With the temperature finally down to tolerable levels after a scorching weekend, Sheepshead Bay and the surrounding neighborhoods aren’t quite in the clear yet. The infrastructural damage Con Ed sustained from record-shattering energy usage is forcing the company to continue choking power output to Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach and Midwood, among other neighborhoods around New York City.
The good news is that Con Ed workers have restored service to more than 55,700 of 65,700 customers who lost power during the three-day heat wave. They began throttling power across its entire service area on Friday as a precaution to protect equipment and maintain service. With outages and gear damages rolling in over the weekend – which saw heat indexes surpass 100 degrees – crews were dispatched to repair the problems, a task still underway. Con Edison is asking customers to avoid using appliances such as washers, dryers, and other energy-intensive equipment, and to turn off lights and televisions when not needed. If high-energy equipment is needed, they ask that it be used at night, when demand is lower.
See the full list of neighborhoods affected, and share your heat-wave experiences with us.
Unless you’ve been living on the other side of the globe, you know that most of the United States has been under a high heat dome for the last week or so. It doesn’t look like it’s going to get better soon, so it’s time to start taking some precautions.
Con Edison has already reduced the juice they’ve been supplying to the neighborhood. They’re also asking customers in our area not to use appliances such as washers, dryers, and other energy-intensive equipment, and to turn off lights and televisions when not needed.
Now, they’re taking this one step further. This just in from Con Ed….
Notification issued on 7/23/2011 at 7:30 PM. Con Edison will be distributing dry ice from 9 AM to 9 PM tomorrow, 7/24. Distribution will occur at Sheepshead Bay High School, at 3000 Avenue X in Brooklyn. For more info please contact Con Edison at 1-800-75-CONED or online at http://www.coned.com/newsroom/news/pr20110723_2.asp
For residents picking up dry ice, instructions for safe handling and disposal are printed on the paper bag containing the ice. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and should be used only in well-ventilated areas. Keep children and pets safely away.
They’re taking this heat wave seriously. So should you. Pick up some dry ice for your fridge and turn off those air conditioners and TVs – but not your computers. Computers are essential equipment. Everyone needs to keep reading Sheepshead Bites.
Coney Island residents and business owners have another year to save more green while going green with Con Edison continuing its sponsorship of the “Going Green in Coney Campaign,” in conjunction with Urban Neighborhood Services (UNS)
The campaign, which will enter its second year, provides seminars catered to locals on smart, low-cost energy use. In addition, UNS, a nonprofit serving to elevate conditions of inner-city neighborhoods, will hand out newsletters on environmentally-friendly ways to air condition, heat and light your house.
Part of the campaign’s agenda is to tackle long-term sustainability goals in Coney Island, one of Brooklyn’s most heavily populated and economically challenged areas.
“We take our new responsibility very seriously and plan to work hard to let the Coney Island community know that everybody has a role to play in helping the environment,” said Mathylde Frontus, founder and executive director of Urban Neighborhood Services.
If you’re not a resident of Coney Island don’t despair. Con Edison has a lot of information on energy efficiency for everyone at its website.
And if anyone is interested in learning more about UNS and other programs they offer, information can be found here.
Con Edison started work on the sidewalk Ocean Avenue between Shore Parkway & Jerome Ave.
Pedestrians were walking down the street before they had the chance to notice the signs — which ought to be placed at the entrances of the sidewalk — telling them not to walk there.
By the time you notice the signs saying, “Sidewalk Closed – Use Other Side”, you’re already walking down the sidewalk and can peer down into the large pool of gross liquid. It didn’t smell too bad, so it’s probably just stagnant water and dirt.
The manager at the Waldbaum’s Supermarket, (3100 Ocean Ave) located in the strip mall near where the construction is ongoing, said that the work has nothing to do with the store. He went on to say that when he noticed the work, the workers told him that it is related to Con Ed development of the electrical supply.
Sara Banda at Con Ed’s Media Relations department couldn’t specify when the work started, but when I spoke with her recently, she mentioned that the work will finish soon — if weather allows — by the week of April 13. She said that they are “installing two transformers to reinforce the system.”
It’s good to know that good ol’ Consolidated Edison is hard at work trying to keep up with the excessive need for electrical power. Let’s hope this helps keep at least some of Sheepshead Bay (namely, bloggers) out of the dark this summer.
In the meantime, if there is any problem that you need to alert Con Ed about regarding the repair work, call 9-1-1. If the work doesn’t look like it’s about to end by the end of this week, send us a note.
Photo courtesy of flybutter [Flickr].
Con Edison has issued warnings to communities in the south of Brooklyn to conserve energy and refrain from using appliances such as air conditioners. According to a customer service representative for the company, while there have been no blackouts in Sheepshead Bay, there has been a spike of usage during the heat wave that is stressing the system. They have contacted many residents living around Shore Parkway and around Gravesend Neck Road, noting that these areas in particular are “at risk”.
NY1, meanwhile, has reported that residents of the area have, in fact, experienced outages. According to the story, residents may go without power until Tuesday afternoon. While we can’t confirm blackouts and Con Ed has denied that there are any, the NY1 piece does have an interesting bit about how to be reimbursed for spoiled foods or lost business. You can read it after the jump.
Continue Reading »
