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Early Addition
Well, there's nothing like having a barely-one-hour blackout on a sultry weekday to make you consider stocking up on flashlights, batteries, water, and maybe a Go Bag. Con Ed is still investigating the cause of yesterday's brief power failure to parts of the Bronx and Manhattan; Newsday reported "the blackout was caused when breakers opened at an Astoria substation and cut off power to stations servicing Yorkville and parts of the Bronx." It's unclear why the breakers were opened in the first place.
The outage started at 3:42PM and ended by 4:30PM, affecting at least 130,000 customers (or 385,000 people), not to mention pedestrians, drivers, commuters and others who were left stuck without train service and traffic lights. An 8-months pregnant woman was stuck in an elevator - and she was too big to fit through the hatch!
Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke said, "We view this as a significant event," but insisted this was nothing like last year's Queens blackout.The Daily News' Michael Daly questions Burke's commitment, given he doesn't seem very concerned with his healthy tan - and people are content to blame the utility. One woman who had to take a cab instead of the subway told the NY Times Con Ed could deduct her $16 cab ride from her bill. And the NY Sun reported how some officials reacted, especially given that on Tuesday, Con Ed testified about fare hikes and replacing old equipment. City Councilman Eric Gioia of Queens said, "I've been expecting this. How much more do we have to take before City Hall demands a change in leadership in Con Edison?"
Here are blackout-related links, which you should print out because you won't be able to access them in case of a blackout: The CDC's Blackout tips, the Red Cross' tips, and the city's Office of Emergency Management on power outages. Mayor Michael "So Not Emotional" Bloomberg said of the blackout, 'It's fair to say that resetting your clock was probably the worst thing that happened," which makes WNBC's Gabe Pressman wonder if Mayor Mike even gets it.
Photograph of a nice man directing traffic during the momentary blackout by NYCViaRachel on Filckr
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Hahahahaha, I love it when idiots get out in the middle of the street and start directing traffic. Fuckin douche-bag...
I don't know, seems reasonable to me, as long as he was competent at it. (I'm sure some bigger douches insisted on ignoring him and driving through.)
id like to know what the deduct-16$-from-my-bill woman does for a living. con ed isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination but hardly any service (especially one that you use 24/7/365) is going to be completely without hiccups a couple times a year.
WOW! Tiananmen Square right here in NYC!
How about taking the bus? Our buses don't run on the electric grid. Or walk.
The real douchebags are the stupid fucking stores that blast their AC and leave their doors open. I wish the city would ticket them.
*Sighs* When I moved out of my Parents house and saw what my Con Ed bill was going to average . I sat down and made changes, & preparations for the "Unforeseen" . I have [3] Portable generators in my basement & about three months worth of fuel as well as other precautions . It's a real hassle and all, but I'd rather be prepared then the obvious ! Let's face facts here this is going to continue throughout the summer and in the foresee-able future . Con Ed has no intention of fixing the problems with their network of power cables . Why ? Because (A) It's to damn expensive, (B) What's the point in fixing the problem when stupid people who leave all there lights on in the house waste the current ! It's got to be a concerted effort on both parties here to conserve power . Unfortunately, People are ignorant to both the facts as well as the solutions . It's like experiencing a total power outage in Ur home and having a Licensed Electrician inspect Ur set-up . The Electrician tells you that if you overload Ur outlets in the future the same thing will occur . "You" with that Wisdom thrust upon you decide to fore-go the recommendations of said Expert and repeat the cause of Ur anguish ! I.E. "Dumb-Ass" ! Posted By; "Still Not Amused"
I don't really know where to get them in the five boroughs, but if you want to have power (anywhere, anytime) on wheels, get the Motomaster Eliminator PowerBox 1200.
Yes, it will power a rolling soundsystem for several hours
foreseeable is one word. So is dumbass, you dumbass.
I love how "Still Not Amused" doesn't have the sack to register his name, but still insists on letting all of know that "Hey, its me providing these great insights! You know, the still not amused guy!" Fuckin lame.
Oh, and its 'their lights', not 'there lights'.
And also, it's 'than', not 'then'
Y2K happened seven years ago. besides, when the crap really hits the fan all you really need are two things, guns and ammo.
People who could afford generators could afford cars, they could live in their car till the blackout is over. People who could afford generators usually have a house, they could tough it out in their compound for a while.