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Con Edison Archives

August 14, 2008

The 2003 blackout: 5 years ago this afternoon

A couple hugs as pedestrians react to the power outage in Times Square.
The famous electronic displays went down with the rest of the city's power
grid. (AP Photo / August 14, 2003)

About 4:14 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2003, my E train had (thankfully) just pulled into the 23rd Street-Ely station in Queens when it came to an abrupt halt. The lights went out. As our conductor awaited word "from supervision," I disembarked and, guided with the light of my cell phone, made it up to the base of the Citigroup building. And to my shock, there were hundreds of people milling about, with many looking west at the skyline and speculating that al-Qaida had struck again. For me, a two-hour walk to Kew Gardens awaited to reach Newsday's Queens office, where a long night of battery-powered light awaited.

Where were you when the 2003 blackout happened? How did you cope? Let us know in the comments. Click here to read David Freedlander's cover piece on the anniversary, and whether we are any safer than we were five years ago. Check out our photo gallery here.

-- Rolando Pujol

Posted by Rolando Pujol on August 14, 2008 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

July 20, 2008

Con Ed urges some Brooklynites to ease up on the AC use after outages -- no sweat, right?

Con Ed crews work to restore power in Borough Park on Sunday. (Photos by Kathleen Bulson)

Heading into the sixth day of a heat wave Monday, Con Ed is asking some Brooklynites to conserve power after the scorching temperatures left 2,000 customers without power Sunday morning.

By the end of the day, Con Ed crews restored power to all but 20 customers in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge. However, the utility company was still reducing voltage to Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Borough Park and Prospect Park by 8 percent and asking thousands of residents to turn off unnecessary appliances, including air conditioners.

Failed electric cables were the source of the outages, which were met with a high of 94 yesterday. The heat wave is expected to fizzle out by mid-week, when temperatures drop to the mid-80s.

Lower temperatures would be a huge relief for folks yesterday who were trying to find creative ways to stay cool.

“I took the kids to my mothers,” said Jennie Gonzalez, 47, of Sunset Park, who lost power for 19 hours. “It was the worst day ever. I threw out everything in the fridge.”

-- Marlene Naanes and Kathleen Bulson

Miriam Aviles, 58, cools off Sunday with her granddaughter Destiny Menendez, 5, in Borough Park.

Posted by Rolando Pujol on July 20, 2008 6:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

July 1, 2008

Con Ed talks down to the wire

Updated 7:05: With a midnight strike deadline looming, talks between Con Edison and a union representing 9,000 of its workers are coming down to wire.

If talking seems futile later tonight, the union is prepared to walk.

"It’s much too early to get our arms around it right now," said Joe Flaherty, a spokesman for the union, in an interview with amNewYork around 6:30 p.m.

A mediator is sitting down with Utility Workers Union Local 1-2 and power company representatives at 345 Hudson St.

Wages are one of several issues the two sides have been unable to agree upon. Late last week, Con Ed offered a 4 percent raise over the next three years. Some additional pay increases required approval by employees' supervisors.

The union had rejected the offer as an insult and accused the utility of negotiating in bad faith.

Michael Clendenin, a spokesman for Con Ed, said negotiations "can go either way." The company wants "a settlement that would be fair to our employees and something that would hold down costs for our customers."

"We're not their yet," he said.

Asked if the clock would be pushed back, Clendenin said it's possible.

“We are prepared to work as long as it takes to get a settlement,” he added.

Clendenin said customers won't notice if workers strike.

“If there is a strike the power will continue to flow. Our managers are prepared to keep our electric, gas, and steam running."

Some routine maintenance won't be done and there will be curtailing of meter reading in the event of a strike.

“Any emergency or outages that occur we're prepared to respond to," Clendenin said.

Flaherty disagrees with the idea of a strike without an impact to service.

"You think that 9,000 workers can walk off the job and it would have no effect? Does that sound reasonable to you?”

-- Matthew Sweeney

Posted by Rolando Pujol on July 1, 2008 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 29, 2008

Macy's, Gimbel's went dark during '83 Con Ed strike

The last time Con Ed workers went on strike was 25 years ago, and during the nine-week walkout, a blackout briefly shut down the Garment District.

The 16,500 members of Utility Workers Union Local 1-2 walked off the job on June 18, 1983. At the time, the workers -- plant operators, repairmen, clerks and meter readers -- had an average pay of $12.16 an hour.

The only service disruption during the strike occurred on Aug. 10. Some 12 blocks around Herald Square and the Garment District -- including Macy’s and Gimbel’s -- suffered a blackout when a broken water main shorted out power lines and started a fire in a Con Ed substation.

The department stores quickly switched to emergency generators.

It took three days for Con Ed managers to restore power, leaving the city and the garment industry to find temporary showroom space for local businesses.

In the meantime, picketers marched up and down in front of Con Ed plants in New York and Westchester.

The two sides finalized a new contract on Aug. 18, when the employees accepted Con Ed’s offer of a 14.5 percent raise over three years. The workers also received stock options and improved health, retirement and disability benefits.

Prior to the 1983 strike, Local 1-2 members had walked out for 13 days 1968.

- Matthew Sweeney

Gimbel's photo via www.wm.edu; Macy's photo via Wallyg on Flickr

Posted by Rolando Pujol on June 29, 2008 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

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