Mother nature won this round.
Brooklyn fell victim to a brutal
heat wave over the weekend,
with approximately 33,000 Con Edison
customers losing power. And, just
as ConEd was on the verge of restoring
service to those customers, nearly
11,000 additional customers lost power
as a result of Monday night’s thunderstorm
that caused severe fl ooding in
parts of the borough.
Additionally, Kings County straphangers
were tortured with separate
subway shutdowns last Friday and
Monday.
Add it all together, and Brooklynites
went through hell in the last
week. The MTA will always have it’s
issues with the subways, but ConEd’s
failure was inexcusable.
What’s worse is that everyone
knew the heat wave was coming, yet
the city was still not prepared. That
must change moving forward.
There must be a better plan in
place for the next time temperatures
are expected to reach nearly 100 degrees.
While the other four boroughs
dealt with power issues, none had to
face the kind of adversity we did in
Brooklyn.
Mom and Pop eateries and other
grocery stores that lost power were
forced throw out produce, losing tons
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of potential income that is not so easily
recovered. Families resorted to
sleeping in their air conditioned cars
to avoid spending the night dripping
sweat in their homes. Drivers were
forced to navigate the roads in darkness
Sunday night and, because traffi c
lights had no power, there were tons of
car accidents in southern Brooklyn.
We shouldn’t have to live like this.
And it’s up to the city to make sure we
never have to again.
Mayor Bill de Blasio blasted
ConEd at a press conference in Mill
Basin Monday for its refusal to provide
a substantial explanation of what
caused the latest debacle.
“I’m calling for a full investigation
and further that we examine whether
we need a new entity to handle this situation
going forward. Because at this
point I do not have faith in ConEd...
They’re not doing their job and they’re
not giving real answers. Is it now time
to do something different.”
Is de Blasio right? Is it time to ditch
ConEd and bring in a new, more reliable
energy provider?
No one should have to worry about
losing power because it’s too hot outside,
yet here we are.
It’s time for a change. Next time
mother nature attacks, the city must
be ready. We deserve better.
EDITORIAL
City must do better
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