Photo by Síle Moloney
Some Bronx residents living in ZIP code NY 10467, which broadly covers the Norwood and Olinville neighborhoods, have officially reported a loss of landline phone service since Thursday, April 24, according to one Norwood female resident who spoke recently with Verizon. The elderly resident, who happens to also have a cell phone and who lives on Dekalb Avenue by East 212th Street, said her service actually stopped April 22.
“I personally was on a call on Tuesday, April 22, when I heard a long, loud beep and the call dropped,” the female resident said. “The same thing happened another two times, then [the call] went dead entirely. There was no longer a dial tone. I didn’t report anything immediately because I thought a wire may have accidentally gotten disconnected.”
The resident continued, “Subsequently, after several calls to Verizon using my cell phone, I learned that underground construction work had caused extensive damage to phone wires. It’s not known how long it will take to repair.”
Image courtesy of Google Maps
The resident said to her knowledge numerous customers had been affected. “Those who have no cell phone as a back-up are out of luck,” she said. Norwood News reached out to Verizon for comment and will share any updates we receive. The Norwood News office is located in ZIP code NY 10467 and our phones are operational, though our wifi has been weak/spotty.
Con Ed have been carrying out roadworks in the broader Norwood/Bedford Park area for the last month. We’ve also reached out to Con Ed for comment and will share any feedback we receive. Con Ed asked us for an example of an affected address and we shared one with them.
In the meantime, residents with cell phones who are affected by the landline issue can contact Verizon on their customer service line at 1-800-837-4966 and ask for technical support for more details. The affected female resident we spoke to recommended ignoring recorded questions and just pressing “0” to ask to speak to a representative, and then giving “no service” as the reason for the call. She said it’s possible that some landline services have already been restored.
Photo by Síle Moloney
The resident said she was informed by Verizon that her bill would be automatically credited for the days during which she has had no service.
Tracey Towers, located on the border of Norwood and Bedford Park, which houses 871 residential units across two towers, is located in adjacent Zip Code NY 10468. During a visit (story to follow) to the towers on Monday, April 28, by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and City Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), none of the residents immediately mentioned that there was any landline issue.
Photo by Síle Moloney
We followed up with one two different residents of Tracey Towers, which houses a large number of older adults, after we heard the news of the outage and at least one, Sheila Reinhardt Ballard, said she still had service but said one of her neighbors has not had consistent service for quite some time. “They never seem to get it right for her,” she said. “And she needs to have her service because her husband is disabled,” Reinhardt Ballard added.
It’s unclear if the lack of service for the affected resident is related to the construction works or something else. We are checking with other residents and will share any further updates we receive.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.