Con Edison is slowly restoring power to the 21,655 customers in the Bronx who were left without it after Tropical Storm Isaias passed through the area on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The National Weather Service reported sustained winds in the area of 30 to 40 miles per hour, which brought down large trees on top of parked vehicles, houses and power lines.

 

Power outages were reported in Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Bay Plaza, Kingsbridge, Williamsbridge and Riverdale. One resident of Williamsbridge reported that the lights went out Tuesday, briefly came back on Thursday night August 6, went off again at 3 a.m., before being restored later that morning.

Morris Park residents along Van Nest Avenue, less than a half mile from a Con Edison plant on Bronxdale Avenue, reported that they had lost power around noon on Tuesday, Aug 4. One resident was frustrated that a more precise target restoration date could not be provided by Con Edison. “They say they can’t give us a day when they’re coming,” the resident said. “No, nothing.”

 

The resident then pointed to a transformer atop a telephone pole on Van Nest Avenue. “The tree branch broke, and you see the red light on it?” he asked. “It’s the secondary breaker. All they have to do is go up and push the button and reset it. That’s what a guy told me the other day.” He said a Con Edison worker had visited the area after the storm and surveyed the damage.

 

Many Van Nest Avenue homes between Paulding Avenue and Lurting Avenue were left in darkness. Some homes on Hone Avenue had power, while others did not, while many residents ran their own generators until power was restored. Later, in the wee hours of Friday, Aug. 7, Paulding Avenue lost power for about 15 minutes before coming back on.

 

On Saturday, Aug. 8, another Morris Park resident reported that power had been restored that morning after nearly five days in darkness. “Yeah, they showed up this morning and trimmed some of the tree, and pressed the little button, and reset it and the power came back on,” the home owner and business owner said, confirming the assertion made by the other resident about the transformer. “We were without power for five days. We had to shut down the business for three months,” he added. “It’s been hard. What’s next? Earthquakes and locusts?”

One resident at Pelham Parkway and Stillwell Avenue reported power was lost at 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, and returned on Friday, August 7. The resident also reported that the power went on and off several times, before eventually going back on permanently. “I could tell they were working on it,” the resident said. “My mom said it was going to go back off again, and it did, but it came back on again.”

 

The same resident explained that she could not keep calling, and holding on calls to Con Edison, because her cellphone kept dying.

Con Edison's President Tim Cawley Briefed the Media today August 9, 2020. See it here: https://t.co/eNZeiQnFnn

— Con Edison (@ConEdison) August 9, 2020

 

She concluded, “It’s been hell. I felt homeless even though I have a home. It felt like a third world country. It was crazy. You have to appreciate the little things now”.

 

Tim Cawley, president of Con Ed provided a verbal update on power restoration progress to the media on Aug. 9, which was later circulated on Twitter.

On Sunday evening Aug. 9, at 8.30 p.m., Con Edison provided an update to the public via their website, writing that 3,236 customers still remained without power in the borough, and the target restoration time was still 11 p.m.

 

By Monday morning, there were still 1,452 Bronx households without electricity, with Con Ed updating the message on its outage map writing only that additional work was needed, but with no new estimated time for restoration of power for the remaining households.

 

*Síle Moloney provided additional reporting to this story.