Crown Heat

By COLlive reporter

More than 800 customers woke up without power and air conditioning in Crown Heights on Wednesday with temperatures soaring again into the 90s.

Forecasters say the heat and humidity will combine to make it feel like it is 100 degrees, putting incredible demand on the power grid with locals cranking up their air conditioning – those that have it.

By mid-morning, Con Edison was reporting hundreds of power outages in the Crown Heights and Prospect Park sections of Brooklyn, the Flushing and Jamaica sections of Queens and the Chinatown section of Manhattan, CBS2 reported.

“Unbearable,” said Stewart Finck, a Jewish resident of Crown Heights. “In fact, I had no choice. In the middle of the night, I had to go to my brother-in-law’s and sleep.”

The New York City Office of Emergency Management reported that as of Wednesday afternoon, most customers (765) have had power restored.

Con Ed anticipates that they will bring back the remaining customers (about 15) piece-meal, so some customers will experience power restoration before the 7:00 pm estimation.

The office of Council Member Laurie Cumbo, who represents Crown Heights, has been closely monitoring the situation and voicing residents’ concern with Con Ed representatives.

Monica Abend from Cumbo’s office said the mobile command at Albany and President will remain on site until power is restored and that they can answer questions as well.

With the heat indices expected to remain in the mid to high 90s through Thursday, the National Weather Service has extended the previously issued citywide Heat Advisory until 8:00 PM on Thursday, 7/30.

They said these conditions are dangerous to health, especially for people without air conditioning, older adults, and people with chronic health conditions.

Officials recommended that New Yorkers use air conditioning to stay cool, go to a place that has air conditioning if it is not available at home, drink water at regular intervals, and limit strenuous activity.

Mayor Bill de Blasio urged New Yorkers to try to limit their energy consumption by setting their thermostats to 78 degrees. “As the temperature goes up, so does energy usage, and that creates the danger of blackouts and brownouts,” he said at a news conference.