Following sky-high temperatures across the city — which prompted the mayor to announce a heat emergency on Wednesday — Queens residents experienced power outages in all corners of the borough.
Earlier in the day, Patch reported that hundreds of Queens residents were without power and Con Edison is currently working to restore power to city dwellers. In the midst of these outages, the city issued an emergency alert instructing New Yorkers to conserve energy by limiting the usage of washers, dryers, microwaves and limiting “unnecessary use of air conditioners.”
We have reduced voltage by 8 percent to certain neighborhoods in Queens while crews work to repair equipment and are asking customers throughout New York City and Westchester County to conserve energy during the heat wave.
For more info, visit https://t.co/VBiSaGadeq pic.twitter.com/dug9S2Mi9J
— Con Edison (@ConEdison) June 30, 2021
Temperatures reportedly reached a record 98 degrees at LaGuardia Airport and the mayor echoed the same advice in order to prevent further outages.
“We need to ensure that our electric supply is protected. We need to avoid any possible disruptions,” Mayor de Blasio said.
The Con Edison map showed that the majority of the outages are in Queens and Brooklyn, while East Harlem was the only Manhattan neighborhood to experience outages.
Some on social media noted that these outages were occurring in poor areas in the city where a many Black people live.
predictably, the most outages are happening in the poorest and blackest parts of Brooklyn and Queens pic.twitter.com/268iWTMqHo
— a good caulker’s mate is hard to find (@hazelmotes420) June 30, 2021
To beat the heat, the city advises residents to stay hydrated and head to cooling centers around New York in order to conserve energy as much as possible. Call 311 or visit nyc.gov/beattheheat to find cooling centers in Queens.
