City Council holds hearing on Con Ed transformer explosion

CBS NY

 The New York City Council held a hearing Monday on what caused December’s “Astoria Borealis.”

A malfunction at a Con Edison substation in Queens sent out a blue light that could be seen for miles, CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis reported.
When the city skyline lit up that night, it was a moment that was hard to believe and impossible to forget.
And if you just so happened to be on social media at the time, you likely saw the supernova shades spark some interesting theories.

Fortunately, there were no major injuries, but there were temporary power outages, among other community concerns.
“Families’ homes shook. There was air quality concerns. There was safety concerns,” council member Costa Constantinides said. “We’re gonna get some hard answers from Con Ed as to what happened.”


The council’s Environmental Protection Committee, which Constantinides chairs, heard more from the utility at a meeting on Monday.
“We replaced the faulty equipment, installed a redundant system, and are working directly with the manufacturer to minimize the chance of this happening again,” said Milovan Blair, Con Ed’s senior VP for central operations.

 I have two theories on how this occurred. There is the possibility that the plant at the time couldn't take the amount of energy consumption being used by the growing populace in the area, particularly by the tower hyperdevelopment in Long Island City.

Or the Highlander returned to Queens....

City's biggest sinkhole?

From PIX11:

Rene Rodriguez says he was dumbfounded but not surprised, when he saw a massive sinkhole open up outside his home on Manhattan Avenue near 101st Street on the Upper West Side Tuesday morning.

It’s a sinkhole he and many residents who live in the area have complained to the city about since 2013.

“It just got bigger and bigger and they would fill it up with asphalt, asphalt and more asphalt and yesterday it finally gave in,” Rodriguez told PIX11 News.

After calling 311, both ConEdison and the Department of Environmental Protection arrived to the scene. Workers assessed the damage, put up a few cones and then, according to Rodriguez, left.

“It’s what, Wednesday the eighth, 2 o’clock in the afternoon and the sinkhole is still here,” he said. “If it was Fifth Avenue or Park Avenue this matter would’ve been settled already.”

The sinkhole measures roughly 15 by 7 feet in size, and nearly 4 feet in depth, consuming an entire side of Manhattan Avenue.

The crater makes it almost impossible for traffic to get through, but it isn’t stopping some drivers from trying.

Defective cables cause frightening explosions

From CBS 2:

A series of manhole explosions rocked a Queens neighborhood Monday, damaging several cars parked cars and leaving dozens without power.

Just before 11 p.m., an electrical fire shot blue flames out of a manhole on Queens Boulevard between 67th and 68th avenues in Forest Hills.

Some people who live nearby captured one of the blasts on video. In a matter of minutes, two more explosions sent smoke billowing into the air.

Con Edison officials told CBS2 the blasts were caused by defective cables underground.

“Then all of a sudden I saw huge pieces, I couldn’t tell if they were — if they were metal or concrete, but I saw three huge pieces fly,” said Ben Benyamin.

That airborne debris landed on parked cars, cracking windshields and crushing hoods. It took the FDNY nearly two hours to extinguish the raging flames underground.

How long to fix a light?

From the Times Ledger:

Residents on a Queens Village street are increasingly concerned about a streetlight they claim has not worked for months after repeated inquiries to city departments and Con Edison.

“It’s very dark, it’s pitch black at night,” Miriam Schiffman, 88, said while sitting in the living room of her home on 221st Street between 89th and 90th avenues in Queens Village. “It’s become a quality-of-life issue.”

Directly across the street was the street light in question, who Miriam and her husband Norman, 93, said had been out of service since March 4. Miriam said they immediately called 311, and learned two weeks later that the issue had been referred to Con Ed. Afterwards, there were several months of back-and-forths between 311, the NYC DOT and Con Ed. Miriam Schiffman said the couple reached out to the offices of state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Hollis) and Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens) for assistance.

A spokesman for Con Ed said it had contacted the DOT in April to tell the agency that the concrete foundation of the lamppost needed to be repaired before the utility could restore power. Norman Schiffman disputed the assertion, saying he believed there was no issue with the concrete.

As of Tuesday the light was still dark, but on Wednesday a DOT source said the organization was aware of the problem and the light would be inspected that evening.

Con Ed scam calls proliferating

From CBS 2:

Con Edison issued a warning Wednesday about con artists who claim to represent the public utility, and CBS2 has discovered several small business owners that have already become victims.

As CBS2’s Magdalena Doris reported, Con Ed said it gets 15 to 20 calls about such scams every day. In one recent occasion, the crooks snagged $1,000, and when CBS2’s Doris called to confront the scammers, they weren’t too happy.

Tearing up the streets

From the Daily News:

City streets are increasingly being chopped up by utility firms to make repairs without permission — despite the de Blasio administration’s vow to boost road safety.

The city issued 3,909 summonses in 2014 to Con Ed, KeySpan Energy, Verizon and other smaller firms for illegally tearing up streets, according to data obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request.

By contrast, the city issued an estimated 4,800 tickets in 2013, 1,692 in 2012, 1,758 in 2011 and 1,027 in 2010, records show.

The roadwork can be dangerous.

“Without a doubt, whenever a crew has a road opened up and partially blocked, it’s a danger,” said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair.

The unwarranted street work comes after the city has tried to crack down on utility companies that don’t follow the rules.

In 2010, the city increased fines, to $1,500 from $800, for shredding streets without permission.

But the city’s main utility companies have not been deterred.

Con Ed, the city’s largest utility, was hit with a whopping $14 million in fines in 2014, records show.

LIC hipsters just want to be assholes

Dear Crappy,

Today I decided to savor some sunshine and take a walk. I felt enjoying my community's "public"/"park" spaces was in order, so I headed over to the Manhattan Avenue Kayak Launch. The attached photos, which I knew you would find interesting given recent events, were taken at 1:17 pm. Although they pretty much speak for themselves, I will elaborate a bit. The bearded fellow (to the right) was engaged in a conversation with the fellow in the orange shirt (to the left). About what is anyone's idea. At one point there was a fellow to the left of the orange shirted fellow. He appeared to be taking photos of the bearded guy and the orange shirted guy talking. He could have been taking photos of the bulkhead (Queens side, obviously) of the former bridge which once spanned from Manhattan Avenue to Long Island City. Or both. Too difficult to tell.

Cheers!

Your comrade on other side of the creek,

NYS

Parking one's boat on a Superfund site as well as on top of a gas line - not too bright.

Bill may force utilities to repair streets they destroy

From the Daily News:

Utility companies that trash streets while doing underground work would face jacked up fines under legislation being introduced in the City Council.

When companies like Con Ed, Time Warner and Verizon tear up streets to do utility work, they’re required to repave the road and leave it in good shape.

But Councilman Dan Garodnick said there are frequent complaints that streets are left unevenly paved, marred with potholes, or strewn with debris.

The bill he is sponsoring would double fines from $5,000 to $10,000 for violations like digging up a street without a permit, repaving a street improperly, or blocking a fire hydrant or bus stop.

Fines would jump from $1,000 to $5,000 for improperly installing curbs, failing to remove debris, and similar violations.

Con Ed uses interesting jerry-rigging in Sunnyside

From WPIX:

SUNNYSIDE, Queens — The hot temperatures can wreak havoc on the power grid — so much so that earlier this week, Con Edison had power outages.

Along 46th Street in Sunnyside, Queens, neighbors are being asked to conserve power after a breakdown.

Hans Von Rittern contacted PIX11’s Greg Mocker about the temporary repair. A wire is running across the road and it is suspended between two trees. The wire is tied to the branches.

Con Edison said it will review the work.

Illegal gas hookup found at Astoria complex

From DNA Info:

Elected officials and residents rallied outside the Acropolis Gardens co-ops Monday, where tenants have been living without cooking gas and hot water for nearly two months — despite management's initial promise that the service would be restored by June 19.

Con Edison shut gas off at eight buildings at the development on April 29 because of "unauthorized, improper hookups," according to a spokesman. As of yet, only two of those buildings have had service restored.

The co-ops are managed by Metropolitan Pacific Properties, whose president Steve Osman previously told DNAinfo that Con Edison made an error in shutting off the gas after coming to inspect the properties following a small fire.

A Con Edison spokesman, however, said the service was cut because of "unauthorized, improper hook ups that violate building codes."

"Building management has been made fully aware of what they need to do. Gas was shut off for the safety of the residents," the rep said. "We'll continue working with the city to make restorations as proper repairs are made.”

An attorney for the buildings' co-op board, which contracts Metropolitan Pacific Properties, said Con Edison told them they need to replace the meters at the buildings, but that the utility company were out of the replacement meters.

Con Edison, however, disputes this claim, saying they have not run out of meters.

The attorney, Michael Maio, said the repair process has also been drawn out because workers have to check every individual apartment for gas leaks — none have been found, he said — which requires that tenants be home.

Who needs infrastructure upgrades?

From the Daily News:

An elderly woman was hospitalized after a busted water main sent thousands of gallons of water pouring into the street and flooding homes in Queens early Saturday, officials and residents said.

The flooding impacted 100 homes, according to fire officials, and cracked off slabs of sidewalk on 23rd St. near 24th Dr. in Astoria.

Emergency responders brought the woman to Elmhurst Hospital as a precaution after her home filled with about three feet of water, neighbors and fire officials said

Zach Borst, 29, was coming up around 4 a.m. when he saw the brown water gushing out of a hole in the sidewalk where Con Edison had been working early this week.

"It was like a geyser. It was literally just rushing out, thousands of gallons of water," he said. "It was chaos. A total deluge."

Residents say the busted main let loose a torrent for about two hours until the water was shut off around 6:30 a.m.

Briarwood subway entrance construction almost done

From DNA Info:

Construction work on the new main entrance to the Briarwood-Van Wyck F train station, which was initially scheduled to be completed last fall, is almost finished, the state Department of Transportation said.

Diane Park, a spokeswoman for the state DOT, would not, however, say when the entrance will reopen, leaving skeptical residents to wonder whether crews will meet the projected deadline after a delay of more than a year.

Park said that the project requires the cooperation of various state and local agencies, as well as Con Edison, and has to be approved by the MTA. But she noted that “things are progressing" and “we are in the inspection phase."

Photos provided by the state DOT show a complete entrance, but Park said the entryway is in the middle of "an active construction zone." The reopening, she said, will require installation of lighting, building a concrete walkway and other landscaping improvements, she said.

Con Edison sprays anti-theft ID on copper wire

Program Will Protect Equipment & Service Reliability

Con Edison has begun a program to prevent copper thefts by spraying identifying markings on the equipment.

The utility is working with DataDot Technology to use a spray system that leaves dot markings on the copper or equipment. Each set of dots has a unique identifier, logo or numbered ID, that is invisible to the naked eye but can be viewed with a UV light.

“We are starting this program to protect our equipment, but more importantly the service we provide to our customers,” said Arturo Claudio, Area Manager with Con Edison Corporate Security. “Thieves who steal our copper that is in use in our electrical delivery system can get hurt or killed, endanger public safety and cause outages.”


Con Edison will work with the police to review records and products at metal and scrapyards. Police can use the dots and records to determine who sold a piece of copper to a scrap yard and where the copper was last stored by Con Edison.

In 2013, Con Edison reported 155 thefts of copper cable from manholes, trucks or other company facilities. Thieves often sell the highly valued copper to scrapyards.

Con Ed performs rescue after car accident

Con Edison Crew Rescues a Baby, Two Women Trapped at Scene of an Auto Collision
Four Con Edison workers rescued a baby and two women earlier this week when the cars they were driving in collided, bringing down a traffic light and exposing electric wires to spilled gasoline.

“We heard a loud crash and saw gasoline pouring out from under one of the cars right next to the pedestrian crossing sign that was hit,” said James DeVita, Brooklyn/Queens Overhead Supervisor. “And we saw people inside, trying to get out.”

The collision took place about 12:30PM Tuesday at the intersection of Francis Lewis Blvd. and 53rd Ave. in Queens. One car caromed off a pedestrian crossing sign at the northwest corner of the intersection causing the sign to topple and break.

The Con Edison workers immediately lowered themselves from their overhead buckets and ran one-and-a-half blocks to the accident scene.

“It was kind of crazy. We were standing in gasoline and then we saw the baby in the back seat,” said Rich Coyle, Chief Lineman.

DeVita and another Con Edison Lineman, Chris Jensen, quickly worked to free the baby and an unconscious woman in the driver’s seat. “I finally had to cut the little girl out of the seat. The gas fumes were getting pretty strong,” added DeVita.

Another lineman, Mauricio Rincon, also helped with the rescue, including getting another injured woman out of the other car by bringing her over the front seat to the back in order to get her out through the undamaged rear door.

“And all this time, we could see those exposed wires – something we know about,” said DeVita. He also dialed 911.

The crew managed to quickly get all the victims far enough away from the accident scene just as NYPD and FDNY responders arrived and aided the victims. The two women and baby are unidentified and the extent of injuries unknown.

“I have a six-year-old daughter,” said Lineman Rincon, “and that’s all I could think of was to get that baby out of danger.”

The workers were installing an overhead transformer in front of nearby P.S. 62 as part of Con Edison’s summer preparations.

Crappy illegal street repairs are epidemic

From the Daily News:

Thousands of city streets are being torn up by utility firms making repairs without permission, city records show.

The number of fines levied against Con Ed, KeySpan Energy and smaller construction companies for illegally chopping up streets has risen 130% over the past five years, from 937 in 2008 to 2,153 in 2013, according to records obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request filed in November.

“It certainly contributes to lousy pavements in the city. And the conditions of the streets are directly related to safety,” said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair.

City Department of Transportation honchos say the increase in violations is due in part to more work being done on the streets and inspectors fanning out across the five boroughs, hunting for unsanctioned, pavement-busting projects.

In 2010, the city beefed up fines, to $1,500 from $800, for jackhammering on streets without a permit.

But the number of violations has steadily gone up despite the souped-up penalties, the data reveal.

Since 2008, the city has hauled in $13.5 million from bad-behaving utilities, records show.

Con Ed, the city’s largest utility, has been hit with the most fines over the past two years, the records show.

Another scam: Green Dot Moneypak

From The Forum:

Police are urging the public to beware one of the latest scams that is growing in Queens, and throughout the city.

Frequently referred to as the “green dot money scam,” the crime often involves con artists, who claim to be from companies like Con Edison, making phone calls to residents and threatening people with service disruptions if they do not send funds immediately via a “Green Dot MoneyPak.”

The scam is not only limited to utility companies, police stressed: The unsolicited calls could be from anyone demanding money.

Last week, NYPD Inspector James Klein penned a letter to owners of businesses where the green dot cards are sold, asking for their cooperation in combating the crime that he noted often targets elderly and immigrant communities.

“This scam has netted criminals thousands and thousands of dollars, negatively impacting those who can least afford it,” Klein wrote.

In the letter, the officer asked owners to display a flyer in their store – particularly near the green dot cards – about the scam.

Sad day in Harlem

From the Daily News:

In the months before a gas leak leveled two E. Harlem buildings, there were telltale signs of potential trouble.

Tenants say they complained repeatedly about strong gas odor in the buildings, making calls to 311 as recently as Wednesday morning.

And as of Wednesday, the city had yet to check to see if the owner of one of the doomed buildings had ever repaired a dangerous wall crack discovered in 2008.

Nine months ago a contractor installed a new gas line from the basement to the 5th floor in one of the buildings, and was allowed to sign off on his own work under a common practice known as “self-certification.”

At the time, the installation was “audited” by the city to ensure there were no leaks and as of Wednesday officials said there was no suggestion the new pipe caused the leak.

110 Frost-y the slumlord

Gina Argento is married to John Ciafone, failed candidate for City Council and a bonafide slumlord as per former Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio. He is also listed as CEO of Broadway Stages on Dizzy Lizzy's campaign filings.



He has found himself entering court as a defendant quite a bit over the past 5 years. Note that one of the attorneys to bring Ciafone to court was Frank Bolz, III, Chair of the Queens Democratic Party and law partner of Congress Member Joseph Crowley's father and brother. I suppose this is may be why he never has gotten the endorsement of the Queens Machine.



I wonder how many legislative proclamations they have hanging on the walls at 203 Meserole Avenue (Broadway Stages), which just so happens to be connected to 110 Frost Street, one of Ciafone's more violation-prone buildings?





I'm sure, being such upstanding citizens, that the Ciafones paid taxes on the rental income from that extra unit. (Note the non-kosher advertising banner on the facade of the residential property.)

It's interesting that this bunch has plenty of money to throw at politicians and to sink into a hotel, a jail and a club pretending to be an arts center, but not enough to fix up their properties.

Remediation of Farrington Avenue site underway

From the Queens Tribune:

The third phase of Con Edison’s remedial investigation at a Flushing site is underway.

The agency entered into a voluntary cleanup agreement with the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the State Dept. of Health to investigate and remediate potential impacts at former manufactured gas plant sites, such as the Farrington Street Gas Works. The latest phase of this investigation is taking place through January.

The agency is looking into sites that were at one point operated by Con Ed or its predecessor companies, before natural gas became widely available. These plants, which operated between the 1800s and mid-1900s, were used to convert coal and oil into gas for heating, lighting and cooking.

One example is the former New York & Queens Gas Company, which manufactured and stored gas at Farrington Street Gas Works. That company used to own properties on the blocks contained by Linden Place to the east, Downing Street to the west, 31st Road to the north and 32nd Drive to the south. The site is approximately 6.17 acres of land.

The areas the agency is looking into now contain a Pathmark grocery, pharmacy and various stores, a Con Ed storage facility and a Con Ed truck flush facility.

The third and current phase of this project includes the collection of soil and groundwater samples around the Pathmark building. When the testing is completed, a report will be issued with the findings and results of the investigation, along with Con Ed’s next steps.

During the remedial investigations, Con Ed said extensive efforts are being made to protect the community from potential hazards, such as real-time air monitoring.

At Forest Park, safety continues to be a joke

From Project Woodhaven:

There has been another attack on a female jogger, again in the Forest Hills section of Forest Park. This attack, similar to an attack in the same area in March, took place near the secluded horse trails which joggers frequently use. Is it the same perpetrator? Here are the 2 sketches of the suspect -- the April attack suspect is at left (wearing a stocking cap) and the suspect from last week is at the right:


Unresolved Dangerous Conditions

There are lights out all over the area -- and the amount of time it is taking to resolve is completely unacceptable.

1) Forest Park Drive - From Park Lane South to Myrtle, through Forest Park, across Woodhaven Boulevard. Reported to 311 and DOT inspected and, unbelievably, they closed the 311 after inspecting it.

2) Myrtle Avenue, from Woodhaven Boulevard to Park Lane South - a long dark stretch. We parked along there the other morning -- when we got back from the track, this had happened:


And yet, even though the lights have been out for a while (reported 8/16) they have not yet been repaired. The map below shows where we know there to be lighting issues in and around Forest Park.

These issues have been reported to 311. But in light of the recent attacks, DOT and Con Edison needs to escalate these problems and fix them immediately. As in, today.

There is no excuse for the city to put people who use the park in jeopardy.

And people wonder why the residents of Woodhaven aren't enthusiastic about the QueensWay? Check out how the city currently takes care of park security -- and this isn't a new problem and ask yourself if you want more of that brought directly into your neighborhood.

I'm sure Liz Crowley will get right on this. Just about every article about the rape mentions that she regularly jogs in Forest Park. I guess she's been jogging with a blindfold on.