THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. From the Mayor’s Office, Saturday November 3, 2012 12:45 P.M.:

Mayor Thomas Roach issued a Saturday Hurricane Sandy Update to residents of the city via telephone as of 12:30 P.M.

He said “approximately 1,000  (White Plains) customers were restored last night (Friday),” that “multiple out of state crews have been assigned to White Plains outages today (Saturday). according to Con Edison at this time between 8,000 and 9,000  of our 23,000 customers remain without power in the city” at this hour. He said he has been talking with Con Edison consistently demanding more crews for White Plains.

On the gasoline shortage in the city, he said ” the chain of supply is functioning” “please be patient we are being told that there will be normal availability  within 24 to 48 hours, but gas is being delivered. If you are aware of price gouging, because we have had some reports of this, please call County Consumer Protection at 995-2155.”

He praised city work crews saying they have been working non-stop, “sometimes bravely” attempting to clear streets.

He said sheltering remains available at the city Armory on 65 Mitchell Place.

The mayor said:

“I sympathize with those who are without power and I recognize you are cold, in the dark and in a terrible condition. We have been working non-stop to bring additional Con Ed crews into our city, and those efforts are beginning to bear fruit.

As you know, city services have remained intact throughout and our DPW crews have cleared 84 blocked streets, and at least 50 remain blocked because of the limited Con Ed crew provided to us for that purpose.

We are all frustrated with Con Ed. If my voice seems a bit hoarse it’s because I have been speaking to them a great deal at various levels of volume. You should know that your city employees have performed admirably, in many cases bravely, and with great spirit, despite long hours and adverse conditions. With all the problems this storm has brought us, our personnel have exceeded my highest expectations.

And,  although they will say they are just doing their job, we should all be proud of them.

Bring your complaints to me and your thanks to them.

Thank you for your patience, we are on the way back.”

WPCNR has hobserved, driving through Highlands Friday evening, traffic lights are still out with stop signs in place. Motorists should be advised.

Also, WPCNR observed that the Gedney neighborhood has heavy limbs dangling from wires, limbs block through streeets impeding access. This is a very dangerous situation that Con Ed should make a priority and motorists should avoid driving into Gedney from Ridgeway south. Considering the way weight of some of the limbs hanging on the wires, pedestrians in the area should take extreme caution.

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. WPCNR Observations, Reports From Consolidated Edison. November 3, 2012:

Con Edison shows 7,554 White Plains customers primarily in the hard-hit Highlands area are without power this morning of 23,954 customers according to Con Edison figures as of 10:15 A.M.Long gaslines may be expected around the city if you can find one with gasoline to sell. This reporter spent one hour in a line picking up gas late Friday afternoon.

On the television program White Plains Week last night, viewable at www.whiteplainsweek.com  Assemblyman Robert Castelli and his opponent in Tuesday’s election, David Buchwald confirmed that Consolidated Edison had only one Con Edison truck assigned White Plains.

The Mayor’s Office finally confirmed the one-truck rumor in its daily Mayor Roach recorded announcement to residents Friday afternoon, even though the question had been asked by WPCNR earlier in the week.

Con Edison crews have restored electricity to more than 645,000 customers, or approximately 70 percent of all those who lost power since Hurricane Sandy slammed through New York.

The hurricane is the worst natural disaster to strike Con Edison’s customers in the company’s history.

Safety remains the No. 1 priority for customers, Con Edison employees, and contractors. Crews are facing thousands of downed wires in New York City and Westchester County. The company is working closely with emergency services personnel to open blocked roads and streets.

Weekend goals for Con Edison and out-of-town crews are to restore electricity to schools for Monday, and polling places for Tuesday. Those restorations are nearing 100 percent for accessible buildings. Some cannot be re-energized since they are in flood zones with damage that bars the safe re-introduction of electricity.

The company expects to make significant progress restoring electricity over the next seven days by planning work and sharing it with hundreds of overhead crews from around the country.

Also restored on Friday night and early today are the majority of Manhattan areas knocked out when the East River swept through Con Edison’s East 13th Street substation.

The utility said although it has restored power to some areas of Manhattan, more than 100 buildings may still be without electricity due to basement flooding or damage to local equipment.

As of 7 a.m. today, Con Edison reported approximately 280,000 customers out of service. That included 5,800 in Manhattan, 81,000 in Queens, 31,000 in Brooklyn, 31,000 in Staten Island and 25,000 in the Bronx.

In Westchester County, the company reported 107,000 customers out of service. Originally, 206,000 were affected by the hurricane.

Customers can report downed power lines, outages, and check service restoration status by computer or mobile device at www.conEd.com. They also can call 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When reporting an outage, it is helpful if customers have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power. Customers who report outages will be called by Con Edison with their estimated restoration times as they become available.

The company is advising its customers to pay close attention to reports from city and municipal officials. Con Edison will continue to provide updates through the media as the storm moves closer. Important information will be posted on the company’s website, www.conEd.com.

For instructions on how to report an outage, click here: http://bcove.me/6sx1yox5