WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. OCTOBER 31, 2012:

As of 5 P.M. Wednesday afternoon, Consolidated Edison reports restoring power to  approximately 2,300 White Plains customers, leaving 8,512 without electricity in the city at this hour out of 23,512 customers in the city.

Throughout Westchester County 170,722 remain without power of 348,198 Con Ed accounts — approximately half of county Con Ed customers.

New York State Electric and Gas on its website reports  31,555 of its 32,524 customers in Westchester County are without power.

Yonkers is the most affected city with 20,865 disconnected and New Rochelle is right up with them at 20,289 out, Mount Vernon reports 15,299 out; Greenburgh, 8,871; White Plains 8,512; Port Chester Village, 7,728; Mount Pleasant, 6,458 and Harrison, 6,309.

Here is the  Westchester County Outage situation, as reported by Consolidated Edison as of  5 PM:

TOWN           CUSTOMERS W/O POWER        TOTAL CUSTOMERS      RESTORATION

NEW YORK STATE ELECTRIC AND GAS REPORT..

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS. From Consolidated Edision. October 30, 2012:

Con Edison is assessing damage and restoring service after Hurricane Sandy toppled trees and flooded underground equipment in the most devastating storm in company history.

The company estimates that customers in Brooklyn and Manhattan served by underground electric equipment should have power back within four days. Restoration to all customers in other areas served by overhead power lines will take at least a week.

(Editor’s Note: A resident of Greenridge Avenue, when he was reporting his electric outage said that Con Edison told him 7 to 10 days to restore White Plains.)

As of 11 a.m., the company reported approximately 780,000 customers without electrical service. That included about 250,000 customers in Manhattan, 180,000 in Westchester County, 108,000 in Queens, 109,000 in Staten Island, 87,000 in Brooklyn, and 45,000 in the Bronx.

In overhead areas, many roads are blocked by fallen trees or flooded. Restoring electrical service to underground equipment demands cleaning all components of sea water, drying and testing to make it safe to restore power.

The previous record number of storm outages in Con Edison territory occurred last year, when Hurricane Irene caused about 203,000 customers to lose service.

In addition to the 250,000 electric customers without electricity in Manhattan, every steam customer south of 42nd Street lost service. In some cases, Con Edison disconnected steam customers to protect the system from flooding conditions. The restoration times of those customers is still being evaluated.

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

Con Edison offers the following safety tips:

• If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by tree limbs, leaves or water.
  
• Report all downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately. If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
  
• If you still have power, charge your cell phones, lap tops and other mobile devices, so that they’ll work if you do lose power.
  
• If your power goes out, turn off all lights and appliances to prevent overloaded circuits when power is restored.
  
• Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios are working. Also, make sure you have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on power outages can be heard on most local radio and television stations.
  
• Avoid opening your freezer to see if food is still frozen. Every time you open the door, room-temperature air enters and speeds the thawing process. Most fully loaded freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 36 to 48 hours; half-full freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 24 hours.

The company is in constant communication with the New York City Office of Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services and company personnel are working closely with city and municipal emergency officials.

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. From the Mayor’s Office. October 30,2012:

DUE TO CONTINUED HAZARDS, ALL RESIDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO STAY OFF THE ROADS UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY AND TO USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN TRAVELING.

City of White Plains government offices are open for business today.

Garbage is being collected. The Sanitation Department is collecting as per the normal pick up schedule. However, given the number of downed trees and wires some streets may be inaccessible to the sanitation trucks. Every effort will be made to collect garbage and recyclables according to the normal schedule and to reach all residents.

Numerous streets across the City are blocked because of fallen trees and tree limbs. The Department of Public Works has moved 150 – 200 downed trees of various sizes to the road side. Clearing of those trees will begin today.  To report a downed tree or tree limb that is blocking the street, call 422-1202.

Downed trees with wires cannot be moved until Con Edison has given the City the OK. Residents are advised to stay away from fallen wires and to treat all downed wire as live until informed otherwise. Te report a downed electrical wire, call the Department of Public Safety at 422-6111.

Trees that fall onto private property cannot be removed by the City of White Plains. Homeowners should contact their insurance company and arrange for a tree removal service.

Please report power outages and check service restoration status with Con Edison by calling 1-800-75-CONED or www.coned.com.

The City of White Plains has opened a shelter for White Plains residents at Post Road Elementary School, located at 175 West Post Road. Please enter the school from the Soundview Avenue entrance.

City residents may park vehicles in two City garages without charge overnight until Wednesday morning, October 31 at 8:00 AM in either the Hamilton-Main or Chester-Maple Garages. All other garages, parking lots and on-street parking will be under normal enforcement rules.

City of White Plains STORM HOTLINE information 422-5150; Spanish speaking 422-5160.

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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. October 30,2012:

Mayor Tom Roach of White Plains is in the process of updating residents with a recorded announcement, received at 12:10 this afternoon.

The Mayor reports the newest Con Edison count of White Plains customers without power is 11,892 — more than half of all Con Ed customers in the city, and the Mayor notes that half of Westchester County Con Ed customers are without power.

The Mayor said Renaissance Plaza, Hamilton Avenue and Main Street in the center of the downtown are closed due to falling debris from  the 5 Rennaissance Plaza tower/  The closures  may be  impeding crosstown traffic on Main Street and Hamilton.

He asked residents to stay off the streets, and that so far there have been no fatalities or injuries to persons in the city as a result of the storm, “and we want to keep it that way.”

The Mayor said the Post Road school is open as a shelter, where there are cots and food available, entry is from the Sterling Avenue side.

For updates,  the Mayor encouraged residents to call 422-5150. He asked residents to remain in their homes, that city hall has had reports of trees still falling around town and conditions remain dangerous. He said de-energized wires could become re-energized and urged caution.

Karen Pasquale  Assistant to the Mayor issued this statement to WPCNR: “There are road blockages and impairments across the City. Every neighborhood in the City has felt the impacts of this storm. “

Paula Piekos who has been driving around the southern part of town reports that as of 12-30 P.M. there appear to be no traffic signals functioning above Rosedale Avenue on up Mamaroneck Avenue. She reports  Rosedale is closed at Mamaroneck Avenue and at North Street.  Ridgeway is closed between Old Mamaroneck Road and  Mamaroneck, and Gedney Way is closed between Old Mamaroneck Road and Mamaroneck Avenue. Driving down Homeside Lane to Sammis Lane to return to the Rocky Dell area, she observed devasting tree damage to homes and property.

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WPCNR THE POWER NEWS.  From Con Edison. October 30, 2012–issued 1 A.M.  E.D.T.:

More than 650,000 customers in New York City and Westchester County lost electrical power due to Hurricane Sandy, Con Edison said early today.

“This is the largest storm-related outage in our history,” said Con Edison Senior Vice President for Electric Operations John Miksad. The previous record was more than 200,000 customers affected by Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Miksad cautioned crews must assess damage prior making to repairs, but early today low-lying areas of New York City and Westchester County remained under water.

Challenges include, for example, more than 200 wires down on Staten Island. In Westchester County, more than 180 roads are closed.

Restoring electrical service to underground equipment demands cleaning all components of sea water, drying and testing to make it safe to restore power.

Here are the latest outages as of 1 a.m.Tuesday:

Manhattan: 193,000 customers
Westchester County: 158,000
Queens: 74,000
Brooklyn: 71,000
Staten Island: 76,000
Bronx: 38,000

Safety for customers and Con Edison employees is the company’s No. 1 priority.

Con Edison restores lines that will return power to the most customers as quickly as possible, and then moves on to restore small groups and individual customers who are still without power.

To report outages, 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

Con Edison offers the following safety tips:

• If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by tree limbs, leaves or water.
  
• Report all downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately. If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
  
• If your power goes out, turn off all lights and appliances to prevent overloaded circuits when power is restored.
  
• Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios are working. Also, make sure you have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on power outages can be heard on most local radio and television stations.
  
• Avoid opening your freezer to see if food is still frozen. Every time you open the door, room-temperature air enters and speeds the thawing process. Most fully loaded freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 36 to 48 hours; half-full freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 24 hours.

The company is in constant communication with the New York City Office of Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services and company personnel are working closely with city and municipal emergency officials.