SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Last week we wrote about an elderly Brighton Beach couple whose heating still wasn’t repaired months after the events of Superstorm Sandy. Given a free electric space heater by the city, the Gertsmans of 601 Brightwater Court, saw their electricity bill soar, a cost they were unable to cover themselves. Having heard their plight on 1010 WINS, a listener stepped up and covered the Gertsmans’ electric bill, according to a report by CBS NY.

The radio listener who donated the money to the Gertsmans was New Jersey resident Diane Edwards.

“It feels great to meet him, it really is a pleasure,” Edwards told 1010 WINS reporter Carol D’Auria.

The Gertsmans also expressed gratitude for Edwards’s generous gift.

“Americans are accustomed to do good, and in the future Russians will know about charity as well as Americans,” he told 1010 WINS through an interpreter.

While the Gertsmans found some relief, their neighbors, unfortunately, did not.

According to Yelena Makhnin, executive director of the Brighton Beach Business Improvement District, the local relief center at the Shorefront Y distributed 3,500 electric heaters to Sandy victims. Even more were distributed in Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach and others. Many residents, desperate to fend off the winter chill while their boilers awaited replacement, turned to the devices despite the high price tag, and that fueled higher bills across the neighborhood.

“It’s a problem for thousands of people,” Makhnin told Sheepshead Bites. “There are many people on fixed incomes, and whose houses and apartments got damaged and they have to pay a lot of money to fix them, and in this situation, each and every penny counts.

Chaim Deutsch, an aide to Councilman Michael Nelson, led the charge to bring attention to the issue using the Gertsmans as a prime illustration. But now that the Gertsmans’ needs have been filled, they hope that others remain aware of the high costs of electric heating.

“It’s a community issue that people used the electric heaters, so it was something to bring out that when you use electric as opposed to gas, the price goes up,” said Deutsch. “It was a game of survival during Hurricane Sandy, and you had to make sure that everyone’s safe and you stay warm.”

With additional reporting by Ned Berke.

Photo By Erica Sherman

Brighton Beach was hit as hard as any other coastal community ravaged by Superstorm Sandy and local residents are still feeling the effects of its destruction in the form of expensive electric bills, according to a report by CBS NY.

Since Sandy came ashore late last October, amazingly, many residents of Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay and elsewhere are still without heat. To stay warm in these harsh winter months, people have substituted working heat with electric space heaters, many of which were given out by Red Cross, FEMA and other disaster support groups.

As a consequence, their electric bills have skyrocketed, punishing the pocket books of people just trying to stay warm.

CBS NY tracked the plight of the residents of 601 Brightwater Court. After Sandy, the heat was knocked out of the building and the city distributed electric space heaters to keep elderly couples like Pavel Gertsman and his wife warm.

While the heaters were welcome, the increased electric bills topping out at an extra $150 a month, were not. Their plight was relayed through Brighton Beach Business Improvement District Executive Director Yelena Makhnin:

“They’re on a fixed income with $1,100 family, and the difference in $150, it makes those people choose between food and Con Edison bills,” Makhnin said.

She said the Gertsmans have health problems and cannot afford the huge bill.

Con Ed spokesman Bob McGee said the utility is forbidden by law from reducing the Gertsman’s bill.

For his part, McGee suggested that people unable to pay their bills as a result of Sandy could try reaching out to non-profit organizations like the Red Cross.

Other options include contacting the city’s Human Resources Administration, which has federally funded home energy assistance programs. You can visit their website by clicking the link above or call them at (800) 692-0557.

Brighton Neighborhood Association Executive Director Pat Singer, left, and her staff (not pictured) have returned to their office at the Chase Bank in Brighton Beach following Superstorm Sandy. Photo by Erica Sherman

After being displaced and working from remote locations to serve their community in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, our friends at the Brighton Neighborhood Association (BNA) are back!

The social services and tenant advocacy organization officially re-opened for business today in its location at the Chase Bank, 1002 Brighton Beach Avenue on the corner of Coney Island Avenue.

Displaced from her own Brighton Beach apartment in the weeks following Sandy, BNA’s Executive Director, Pat Singer, as well as staff members Janet Veksler and Claudia Escoto, continued to reach out to the community in its time of need.

To learn more about the BNA and the work they do for the community, contact Singer at (718) 891-0800, visit www.brightonbeach.com, and “Like” BNA on Facebook.

Correction (12/18/2012): The original version of this article indicated that the BNA coordinated with Shorefront Y on Sandy relief. Shorefront Y has notified us that this was erroneous, and we have updated the article. We regret any confusion this may have caused.

Councilman Mike Nelson posted information on his Facebook page concerning the availability and distribution of free dry ice by Con Edison today for customers without power due to Hurricane Sandy.

According to Nelson:

“Con Edison will distribute dry ice at five locations starting at noon today to customers who are without power due to Hurricane Sandy. Distribution will continue until 6 p.m. or until supplies run out. The company will also have personnel at the locations to answer customers’ questions.”

In our area, dry ice will be available at MCU Park (Cyclones Stadium), 1904 Surf Avenue between West 17th Street and West 19th Street, parking lot section 1B.

Instructions for the safe handling and disposal of dry ice are printed on the bag for residents who pick up dry ice.

It is important to note that dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and should only be used in well-ventilated areas. Keep children and pets safely away.

NewsOne is reporting that ConEd has shut power from Shell Road to Gravesend Neck Road, from East 15th Street to East 16th Street from Coney Island Creek to the Atlantic Ocean and Sheepshead Bay to the East.

We’re also hearing of numerous power outages and wires down throughout our area.

Stay home. Stay safe.

Source: niznoz/Flickr

More than 1,200 people are experiencing power outages as a heavy thunderstorm rolls through the neighborhood, according to Con Edison.

The company’s outage map on their website notes outages in the following areas:

• 1,067 customers affected in Gerritsen Beach
• 120 customers affected in Midwood
• 86 affected in Marine Park and Georgetown

Additionally, Con Edison is reporting via the map that individual residents throughout Southern Brooklyn are experiencing partial outages.

To report a loss of electric service, contact Con Edison at 1-800-75-CONED(26633) or, if you somehow still have access to the internet, use their online form.

Source: niznoz/Flickr

Con Edison is reducing voltage by 5 percent in Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods including Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Midwood, Flatbush, and East Flatbush, as the National Weather Service extends the ongoing heat advisory for all of New York City until tomorrow evening.

Find out what areas are affected and why, and how you can conserve energy during the heat wave.

Hundreds of people are left without power this afternoon somewhere between Nostrand Avenue and Knapp Street, between Avenue Y and Voorhies Avenue. The cause of the outage is unclear at this time.

We first heard from two tipsters in the area, one near Haring Street and the other on Ford Street off of Avenue Z who said they lost power. The Haring Street tipster Tweeted the following over to us:

“@SheepsheadBites heard a loud boom and the power went out, sounded like the boom came from Knapp St”

The Ford Street resident said she believed the source of the outage was near Haring Street.

We are awaiting a return call from Con Edison about the source of the outage, but the outage map indicates that 462 customers are without power, centered in Batchelder Street between Avenue Z and Voorhies Avenue.

According to the map, service will be restored by 9:00 p.m. tonight.

UPDATE (3:37 p.m.): The Haring Street resident said her power has already been restored. The Ford Street resident remains without power.

UPDATE: (3:51 p.m.): We just heard back from Con Edison, who confirmed that 462 customers remain out of power as of this writing. A customer is defined by a meter, not by the number of people in a household.

The outage was caused by wind knocking tree limbs into the power lines, causing the wires to touch and fuses to blow.

The boundaries of the outage are as follows: Haring Street to the west, Knapp Street to the east, Avenue Z to the north and Emmons Avenue to the south. The first complaint was at 2:55 p.m.

The Con Edison spokesperson added that though the map indicates power restoration to be at 9:00 p.m., they’re hoping to restore service by late this afternoon.

UPDATE (4:09 p.m.): Just heard from our Ford Street tipster: her power has been restored as well. Looks like Con Edison is getting the job done right quick.

This is a breaking news story and may contain inaccuracies. We will update it as more information becomes available. If anyone has more information or additional photos, please send them to tips (at) sheepsheadbites (dot) com.

Source: NYBuff.org

A tractor trailer created a web of wires and splinters on East 19th Steet in Midwood this afternoon when it accidentally ripped two utility poles out of the concrete.

The accident occurred sometime between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the intersection of East 19th Street and Bay Avenue (just south of Avenue M), and was first reported by New York Buff.

Several cars were damaged, according the report, and Con Edison, FDNY and NYPD personnel responded to the scene. No injuries were reported.

The Con Edison power outage map is not currently showing any outages at that location.

This just in, there has been a transformer explosion on Homecrest Avenue between Ave V and Neck Road Avenue V. We are hearing reports of power and phone outages in the surrounding areas.

UPDATE: We are being told that the traffic lights are out on Avenue V from East 12th Street to East 15th Street.

UPDATE: 6:30 p.m.  The offending transformer is located on a telephone pole on the southside of Avenue V between East 12th Street and Homecrest Avenue. To the un-trained eye, the transformer does not look as if it exploded. Con-Ed staff told our reporter that it did indeed explode and then shut down. There was no fire at the scene.

Power is partially out on the blocks bounded by East 12th Street to East 15th Street between Neck Road and Avenue U. The outage appears to begin mid-block between Neck Road and Avenue V and continue to mid-block between Avenue V and Avenue U.

All street lights and traffic lights are out on Avenue V between East 12th Street and East 15th Street. Please be careful when crossing those intersections. There were no police or fire department personnel on location to direct traffic when our staff walked the area. Many close calls were observed as cars sped through the intersections.

A Con-Ed worker told our staff that power should be restored within 2 hours.

UPDATE: 6:50 p.m. We are hearing reports that the traffic light at Coney Island Avenue and Avenue V is now out as well. Please be careful when driving in the area.

UPDATE: 7:55 p.m. Loyal reader and frequent commenter, Lostinservice, has told us that the power was restored at approximately 7:40 p.m. Thanks for the update Lostinservice and good job Con-Ed.

This is a breaking news story and may contain inaccuracies. We will update it as more information becomes available. If anyone has more information or additional photos, please send them to tips (at) sheepsheadbites (dot) com.