Storm Blog

Elliott and Judy Resnick of White Plains are Hillair Circle residents who have done their best to get through the extended power outage. They lost power during the storm Tuesday night, and did not have it by late this morning. “It’s sort of a helpless feeling,� Elliot Resnick said.

He took his second straight day off of work today because of the condition of his driveway and the road near his house. He plans to be at work tomorrow.

The Resnicks recently gave their front lawn an $8,000 upgrade, but the storm broke trees and covered the grass in branches. “This is an exercise in futility,� Judy Resnick said as she swept some branches off of her front walkway.

Neither of them has left the house since the storm, but have nearly run out of food and may go out to eat tonight. One of Elliott’s co-workers did bring over a small generator for them at one point, which has given them two hours of light, refrigeration and cell phone battery power. Judy believes that wasn’t enough to save the refrigerated food from spoiling, though.

“I don’t know if there’s anything you can do (to prepare) except possibly have a generator on hand,� she said. “I know I have people around who can help us out if we need.�

Elizabeth Schaper and her ill, elderly father got a much-needed break yesterday when the Harrison Fire Department delivered and installed a generator in their Clinton Lane home.

Armin Schaper, 88, has been unable to sit up or lie down flat because his electric hospital bed has been stuck in the same, slightly elevated position since the power went out Tuesday night.

Elizabeth Schaper called the county’s Office of Emergency Services, where staffer Linda Luddy remembered seeing Armin Schaper receive a veteran’s award on television. Later that afternoon, the fire department was at the house with the generator, which will power the hospital bed, refrigerator and a few lamps.

“It was amazing,� she said. “He’s sitting up. And he’s going to have a nice dinner for a change.�

“Cerrado Por No Electricidad” was the sign of the times on the east side of Port Chester’s lower North Main Street this morning. No one knew when the power would come back.

Only one restaurant indicated it may be open for dinner “tonight” once its air conditioning was repaired. There was no knowing when that sign went up, during the weekend heat wave possibly.

“All is with the power, so we can’t do anything,” Andrea Schanda said. The employee at Delgado Travel, 27 North Main St., could only sell Equadoran newspapers to people who came in to cash checks, the real business of the agency. None of the cash drawers could even be opened. Regular customers would have to find another place to get cash or travel to Yonkers or the
Bronx for another Delgado business, Schanda explained.

She had no idea when the power would be back. Con Edison was repairing some tower, she said.

A loud voice could be heard emanating from Patrias Restaurant at 35 1/2 North Main St. Yvon Rodriguez said her boss was on the phone with Con Edison.

“I just did my buying,” Mariano Az, the owner of Patrias, said. He estimates he has lost $3,000 to 4,000 in food since the power went out at 11 p.m. Tuesday.

“We don’t have any information,” he said about when power would be restored. He was on his way to Connecticut to buy a generator.

“Everywhere is out (of generators),” he said. “In the Bronx, no more, in Queens, no more.”

Anniemae Green, 70, of 29 North Main St., was not worried about her food. “The girl put ice in the freezer and it’s still there. I ain’t got as much as [the restaurants] have. I bought the ice to eat because we don’t have no cold water.”

She grinned, saying she was comfortable in her walk-up apartment.

Bonnie Emanuel, 45, one of the roughly 2,000 customers without electricity in Scarsdale, says the one thing she missed most since Tuesday night’s storm is her blow dryer.

“Today, I’m fine. Yesterday, I was a little hairy,” Emanuel said.

She said she’s been relying heavily on the kindness of neighbors with electricity to charge her cell phone and power her blow dryer.

With her two young sons at day camp and her husband, Julian, a trader, at his job in Manhattan, Emanuel’s spent part of the afternoon getting an estimate for the damage to her roof.

The family rented a car to replace the one that’s stuck underneath a massive maple tree and ordered in Chinese for dinner last night. Thankfully, Emanuel says, the cooler weather hasn’t made her miss air conditioning yet.

Consolidated Edison is continuing to distribute dry ice to its customers who are still without power.

Some Con Ed customers have complained to The Journal News that they’ve arrived at Kohl’s department store in Port Chester — where the ice is being given out — only to come away empty handed.

But Alfonso Quiroz, a spokesman for Con Ed, said the ice is being given out at the rear of the store, and that perhaps some customers were not aware of that and missed it.

“It’s in the rear of the mall,” Quiroz said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to be there, but it’s there now.”

Kohl’s is located at 431 Boston Post Road in Port Chester.

As of noon. today, about 16,000 Consolidated Edison customers were still without power, up from 15,000 two hours earlier

It is too early to say when all customers’ service will be restored, Con Edison spokesman Joseph Petta said.

“The biggest problem is that the electrical systems have to be rebuilt from the ground up,” Petta said. Many poles were taken down with the wires and electrical systems. Debris must be removed and new poles and wire systems must be erected.

“It is also a safety issue,” Petta said. “This work is dangerous and must be done safely.”

Here are the latest numbers:
Port Chester — 4,472
White Plains — 3,677
Yonkers — 3,308
Greenburgh — 3,084
Scarsdale — 1,824
New Rochelle — 891
Bronxville — 683
Eastchester — 588
Harrison — 465
Mount Vernon —200

About 1,000 crew members are working on the problem, including some brought in by Con Ed from neighboring utilities in a mutual assistance program.

Con Edison is asking anyone who sees downed lines or has outages to call them at 1-800-75CONED.

If you’re still without power, let us know and comment here.

Lina Nakhleh of Pondfield Road in Yonkers is furious about the downed tree at Pondfield and Chatfield, right up the hill from Lawrence
Hospital Center.

“There are lines down and dangling all over the place. No one has power,” she says.
The neighborhood hasn’t seen a police officer or Con Ed, she said.

Nakhleh called City Hall to complain and was told to call police. Police took the report but nothing’s been done as of 5 p.m.

“They have to remove the tree. It’s dangerous. I’m afraid to stay in my house. This is a major street. I want the mayor of Yonkers to do something.”

Starting at 5 p.m., Con Ed will give out dry ice to customers without power.

It is being distributed at the Kohl’s shopping center in Port Chester — 431 Boston Post Road — at the main entrance to the flea market.

Ice will be available there until noon Friday if required.

Mack Cunningham, who lives on Elmwood Avenue in Rye, said about 20 houses on his block lost power on Tuesday, then got it back. But he lost power again at 7 p.m. and isn’t too optimistic about getting it back soon, with power lines down all around.

“The frustrating thing is the lack of communication you get from the utility as far as expectations and the cause,” he said this morning. “When will it come back up? It’s too hot to stay in the house.”

Elvira Angelori of Rosedale Avenue in Yonkers awoke this morning to find a
giant tree lying across her driveway.

“I got up at 6 this morning like I always do, rubbed my eyes, and I couldn’t
believe it,” she said.

City workers were at her house to start cutting up the tree by 8:30 a.m.,
she said. “It will take them all day. It’s a massive tree.”