richmond Avenue in Staten Island—12:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., or until supplies run out
The Home Depot, 1806 East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx—10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., or until supplies run out
The North Castle Community Park, 205 Business Park Drive in Armonk—10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., or until supplies run out
The Cross County Shopping Center, 8000 Mall Walk, in Yonkers—10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., or until supplies run out

Update 4:45 p.m.: The number of New Yorkers still without power dropped to approximately 10,000 as of Sunday afternoon, Con Ed president Tim Cawley said during a press conference today. Con Ed expects almost all of those 10,000 to have electricity back by 11 p.m. on Sunday night, though some lingering isolated outages will still need repair.

Cawley said nearly 24,000 Westchester customers are still in the dark, but Con Ed expects to restore power to almost all of them by 11 p.m. on Monday.

Any Con Ed customer who had food spoiled as a result of the outage can apply for a reimbursement through Con Ed's website.

"We are working diligently to get you back, we understand the hardship, and we're not going to stop until your power is restored," Cawley added.

Tagged

ConEd

power outages

new york city

con edison

tropical storm isaias

Sydney Pereira

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