THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

Con Edison — Crews Going Big Time

Posted on March 16, 2010 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. From Con Edison Media Relations. March 16, 2010: Hundreds of Con Edison, contractor, and out-of-state utility crews have benefited from today’s sunny weather, working aggressively to restore customers, neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block. Nearly 130,000 customers have had electric service restored since the weekend.

“We know how difficult this is for our customers, and we appreciate their patience,” said John Miksad, senior vice president of Electric Operations. “With each reconnection, we focus on restoring the greatest numbers of customers possible.”

As of 4 p.m. today, approximately 43,000 customers remained without power. The areas most affected were Westchester, where approximately 38,000 customers were out, and Staten Island, where fewer than 3,500 remained without service.

Thousands of company support personnel are continuing to work around the clock to help the over 600 crews that are addressing the most destructive rain- and windstorm to hit New York City and Westchester in decades.

Restoration crews are expected to swell to 675 by Wednesday as additional out-of-state utility crews arrive. Utilities from Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky and Massachusetts are assisting Con Edison’s crews.

The company expects to have all storm-related outages in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx restored by Wednesday afternoon, followed by Staten Island on Thursday evening, and Westchester on Friday.

City of White Plains Explains Why the Clearing of Trees Took So Long

Posted on March 16, 2010 by John Bailey

WPCNR CITY CIRCUIT. From the Mayor’s Office. March 16, 2010: On the city website in an update dated March 14 (Sunday), the city provides a short solution as to why it takes so long to clear city streets of fallen trees. Incidentally, the city also reports the YMCA on Mamaroneck Avenue is offering free showers to the public until 9 P.M. The report on the DPW-Con Ed repair delay notes:

” (White Plains) DPW crews have already cleared the trees that had no power lines attached to them on Holbrook Road, Bayne Place, Barker Avenue, Bryant Avenue, Midland Avenue, Richbell Road, Alan Drive, Patricia Lane, Lake Street and North Broadway, Rosedale Avenue, Whitewood Lane, Soundview Avenue, Vermont Avenue, Chatham Place, Gedney Esplanade, Rolling Ridge Road, Ridgeway, Miles Avenue, Prospect Avenue, South Broadway, Longview Avenue, and Ridgeview.

DPW crews cannot touch trees that have high voltage wires entangled in them. It’s illegal and unsafe. Before they can clear a tree, they must get approval from a Con Edison electrical inspector because the wires may still be energized. (Editor’s Note: It is unclear whether a third Con Edison crew then comes in and replaces the severed wires.)

The Prospect Park area was hard hit because all the main roads were cut off because of downed trees and power lines.

Con Edison brought in a crew at 8am Sunday to clear the area. Two trees fell across the street from the White Plains High School, bringing down 13,000 volt lines. Those lines were disconnected by Con Edison. There was also a downed tree blocking Old Mamaroneck Road by Hazelton Avenue, and another downed tree on Mamaroneck Avenue near the Harrison border.

Some secondary roads that have downed trees will be cleared. They include Midland Avenue, Soundview , Gedney Esplanade, Church Street, Westview, Leith Place, Jefferson Avenue, and Vermont Avenue. (This presumably has taken place by now, late Tuesday afternoon.)

Greenburgh — Help Is On the Way. Thurs is new Con Ed Target for Restoration

Posted on March 16, 2010 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. By Greenburgh Town Supervisor, Paul Feiner. March 16, 2010: I just spoke to John Gibb, Director of the NYS Emergency Management Office and Tony Sutton, Commissioner of Emergency Management. The Commissioner of Public Works and the Greenburgh Police participated in the meeting. I discussed my frustration over the length of time over restoration of power. I was advised that additional crews from out of state are coming in. The goal of Con ED and the Emergency Management team is for all service to be restored by Thursday night.

I have received many complaints from residents who are worried about trees leaning on wires or on their homes. We are trying to respond quickly and are coordinating efforts with Con Ed. Con Ed is trying to prioritize restoration of service based on primary feeders that will impact larger areas. Secondary feeders are worked on next. The police department will provide additional services to any resident who has medical needs. We can transport residents without power to the Theodore Young Community Center which has become a warming center/shelter and can provide them with oxygen.

What’s happening today –Con Ed is cutting trees off the wires, moving the wires from the broken poles to the side and opening up the roadways. This will enable out of state crews to restore the powe

THE POWER NUMBERS AS OF 12 NOON TUESDAY: 44,131 OUT ACROSS COUNTY

Posted on March 16, 2010 by John Bailey

WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. March 16, 2010: Con Edison crews working with out-of-state help, powered up 11,000 Westchester Customers since midnight Monday. Yonkers outages were trimmed by some 3,000 customers. Yonkers currently has 11,295 customers without electricity; Mount Vernon, 7,024; New Rochelle, 6,975; Greenburgh, 6,905; White Plains, 5,075; and Scarsdale, 4,667 (over 75% of the Con Ed customer base is affected there.

In other afflicted areas of the county, 1,693 customers are without power in the Tarrytowns; Tuckahoe, 1,247; Rye City, 2,026; Port Chester, 479; the Pelhams, 919; North Castle, 886; Mt. Pleasant, 1,355; Larchmont/Mamaroneck,1,860; Irvington, 2043; Hastings, 633; Harrison, 2,274; Eastchester, 2,198; Elmsford, 950; Bronxville, 459; Briarcliff/Ossining, 556 and Ardsley, 116.

At 8 A.M. Tuesday morning, Con Edison issued this communique,partially reproduced here:

“As of 6 a.m. today, the company had restored power to over 100,000 customers. Approximately 59,000 customers remained without power: 50,000 in Westchester County, 5,200 in Staten Island, 2,600 in the Bronx, 500 in Queens and 250 in Brooklyn.

The company expects to have all storm-related outages in Brooklyn and Queens restored by Wednesday morning, and the Bronx restored by Wednesday evening, followed by Staten Island on Thursday evening, and Westchester County on Friday.

Con Edison has approximately 600 restoration crews now in the field, in addition to other field support personnel clearing roads and trees. The number of restoration crews is expected to grow to 675 by Wednesday as additional out-of-state crews arrive.”

On Sunday evening,Con Edison told WPCNR that outside crews from other states were first called for assistance early Saturday evening.

Con Edison in a statement from John Miksad, to the New York Times, said the Con Edison weather forecasts had not indicated the storm being so powerful: “We had in-house forecasts that something was going to converge with winds and rain, but we didn’t think it would be this much.”

Another Con Ed spokesperson, Allen Drury said Sunday evening to WPCNR that out-of-state crews could not be called in, in advance because, they had to assure they were not needed in their own home service areas before they could leave.