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Brooklyn Residents Suffer Through Power Outages

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Jul 20, 2008 11:00 pm US/Eastern

Brooklyn Residents Suffer Through Power Outages

Con Ed Pushes Conservation In Several Parts Of The Sweaty Borough; Nearly All Customers Restored

Reporting
Dave Carlin

NEW YORK (CBS) ―

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Sunday was not a day to be without power.

But that's exactly what happened in several Brooklyn neighborhoods. As many as 2,000 people were without power throughout the borough. Consolidated Edison spent much of the day trying to fix the problem and by 11 p.m. had nearly all of the 1,100 households up and running. Earlier in the day, the utility was passing out dry ice to help residents keep food from spoiling.

CBS 2 HD got a look at everything that was in the freezer at the home of Faustino Gomez.

"We got here the cooler, got the steak, the hot dogs, ice cream, the chicken," Gomez said.

Gomez was able to salvage $200 worth of groceries after picking up several bags of dry ice from Con Ed at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 48th Street. That spot is one of three hand-out locations in Sunset Park and Borough Park. Some people who came by did not want ice. They wanted answers.

"They said they shut it down purposely because they didn't want to lose the power in the whole area," Borough Park resident Motty Seelfrund. "That's why they shut the whole block."

For many, the solution was a sweaty one. Stand around outside. Find some shade and wait.

"You see everybody coming outside opening the front doors, people hanging out in the front cause that's where you got most of the wind," Saul Delgado of Sunset Park told CBS 2 HD.

Residents of Sunset Park, Bay Ridge and Borough Park were asked to do Con Ed the favor of turning off non-essential electrical appliances. But being told by Con Ed to conserve power angers some residents who say they are stuck on their front stoops sweating out this heat wave, fuming over their $100-a-month power bills.

Sue Dale of Sunset Park said Con Ed can ask people to conserve electricity, but some simply cannot.

"You get a lot of elderly, heart problems, things like that," Dale said. "They can't take the heat. They can't take it. So they can't conserve the way Con Ed would like them to."

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