STATEN ISLAND — More than 20,000 Staten Island customers were without power on Monday afternoon on one of the hottest days of the year after two of the island's five power networks failed, a Con Edison spokesman said.
Neighborhoods along the island's Eastern shore were most affected by the outages, which shut down power to an estimated 20,245 customers, extending from Fort Wadsworth in the north, passing Richmond Avenue in Eltingville to the south. Only 141 customers in the other four boroughs and Westchester suffered power losses, officials said.
On Tuesday afternoon, 127 customers scattered throughout the borough — with 50 in New Springville — were still without power, Joy Faber, a spokeswoman for Con Edison, said. Faber said the company did not have an estimated time the power would kick back in for them, but crews were working to restore it.
Staten Islanders took to social media to report the power failure and also to vent about having to withstand the 90-plus degree heat sans air conditioning.
On Staten Island #statenisland #tbone #whoops also no power. pic.twitter.com/S3xFOVH4Kf
— Andy (@TheRoyalAndy) July 20, 2015#StatenIsland power outage.Signals out & delays on Fr.Capodano Blvd from Greeley Ave-Sand Ln.Drive safely.@NYPD122Pct pic.twitter.com/golQR9f0zu
— Chief Thomas M. Chan (@NYPDTransport) July 20, 2015About 12,000 customers lost power after 1 p.m. and another 5,000 after 2 p.m., a Con Edison spokesman.
The widespread outages were "likely heat related," a Con Edison spokesman said.
Earlier in the day Mayor Bill de Blasio had pleaded with New Yorkers to lower their air conditioning to 78 degrees in order to keep the city's power grid functioning smoothly.
The North Shore Staten Island University Hospital lost power around 2 p.m., said spokeswoman Arleen Ryback. A backup generator kicked in soon after, she said.
"Everything is under control," she said. "We’re caring for patients."
Any emergency or heart surgeries will be transferred to the hospital's second location in Prince's Bay that still has full power, she said.
Just lost power on #statenisland wish I could run my ac via usb cable right now....
— James Lopez (@imjamesjlopez) July 20, 2015Just me and my dog roughing it in my living room thanks to the power outage. Good thing she's such a conversationalist. #StatenIsland
— JaegerJacquez-Q (@JackieQTip) July 20, 2015Philip O'Brien, a spokesman for Con Edison, said crews were working to address the equipment problems, but there was no time frame for when residents would have power restored.
The company was bringing in eight generators to help support the impacted networks, according to Con Ed.
The city responded by bringing in 24 light towers to busy intersections, including along Hylan Boulevard and Father Capodanno Boulevard. Police also assigned 32 traffic agents to help direct traffic.
Staten Island cooling centers were set to be open until 11 p.m.
The centers are at the Todt Hill Community Center at 255 Westwood Ave., Richmond Terrace Community Center at 71 Jersey St. and West Brighton Community Center at 230 Broadway.
NYCHA planned to send workers to check on elderly residents in public housing. The agency also set up generators to give some buildings power.
O'Brien asked others who still have power to conserve electricity on the brutally hot afternoon.
Service on the Staten Island Railroad was delayed between 2:40 p.m. and 4 p.m. but had been restored to normal service thanks to a backup generator in time for the afternoon rush, a spokeswoman for the MTA said.
For updated information visit Con Edison's map.
