‘Temporary’ power fix is not a solution

This time a Con Edison power outage hit home! My household in Bay Ridge.

It was so localized that my two-family house was the only one on the block affected  by the outage. It occurred on Dec. 29. A Con Edison engineer arrived and told me they could not do a quick fix. He said a long trench would have to be dug from the street vault (approximately 100 feet) to the front of my house so a new power cable could be run.

So as a temporary adjustment Con Edison ran a long power cable from a city light pole across the street. They ran the cable from the bottom of a 30-foot streetlight up the pole, through a tree and into the basement. When you consider the 60-foot street plus another 30 feet of sidewalk and driveway, it’s approximately a 90-foot cable run. Plus, on the side of the house they jury-rigged a yellow fiber rope to hold the cable in place.

February 12 was the 45th day we have had to endure this limited power arrangement.

After repeated calls to Con Edison, we have been told they still have to schedule the excavation and when they do we would be notified. In the meantime,  my wife, family and I worry, especially with the recent high winds, that a thick tree branch or a falling tree could easily knock out this temporary  arrangement. As incredible as this is, some passersby point to the overhead high cable as though we were stealing power!

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Brooklyn One Productions will debut Tommy Cas: A Solo Art Show  at the Tom Kane Theatre in Industry City, 51 35th St., Building 5 on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.  It is the first ever gallery exhibition by the former longtime Bay Ridge resident.

Cas is a former combat Marine, decorated FDNY firefighter and proprietor of the Kettle Black restaurants in Bay Ridge and Staten Island.

According to Brooklyn One artist director Anthony Marino, “This show is an act of courage, not because of the work’s quality, which is undeniable, but because of what it represents. This is a man finally giving himself permission to be seen.”

Marino also said, “This is what we exist for. To give artists a first home. To say your story matters.”

Tickets are free. Call 347-746-4002 or email [email protected].

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We would like to commend Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, not only for the brilliant job she has been doing but for her recent announcement of renaming the NYC Police Academy in honor and memory of fallen NYPD Officer Steven McDonald.

According to a police report, on July 12, 1986, while on patrol in Central Park, he was shot three times by a 15-year-old. His resulting injuries left him quadriplegic in a wheelchair and breathing on a ventilator.