Blackout victims take Con Ed to task

At hearings held by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in Astoria and Long Island City last week, local residents testified about the problems they encountered during the 10-day blackout that hit western Queens last month and the response they received from Con Edison. Those who testified related their difficulties, struggles, anger towards the power company and their fear that they will be left in sweltering darkness again this summer.
Iris Long, 72, was recovering from the triple bypass she had done in May when she lost electricity in her Astoria home.
&#8220The whole thing was scary with the manholes blowing up. It's a wonder that no one was injured,” she said.
On Wednesday, August 9, Long was the sole witness who testified during the afternoon hearing session. Local politicians - including Councilmember Eric Gioia, Assemblymembers Michael Gianaris and Catherine Nolan, and State Senator George Onorato - who all testified before the PSC about blackout conditions for both their themselves and their constituents, called on the PSC to more widely advertise the hearings, hold more sessions, and broadcast the testimony on public access TV.
Gianaris also announced last week that a special panel comprised of area politicians and energy experts would conduct their own investigation into the blackout and file a report by the end of the year.
However, the five hearings were not the only opportunities for some of the 100,000 people affected by the blackout to describe their situations. Local residents are encouraged to submit written statements by mail or online to the PSC if they were unable to attend the five hearings held last week.
Last week, testimony was given before the PSC by about 80 residents and business owners, including Kevin Mullarkey, a member of Community Board 1 and an Astoria resident.
&#8220This blackout has caused a lot of stress and undue hardship for people with disabilities and senior citizens,” said Mullarkey, who is disabled. Mullarkey pointed his finger at the utility giant for waiting for four days before bringing in generators.
&#8220Especially for people with motorized wheelchairs, the power is gone after three days without electricity,” he said.
Louise Marchini, 35, said that during the blackout she showered at friends' homes and lived out of her car. Her parents from Pennsylvania drove to Astoria to pick up Marchini's 92-year-old grandmother, so that she would have electricity during some of the hottest days recorded this summer.
&#8220It was a disgrace,” Marchini said. &#8220I don't believe that we were given accurate information. The first days were wasted, and the company did little to nothing … We are still running on generator power.”
Marchini said that she called Con Ed on the second of nine days that she was without power, but the power company representative would not take her name or location. Three days later when she called again, however, Con Ed took all of her information.
Marchini asked if the utility company would reimburse local residents for hotel accommodations, electrical appliances that were fried during power surges and other amenities that residents were forced to pay for out of pocket for during the blackout.