Con Edison officials said the company has restored power to more than 3,200 customers and is working to restore service to 10,300 customers still without electricity after powerful, fast moving thunderstorms swept through the region Saturday evening.

 

A spokesperson said Con Edison crews are responding to numerous reports of downed trees throughout the five boroughs and Westchester and are working to bring the lights back on to residents and businesses in these communities. Norwood News had reported on one such downed tree on Saturday evening on Decatur Avenue in Norwood.

 

Con Edison officials said late Saturday that severe weather knocked out power to more than 5,000 Queens customers and brought down trees in Bayside, Douglaston, Jamaica and Little Neck.

 

They said more than 5,000 customers lost power in Westchester as the storm brought down trees across parts of Bronxville, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Pelham Village, Scarsdale, White Plains, and Yonkers.

 

They said the company is urging members of the public to stay away from downed wires  as they may be live. “For your safety, we may guard downed wires until crews make repairs,” they said. “Our personnel may be in unmarked cars but will always have Con Edison identification.”

 

Restoration Plan

Con Edison officials went on to say that the priority for restoration will be critical customer facilities that have an impact on the public, such as mass transit, hospitals, police and fire stations, and sewage and water-pumping stations. They said crews will then prioritize repairs that will provide power to the largest numbers of customers as quickly as possible, then move on to restore smaller groups and individual customers.

How to Report an Outage

They said customers can sign up for text alerts by texting REG to 688-243 and following the prompts. Customers can also report outages and check service restoration status at conEd.com/reportoutage, with Con Edison’s mobile app for iOS or Android devices, or by calling 1-800-752-6633.

 

They said customers who report outages will receive updates from Con Edison with their estimated restoration times as they become available. Information on outages and restoration times is also available at the Con Edison outage map.

 

According to the Bronx outage map as of June 7, at around 00.37 a.m. there were two customers without power in Kingsbridge, three in Wakefield, one in Pelham Gardens, one on City Island, 27 in Castle Hill, five in Throggs Neck, one in the vicinity of Crotona/Longwood, and one in Spuyten Duyvil.

 

Safety Tips

• If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Report them to Con Edison and your local police department immediately.
• Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with your hands or any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by tree limbs, leaves or water.
• Members of the public also should avoid transformers that are brought to the ground. The transformers are gray metal drums attached to the wires and poles.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installing and using a portable generator. Never plug a generator into a wall unit, use it indoors, or set it up outdoors near open home windows or air-handling vents.

• 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, disconnect or turn off appliances that would otherwise turn on automatically when service is restored. If several appliances start up at once, the electric circuits may overload.
• Charge your cellphones and other mobile devices while you have power.

• Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios are in working order. Make sure you have a supply of extra batteries.

 

Customers can follow Con Edison on X or like their page on Facebook for general outage updates, safety tips and storm preparation information.

 

Con Edison officials said the company is in contact with New York City Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to coordinate storm response if needed.