Residents and City Workers Respond to Storm with Patience & Dedication
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As you know, a mid-March storm disrupted electrical power for tens of thousands of households in our region, including about 8,000 households in New Rochelle, nearly a third of our city. According to Con Ed, this was most extensive power outage in at least a generation. While electricity to some homes was restored quickly, many others had to wait several days. Our own personal experience was fairly typical: no power at our house for four days.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the City’s emergency response team, including Fire, Police, and Public Works employees, for a professional and effective response. Many worked around the clock to address very challenging conditions. I was also impressed with Con Ed’s overall performance, which was far better and more coordinated than in prior crises. Of course, in any event of this scope and severity, there will be errors and misjudgments, but the overall response was as good as could be expected. Most impressive of all was the patience and calm demonstrated by residents whose lives were seriously disrupted. Our community should be proud of its conduct.
One final note: during the storm clean-up period, the City sent a number of automated phone calls with vital information. Many of the residents who could most benefit from these messages, however, were unable to receive them, because their telephone land lines did not function. To ensure that you are connected in future emergencies, you can sign up to receive messages on your cell phone or via email. To do so, please visit this link and follow instructions.