The following is from Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer:
CON EDISON POWER OUTAGES
We made substantial progress today with Con Ed. That is very good news for the many residents that were restored...but obviously disappointing to those that remain dark and cold.
Pierce, Dogwood, Charlemont, Onderdonk, Sarles, Pleasant, and the Greenwood coop section along Bedford Road were restored today, though there may be a few individual homes in those areas that have issues that remain.
I wish I could report what we expect tomorrow...but Con Ed cannot as yet give us information about where crews will be deployed tomorrow. We have been engaged with Con Ed literally all day today, with our DPW superintendent and foreman following crews around the Village, and repeated calls with Con Ed and County reps. Amid this, there are neighboring towns with a bigger percentage of their homes out of power, and the daily municipal conference calls have been the setting for multiple angry exchanges.
I'm pleased by the progress made today, but have made urgent and strong pleas to keep a similar focus on Pville tomorrow to resolve our remaining outages. I will report tomorrow as soon as we are able to get information about resources headed here.
WEATHER REPORT
Bad weather will arrive tomorrow afternoon and continue into Thursday. The National Weather Service forecast is as follows:
TONIGHT: Increasing clouds, with a low around 33. Northeast wind 5 to 14 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Rain and snow likely before 2pm, then rain between 2pm and 4pm, then rain and snow after 4pm. High near 41. Windy, with a north wind 22 to 29 mph, with gusts as high as 44 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Rain and snow. Low around 32. Windy, with a north wind 28 to 33 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
THURSDAY: Rain and snow showers likely before 9am, then a chance of rain showers. Cloudy, with a high near 44. Windy, with a north wind 21 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Thursday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34. Breezy, with a northwest wind 17 to 21 mph.
FRIDAY: Sunny, with a high near 53, night-time low around 38.
SHELTERS AND WARMING CENTERS
We remain concerned about people without power who may be at risk in these cold conditions...especially with the anticipated bad weather.
Daytime warming centers are available at the library and at Pace (see below), and an overnight shelter is open in Mount Pleasant Town Hall (info at 769-1941). If you are aware of any neighbors who may be at risk as the cold continues, please let us know via email reply to me (pscherer@me.com) or by calling Village Hall at 769-1940. Many area houses of worship have opened their doors for warming as well.
Pace University has offered it's gym in Willcox Hall as a warming center for local residents today through Thursday. The specific times are listed below. Willcox Hall is best accessed by using Entrance 1 on Bedford Road, and the gym is located on the ground floor. They are providing power strips for people to charge cell phones and/or other electrical devices. (Map: http://www.pace.edu/about-us/sites/pace.edu.about-us/files/plvmap07.pdf) Willcox is open Wednesday from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm and Thursday from 9:00 am – 7:00 pm.
Quite a few residents have offered to make dinners for people and/or to offer temporary housing. Please let us know (pscherer@me.com or Patti Dwyer at 769-1940) if you want to connect with those generous neighbors...or want to suggest someone who might be relieved to have this help.
GENERATOR NOTES
As bad weather approaches, be careful about using portable generators in wet conditions. Some generators should not be exposed to rain, and wet electrical plugs present obvious risks. Refer to your manuals to prepare for rain.
VILLAGE SCHEDULES
Sanitation, recycling, yard waste and leaf pick-up are on normal schedules this week. All Village operations are open today (Election Day).
I know from talking to many residents that everybody is worn pretty thin, and my own still-dark house and neighborhood makes clear what this means to many of you still awaiting restoration of power. As the days go by, more and more people offer to help in visible ways and behind the scenes, and I thank each of you for that help.
We're working in absolutely every way we can to restore normalcy...and it will be a great relief to the staff and Village Board to be able to report to you that the last home is lit. We won't stop until that happens.
Thanks-
Peter
