It is also happening in Manhattan albeit in zip codes that NYC officials don't care much about either. Like Harlem. I have a friend who lives on a block that has had three blackouts (one lasted up to nine hours!) in TWO days.

It's not been only LIC that lost power. Also woodside and sunnyside and -- some say --
astoria.

I live on the Upper East Side, and was in Astoria today and happen to agree. A friend lives in Astoria who has not had power since Monday and was told by Con Ed not to expect it back until SUNDAY. Those folks are ready to blow - and they should be...

As a longtime Astoria resident, I have to say the way this has been handled is outrageous. Most of Astoria has had no power or barely enough power to operate a fan since Monday, and it looks like we have to wait until Sunday or later to get it back. The lack of coverage of this situation is both shocking and appalling. Local residents and businesses are losing their food and suffering, and yet little seems to be happening. We need answers as to how this happened and how Con Edison will make sure it doesn't happen again.

Dirk! Its Elana! Long time no see! Great to hear from you on the DMIblog.

Keep us posted on the power situation if you have any power updates. How maddening!

I called Con Ed on the first day -- they said, "your neighbors on the block already called." Sounded annoyed.
I called the Mayor's Office. The Mayor's representative said "call Con Ed. Is there anything else we can help you with?" I called the local Police Precinct. They said they were trying to bring help into the neighborhood--that took at least 24 hours more. I feel like I am a hostage living in third-world Cuba, and Manhattan is Miami Beach. Just over there, but far away!

The girl with the cubicle next to mine lives in Astoria, she has had no power for days now and was told it won't be on until next Tuesday probably. She's living with her ex right now out in Nassa.

Con Ed is playing games, they'll make a huge profit raising rates now that they've proven there is scarcity in the market.

You can be sure this news has been so poorly reported in all the media! Not only that, Con Ed is not communicating with the public through the media. This is pathetic and in the meantime, who knows the extent of the suffering until power is restored. There is also a news blackout in the affected areas with the very local papers - the Queens Chronicle and Queens Tribune and Queens Gazette.
Con Ed has said they are using money to upgrade their system, but it is so obvious they are only lining pockets, and, meanwhile, folks in Queens are third class citizens.
People need to remember this crisis during election time and demand a complete and thorough investigation into the response to this disaster.

As long term resident of Astoria, and living through the agony of the 6th day of power outages in Northwest Queens, I'm becoming increasingly concerned for the people in this area. Specifically, the lack of leadership, communication issues, and my concerns for individual people whose lives are increasingly endangered. Water, food, and ice have been distributed to a few people who found out about the distributions mostly by word of mouth. From what I've observed, there is almost no effective communication to the public at large. Local officals are themselves without the tools to contact their constitutency. Con Ed has no effective means or the will to inform and help people in need. They misinform the press about the number of people affected. NYC or non-profit organizations (Red Cross, etc.)are not making any real effort to reach individuals who are in desparate need whether because of ill health, age, etc. The commercial community is also suffering tremendously. Employees and employers are losing their livelihoods. Some will not recover.

Long from Astoria

Hi Elana -
Thanks for the kind welcome.
Much of Astoria has power again, but pockets remain without power at all, and areas which have gotten power back continue to fail again (sometimes for the third and fourth time) and others have very low wattage levels. Our elected officials are doing a good job pushing for power restoration, but ConEd really owes us answers. Many businesses have lost everything in their refrigerators and freezers. I continue to be horrified by the entire situation.