NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Here are a few thoughts from someone with extensive experience in covering disruptive events in New Rochelle.
There are a number of stories filed with various media outlets that fit a certain cookie-cutter mold: one is the “residents outraged over lack of response to (fill in here)”.
One such cookie-cutter story is one where a disruptive event occurs, reporters fan out to find images of cars spinning on icy roads and stuck in snow drifts or downed trees or arcing power lines and exploding transformers, people stand in front of downed power lines or crashed cars and feign shock and exasperation that the disruption is not resolved instantly (by which they mean for them), often accompanied with some alleged concern for a sick uncle or an elderly neighbor.
What these reports never say is that the complaints made in these reports are routine complaints heard after every crisis or problem in New Rochelle and throughout Westchester and they are always a misplaced attempt to “work the ref” to get that person’s issue resolved as fast as possible.
As Lady Gaga sings:
Til it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels, how it feels
‘Til it happens to you, you won’t know, it won’t be real
A disruptive event is an inconvenience until you are the one inconvenienced at which point it becomes an existential crisis.
Invariably elected officials feel the need to identify with that outrage by professing their outrage at whatever convenient target presents itself. But never their own political subdivision or administration, heaven forbid anyone take personal responsibility!
You can count on demagoguery from the Governor, the County Executive and local Mayors — all pointing at someone else.
CBS2 reports outrage from Westchester County Executive George Latimer (“If people can have some sense of reliable information about when power is going to be restored, how soon or how long that’s going to take, they can make rational decisions.”)
MyRye has Latimer proposing a “utility service corp, which he likened to the National Guard – extra people at the ready who can be brought in at a moment’s notice in the wake of a storm like the one we have just experienced.”
Latimer knows full well that all electrical utility companies have mutual aid agreements in place — just like fire and police departments — and that Con Edison tapped into that after Isaias. Does he propose that random volunteers rather than trained electrical workers clean up downed power lines, hang new transformers and string new wires? Pure palaver. Does Democrat Latimer want to take away jobs from the Utility Workers Union of America, an AFL-CIO affiliate with 50,000 members? Probably not.
And more outrage from Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano (“Fourth largest city in New York State and I couldn’t find one Con Ed crew.”)
Amy Paul tweeted “@AndreaSCousins and @CarlHeastie announced a joint legislative hearing will be held to examine the response failures of various utility companies during the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias.”
And, of course, Governor Andrew “Blame Game” Cuomo (“the reckless disregard by utility companies to adequately plan for tropical storm Isaias left tens of thousands of customers in the dark, literally and figuratively. Their performance was unacceptable.”)
Cuomo said he was “personally disappointed” and threatened Con Ed’s “franchise can be revoked…I’m not bluffing.” Uh huh. Right.
Dammit Jim!
After a dozen years of reporting on snow storms and hurricanes and super storms and other catastrophes in the area, I can reliably state the complaints from residents amplified by reporters have a common theme based on two key points: these are people who either do not know how the community they live in works or ARE getting answers but just not getting the answers they want to hear (namely, the disruption will end immediately for ME – and screw everyone else) or BOTH.
In the case of Tropical Storm Isaias, that has played out predictably.
Jennifer Carchietta:
“Mayors of Larchmont and Mam’k have been giving regular updates to residents on talks with their ConEd liaisons. NR… nothing and hour 27 with no power.”
Asked if she had signed up to receive alerts (text, email, robocall) from the City of New Rochelle she said she had not.
What to make of residents who do not register to receive emergency alerts but run to the media (or social media) to complain they are not receiving alerts from the City (or School District)?
Register for City of New Rochelle Alerts
Stay Informed – City of New Rochelle
New Rochelle Schools Email Newsletter
New Rochelle School Emergency Alerts
Jessica Mendez of Mount Kisco tells CBS2 her “Wi-Fi is out, so she has to call Con Ed for a status update”.
Call on what?
If she had a smart phone she can get updates on the Con Edison Outage Map. If she can make phone calls she can phone a friend with power and ask them to check the Con Edison Outage Map. There is no need to call Con Ed and sit on hold to get status updates.
Francesca Gallace Figueroa on Facebook
“Put the wires underground and this won’t be a problem. This should have been done years ago.”
Anna Giordano on Facebook
“Maybe the US should follow other western countries and finally bury these unsightly lines.”
Asked what would it cost to bury all of the power lines in the United States, how will it be paid for or who would pay for it they had no idea. Asked how long would it take to complete such a project, they did not answer.
I did a little research.
EPA:
“According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration Exit, the U.S. power grid is made up of over 7,300 power plants, nearly 160,000 miles of high-voltage power lines, and millions of miles of low-voltage power lines and distribution transformers, connecting 145 million customers throughout the country (EIA, 2016).”
“It costs about $3 million per mile to convert underground electric distribution lines from overhead…California has 25,526 miles of higher voltage transmission lines, and 239,557 miles of distribution lines, two-thirds of which are overhead, according to CPUC. Less than 100 miles per year are transitioned underground, meaning it would take more than 1,000 years to underground all the lines at the current rate.”
$795,000,000,000 and 1,000 years for California alone.
As of 2006, California had an estimated population of 37,172,015, about 12 percent of the U.S. population. California land area is 163,696 square miles; the United States 3,797,000 square miles, about 4.3% of the U.S. land area.
So, multiply $795,000,000,000 by anywhere from 9 to 25 to get a estimate for the entire US.
In other words, a massive cost that would take centuries. Con Ed bills would be astronomical. The idea is preposterous. Yet after every storm people ignore reality. So lets deal with reality; if you want to live in Westchester surrounded by trees then you need to accept power outages as part of the cost.
You can read more on that here.
Josh Rawson of New Rochelle told CBS2:
“We see all kinds of crews coming by and looking and then leaving. And each crew has a different story or confusing information. So, it’s not clear exactly what’s happening, There’s been not a lot of communication and, seemingly, not a lot of coordination.”
The idea that a couple of guys on a Con Ed emergency crew will have any idea of what is happening with the overall prioritization of the storm response is beyond stupid.
The prioritization is simple and well-known; they fix the problems that impact the largest number of people to reduce the overall number of customers without power as rapidly as possible. A wire down that cut power to 500 customers will be repaired before a wire down that cut power to 15 customers.
If you live on Bon Air like Rawson why would you expect a less dense neighborhood would be repaired while far more dense areas are without power?
Chris Stella of New Rochelle told CBS2:
“We just can’t get answers out of anybody,” said Stella. “The city is saying Con Ed, and Con Ed is not really telling you anything interesting.”
Think about that statement. He says “we” meaning “he” cannot get answers. Then he says he got an answer from the City. The answer was the City had to wait for Con Ed to turn off power to an area, fix problems, then remove trees and debris. Is that not common sense? Why would the City send a crew to risk electrocution? He then says Con Ed is “not really telling you anything interesting”. What does that mean? Well, first off it means he did get an answer from Con Ed. But he did not find the answer “interesting” by which he means Con Edison would not tell him what he wanted to hear. So, is it true that he cannot get answers out of anybody? No. He got answers out of “everybody” he asked. He did not get the answers he wanted — my house will get power back immediately — which he considers not getting answers.
Stella also said: “There are 24 houses at the end here and you can’t get an emergency vehicle down the block.”
While Stella certainly sounds like he has an understandable concern — and he is not wrong — this is classic “working the ref”: he is not asking that his house get power for his sake he wants his power back because he is really just concerned for his neighbors. The reality is a dead end street is not going to be a top priority given the number of blocked roadways. He is oblivious to the fact that there were lots of roads closed to emergency vehicles and many of those roads led to far larger neighborhoods. If you want to live on a street without through traffic you run the risk of this situation.
“There are over 500 blocked roadways in Westchester County,” CBS2 quoted a Con Ed official saying. “We do prioritize them and we do work with the municipalities to make sure our wires are clear of the trees.”
Julie Tay on Facebook:
“I just feel like they should do check ins on the elderly. My neighbors are elderly and I feel bad for them.”
While she makes a good point — neighbors should check on their elderly neighbors — Con Edison would not know anything about a particular sick or elderly person unless that person was registered with Con Edison which can easily be done.
A woman in the apartments on Calton Road called News12 to complain that her husband had to “go out to the car twice a day where he spends three hours each time to recharge his batteries to his machine, which lasts for nine hours.”
No mention by News12 of whether the man was on the Con Edison list of Special Services but as it was not mentioned presume he was not. Folks like these need to register with Con Edison — Con Ed employees are not mind-readers.
Register Life Support Equipment, Emergencies and Special Services with Con Edison
When Con Edison has information about special situations they can act and work with local police to act.
In New York City: “Con Edison…is currently prioritizing approximately 170 customers with critical needs, such as requiring electricity for oxygen and other equipment, and coordinating with the NYPD to conduct wellness checks.”
There is similar outrage after every winter storm where residents fume about how the other end of town or the road near so-and-sos house got cleared first. In New Rochelle, the snow removal is always better on someone else’s street.
Residents often compare New Rochelle to neighboring towns.
“Why can’t they clear streets like (insert village here)” is a common refrain.
New Rochelle had 176 miles of highways and municipal and commuter lots to clean and a fraction of the drivers and vehicles of neighboring municipalities— and 24/7 on-street parking which brings additional complications.
READ: New Rochelle DPW Tackles Large Snow Storms…and Critics
After that story, we spoke with “Dr. Salt” on how putting salt on road works and published a series of articles that made the case that New Rochelle would benefit from a Salt Dome; in 2014 the City purchased and installed a Salt Dome.
There is a Snow Removal Policy which these residents have not read.
Which streets are plowed first?
What is my responsibility for snow removal?
When are the snow plows sent out?
And my personal favorite source of snow removal outrage: the DPW guys blocked my driveway.
During snow plowing operations, the snow from the street will end up in front of driveways and mailboxes. The property owner is responsible for access to his/her individual driveway or mailbox.
The only way to avoid extra shoveling is to wait until the Public Works crews have done their final clean-up on the street.
I especially like this one because residents will complain that the snow removal is not fast enough but then complain that the DPW drivers do not drive slowly so snow does not block their driveway. What they mean is go fast in everyone else’s neighborhood but proceed daintily around my neighborhood: use a large snow plow for thee, a teaspoon for me.
The same applies to residents who park their cars on the street then complain that the streets are not cleared curb-to-curb (like Larchmont which does not allow overnight on-street parking) and/or complain their cars are blocked in by snow.
Snow “Removal” is a misnomer. The City does not remove snow during a snow storm they push the snow. And that snow has to go somewhere: on sidewalks, up against or in between cars and in front of driveways.
After a storm you might see trucks hauling snow, usually in the downtown area or other commercial areas along North Avenue or in Wykagyl. That is snow removal.
Other chestnuts.
The streets were cleared first in (insert some other neighborhood here) because (insert justification here).
The South End is always convinced that the North End is cleared first and vise versa. The West End is always convinced the entire City is cleared last. No proof is ever offered just a belief that it is better elsewhere.
After Winter Storm Gail in December 2020, Rosa Carlos emailed to say:
Side streets like Thomas Pl, Crosby, Watkin, Muir just to name a few but north of the high schools can see pavement the next morning all the north end streets were clear is something wrong with this it’s been happening for years. WHY? Because more Black and Brown people live there
Asked to identify the North End streets that were clear, she did not reply but the four streets she listed are all short, tertiary roads so will always become those that are cleared last. She takes it a step further to assert that snow removal policy is racist.
“I spoke to the Mayor” or “I have the Mayor’s number on my speed dial” or “”I emailed the Mayor”.
The Mayor has no executive authority. New Rochelle has a City Manager form of government under which the Mayor is simply an at-large City Council Member with various ceremonial duties.
That a resident would believe that raising an issue to the Mayor was the most direct way to address that issue is clear evidence that person has no clue how the New Rochelle City government works. Newsflash for them, the Mayor simply forwards the issue to the City Manager. The Mayor is nothing more than errand boy. The actual solution is to contact the City Manager’s office where the Administrative Assistant will document the issue. The City Manager will then assign the issue to the appropriate department. When the issue is resolved the resident is contacted with the outcome.
To get a direct response from the person actually in charge contact the City Manager.
City Manager’s Office
City Manager Phone: (914) 654-2140
City Manager Charles B. Strome cstrome@newrochelleny.com
Executive Assistant Kathy Reilly kreilly@newrochelleny.com
Secretarial Assistant Janice Carroll jcarroll@newrochelleny.com
“It should work this way“ or “why don’t they…”
Residents can often be heard complaining that things are not done “right”. They will then explain the “right way” where the “right way” invariably entails their demands being accommodated immediately or applying what might be what they would do as a private citizen or in a commercial or business setting without regard to the City Code, City Policies or State and Federal Law where there are often different requirements.
Invariably these are people who have never read the City Code or even know there is one.
“I pay (insert amount here) in taxes so…”
This is a universal multi-purpose complaint made as if no one else pays taxes. Or that one’s tax bill should determine prioritization in an emergency. These folks think that, for example, “I pay $20,000 in property taxes and I should get services first”. What they fail to consider is while they might own a big single-family home on an acre of land another neighborhood might have 8 houses on another acre of land each paying $5,000 in taxes. By their own logic those 8 houses should be the priority not their single family home. They fail to consider if 4 people live in each of these 9 houses the priority might be their 32 neighbors not the 3 people that live with them.
Whether it is utterly impractical and expensive “solutions” like under-grounding electrical wires, buying dozens of snow removal (push) vehicles and hiring as many drivers (both of which would be paid to otherwise sit idle year-round), the real issue is that many people are unreasonable, uninformed and unprepared.
If you believe that everything should be back to normal the day after a foot of snow dumps, or 8 inches of rain falls, or gale force winds rip — and anything less than is an outrage, an example of incompetence — there is something wrong with you.
If you fail to register for city or schools alerts or special services — that is your failure.
If you think that chasing down a snow plow driver or a Con Ed crew or speed-dialing the Mayor will get you useful answers — that is your delusion.
If you think not liking the answers you do get is the same as not getting an answer — that is your magical thinking.
The media loves to shove a camera or microphone or notebook in the face of a “man (or woman) in the street” during or after a disruptive event and uncritically give them free reign to whine about their victimhood. Elected officials see votes in anointing their victimhood with a patina of validity by blaming some entity, all while keeping the blame off themselves. Viewers and readers indulge in watching or reading and sharing in the emotionally gratifying, self-serving yet impotent victimology put on display by the media — the behavior of children denied a candy bar on their way through the checkout line at a grocery store.
Grownups will take responsibility for educating themselves on policies, procedures and laws; registering for appropriate alert services; putting utilities and governments on notice of special circumstances; and otherwise understanding how the community where they reside works. They will appreciate that when a massive storm disrupts a large area of the country it will take more than a single evening to restore everything back to the way it was the night before.
If you want to stew and fret and whine about the injustice of your not getting immediate gratification for your demands go right ahead and see what that gets you. Or you can follow the advice above — be proactive instead of an infant deprived of their rattle.
RELATED:
Tens of Thousands Still Without Power in Westchester – 27% in Hard Hit Sound Shore Area
Should New Rochelle Have a Salt Dome? A Few Words With the Salt Guru
Snow Removal Reminders from the City of New Rochelle
An Interview with DPW Commissioner Alex Tergis on the Costs of Not Having a Salt Dome
The most informed and honest appraisal of municipal emergency response I have read. Thank you.
Possibly one of the finest and most well written articles on the this subject matter that I have ever read (and BTW, I am generally not a T.O.T.S. fan).
Thanks.
I accidentally deleted a comment by someone who did not like this post. If that person sees this please repost the comment so I can approve it. I regret the error.
In the event they do not the comment was to the effect that this article was sanctimonious and I claimed to know what people are thinking.
What this person did not say is that any of what I wrote was incorrect. That is because it is not. I have been doing this for a long time and am well familiar with storm response.
My main point is a media critique — that assignment desks send out reporters to do the same stories after disruptive events, to shoot the same B-roll, to do the same sorts of man on the street interviews, quote the same sorts of outraged politicians and always to blame some hapless entity like the DPW or Con Ed.
That was a bit long, but the most coherent and comprehensive review of government I have ever seen. Thank you