Issue Position: Local Issues - Queens Blackout

Issue Position

In July 2006, during one of the hottest weeks in New York in recent memory, more than 100,000 Queens residents were left without power when the power grid failed. Shockingly, it took Con Edison days to assess the problem and give an accurate estimate of customers without power. The affected Queens residents were left in the dark and without air conditioning or refrigeration for more than a week, impacting the elderly and the sick and costing Queens businesses thousands of dollars.

I have pressed Con Ed for answers and have asked for a government hearings on the fiasco. For three days, members of my staff visited and contacted local businesses to get a better sense of the blackout's impact on area businesses, and I issued a report based on the findings. To make more than 100,000 residents go without power in the most oppressive of weather conditions is a disaster, and for the power company to be slow and confused in their response is unacceptable. I am working to ensure that this type of problem is not repeated.

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