At its peak, Con Ed officials said strong winds and heavy thunderstorms – in some areas more than 3 inches of rainfall – knocked out power from 12,150 customers in the Bronx, 23,000 customers in Westchester, along with smaller scattered outages in sections of Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn. Manhattan experienced the least impact.

 

Strong easterly winds throughout Wednesday night pushed trees into overhead power lines. In the Bronx, 3,550 customers are currently without power, primarily in Allerton, Williamsbridge, Riverdale, and Kingsbridge. In Westchester County, 12,000 customers are currently without power, primarily in Mamaroneck, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Pelham, and Yonkers.

 

Con Edison said their crews, supplemented by over 300 outside workers, will work around the clock to get every customer back in service.

 

Downed trees were seen on East 204th Street by Perry Avenue in front of Popeye’s in Norwood, in the Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood, on Van Cortlandt Park South by Gouverneur Avenue in Van Cortlandt Village.

Local resident of Van Cortlandt Park Jack Spiegel told Norwoood News, “A tree came crashing down on VCPS and Gouverneur earlier tonight blocking traffic in both directions. FDNY came right away and cut it into small pieces, traffic could move.” Spiegel added, “No one was hurt but one car was ruined.”

 

Spuyten Duyvil resident, Stephanie Coggins said, “Not a Good morning Neighbors. A night without light, heat and hot water. Hopefully in a few hours.”

Con Edison is urging members of the public to stay away from downed wires, as they may be live. For New Yorkers’ safety, they said they may guard downed wires until crews make repairs. They said their personnel may be in unmarked cars but will always have Con Edison identification.

 

Accuweather later shared a video recorded by a local resident which showed waves crashing down on a home on City Island’s coast amid the storm on April 3. The video can be watched here.

Restoring service

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. 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.

 

Reporting an outage

Customers can sign up for text alerts at coned.com/text. Customers can also report outages and check service restoration status at conEd.com/reportoutage, or with Con Edison’s mobile app for iOS or Android devices, or by calling 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633).

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.

 

Safety Tips

• Do not go near downed electrical wires. Treat downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by snow, tree limbs, leaves or water.
• Report 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.
• Members of the public should also avoid transformers that are brought to the ground. The transformers are gray metal drums attached to the wires and poles.
• 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.
• 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.
• Make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios are working. Have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on electrical service can be heard on local radio and television stations.
• For more storm tips and preparation, go to www.conEd.com

Company representatives said they are also in contact with New York City Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to coordinate storm-response if needed.