Power slowly returning after 2nd outage in 3 days at Bronx buildings

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Power slowly returning after 2nd outage in 3 days at NYC buildings
The lights are slowly returning after as many as 10 buildings in the Bronx were in the dark once again Sunday morning.

CO-OP CITY, The Bronx (WABC) -- The lights are slowly returning after as many as 10 buildings in the Bronx were in the dark once again Sunday morning.

The news comes less than 24 hours after Co-Op City got the power turned back on from Friday's deadly blackout.

Police have been going through the buildings doing wellness checks as many woke up to cold apartments.

The previous outage happened at the same cluster of buildings Friday due to a transformer fire.

On Sunday morning at around 2 a.m., residents started reporting their buildings were dark and power was out once again.

Emergency services removed at least one person with an oxygen tank, while water stations were set up outside.

Officials said it was not clear what the problem was.

Con Edison released a statement on the incident.

"Co-op City is unique in New York City in that it generates its own power and distributes it to its residents. Con Edison maintains feeders running to Co-op City that can be used for backup power, but I can confirm that those feeders remain in service."

Sunday afternoon a backup generator was in place and being connected to one of the buildings.

Riverbay Corporation runs the sprawling complex and calls the incident a fluke.

They had few answers when asked about why backup generators weren't already in place.

"It sounds simple when you ask the question but the technology and cost of installing those generators is quite difficult," Riverbay's Bob Klehammer said.

Ada Longmore, 73, who lived in a 19th-floor unit, died during the blackout on Friday.

Her body was found in a stairwell between the 18th and 19th floors.

She had an oxygen tank, which was empty, and she has been climbing the stairs to get to her apartment since there was no power to the elevator.

Local officials are calling for change, they say Co-Op City has long been plagued with problems including crumbling infrastructure.

"When the power goes out and electricity goes out those people are left vulnerable and that seems to be what happened to Ada Longmore," Rep. Jamaal Bowman said.

Crews are in the process of checking the following addresses that are reported to be without power:

920 Baychester Avenue - 33 story residential building with 186 residential units

920 Co-Op City Boulevard - 33 story residential building with 186 residential units

100 Darrow Place - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

100 DeKruif Place - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

120 DeKruif Place - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

140 DeKruif Place - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

100 Donizetti Avenue - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

120 Donizetti Avenue - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

140 Donizetti Avenue - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

150 Dreiseir Loop - 33 story residential building with 392 residential units

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