Followup: The Latest From Con Ed on Steam Restoration Downtown

Here’s the text of a notice going out to around 550 Con Edison customers (many of which are large residential buildings on the LES):

We are working hard to restore all of our steam customers and expect to have additional steam supply capacity available starting Monday morning.  We will be restoring customers starting Monday, and expect to have the full system restored by November 11.  Customers will be brought onto the system as additional generation capacity becomes available.  We will contact you to coordinate steam service restoration.  We urge you to limit your use to reduce further strain on the system and prevent more interruptions.

Local resident Roey Ahram got some photos last night showing Con Ed crews at work on Grand Street.  They told him they were “turning on the steam.”  At least one manager of a large residential complex, Frank Durant of the Seward Park Co-op, said he expected a lag time between the steam actually coming on and heat and hot water being restored.  There were some hopes it could happen as soon as last night, but (at least at Seward Park) residents are still waiting. 

We have heard from people who live in many large buildings about the lack of heat and hot water, including: the Rutgers Houses, Campos Plaza, Masaryk Towers, Village East Towers, Knickerbocker Village and Gouverneur Gardens.  In spite of what building managers are being told, local elected officials have been advised by Con Ed that full steam restoration could take several more days.

A lot of public school students are bundling up today, since many school buildings have no heat. Among them: the Henry Street School for International Studies, Shuang Wen, University Neighborhood Middle School,  P.S. 137, P.S. 134, Manhattan Charter School (II) and all of the schools in the Seward Park high school building.  All schools will be closed tomorrow due to Election Day, so hopefully students won’t have to suffer from chilly classrooms for more than one day.

If you’d like to warm up, there are two locations available on the LES, both open until 4 p.m. — 89 Allen Street (run by University Settlement) and 334 Madison Street (run by Henry Street Settlement).  There is no overnight warming center in this community, but the city is offering shuttle buses from Seward Park High School to George Washington High School, 549 Audubon Avenue (193rd Street).  Yesterday the shuttle ran from 4-9 p.m. We’ll let you know today’s shuttle schedule.

The low last night was 30.  It’s expected to be 36 tonight, and forecasters are predicting a nor’easter could target New York City Wednesday and Thursday.