March 28, 2024
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March 28, 2024
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Linking Northern and Central NJ, Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and CT

Tropical Storm Isaias left many downed power lines in its wake, which in turn left many residents and business owners without power or internet access. The storm, which wreaked havoc on Aug. 4, was PSE&G’s fifth most destructive storm and the most severe since Superstorm Sandy, according to a release put out by the utility company.

While thousands of customers have had power restored since, the PSE&G outage map reflects areas in New Jersey that are still without service. As of Aug. 17, fewer than 1% of customers in Bergen,
Essex, Middlesex, Passaic and Union counties were still without power. While PSE&G predicted that certain counties would have power restored by the afternoon of Aug. 17, some counties do not have a listed restoration time.

As of Aug. 12, there were still six customers in West Orange affected by the lack of power, but according to the map these outages were repaired by Aug. 17.

The West Orange Bake Shop lost partial power in only one of its three electricity units. Luckily, despite a refrigerator and freezer outage, the shop was able to keep products cold enough until the power returned. Its production was affected, however, because it could not operate big machinery for 48 hours. The bake shop’s production has since returned as usual and kosher baked goods and dairy dishes are available.

During Tuesday’s windy and rainy conditions, West Orange’s Glatt Fusion sustained some temporary complications. The Chinese and Japanese fusion restaurant was powerless for two hours. Its refrigerators and freezers were only temporarily cut off from power, which made it difficult to cook and serve as usual. None of the food was damaged and Glatt Fusion was able to return to regular service within a day of the storm.

While the town has been addressing citizen concerns, Joe Fagan, the public relations officer for the mayor’s office, explained that utility companies ultimately operate independently when it comes to prioritizing repairs.

For example, once trees and other dangerous debris are cleared from power lines, PSE&G will likely prioritize repairing a power grid responsible for restoring power to 200 people versus 1-50 people. Only once power is restored by a utility company can cable and phone wires be repaired, due to the order by which the wires are aligned on the utility poll, with power being highest, and most essential, and therefore is restored first.

“Even if the power comes back on, you’re happy for about 15 minutes, until you realize that you don’t have cable,” said Fagan. “That’s almost like being without power.” Being without internet in this day and age, especially during a pandemic, when most businesses are operated remotely and rely heavily on WiFi, only complicates matters further, explained Fagan.

Some businesses which need internet access, not just during the pandemic but in general, have been going days without it, and are struggling to normalize daily operations.

Toni Nayowitz, Teaneck’s Judaica House owner, said that while she had seen PSE&G trucks on Cedar Lane, she had not seen or heard from Optimum (her phone and internet provider) until Aug. 9, when she was only told that people were working on the issue. By the afternoon of Aug. 11, her service had returned. While she felt lucky to have internet and phone service restored, she felt frustrated during those five business days when she hadn’t received any communication from the company about repairs.

“The most frustrating part is their total indifference to the problem,” she said. “And I’m interpreting it as indifference because they haven’t reached out to their customers to communicate any sort of concern or remorse.”

While Nayowitz said she normally doesn’t experience any issues with Optimum’s service, she was still feeling the financial effects of this setback and would like to see more communication on Optimum’s end. Her circumstance only added insult to injury, she said, since her business has been struggling to adapt to the pandemic’s restrictions. She expanded her online business significantly since the pandemic in order to accommodate for customers shopping remotely.

Without internet service, Nayowitz couldn’t receive electronic orders and emails and efficiently communicate with her customer base. Some customers had come into the store to shop in person, and Nayowitz and her employees had been tracking inventory and writing up orders manually––a labor intensive process they hadn’t completed that way since 1985, when the store began computerizing its sales.

Nayowitz wanted customers to know that she is thankful for their support and that Judaica House will continue to accommodate those requesting home deliveries. She apologized to anyone who has been inconvenienced.

A representative from Optimum could not be reached for comment.

Estihana, a kosher restaurant serving Asian cuisine in Teaneck, was dealt a harsh blow from the tropical storm. All of its outdoor equipment had to be taken apart prior to the storm, including the expansive tent and light fixtures. Serving customers became an issue even after Isaias was gone. Estihana lost internet for three days and telephone service for two. This disabled online order services and the use of credit cards on the cash register, which made it necessary for the restaurant to take orders via cell phone and record everything by hand. While its provider, Optimum, said that it was working on the problem, it was another week before Estihana could find a relative status quo.

Estihana remained thankful that there was no power loss or physical damage, as was the case for the other side of Cedar Lane, which lost phone services for an extra day. Estihana’s customers come primarily from New York areas like Brooklyn and Monsey. These locations were more heavily damaged, which prevented many customers from giving Estihana and other kosher Teaneck locations their valued business.

For those who might have had their power return only to lose it again, Teaneck Township Manager Dean Kazinci explained that line workers had to shut electrical grids and fuse boxes in order to perform their tasks safely. The storm, he explained, was unprecedented in that it left so much damage in so little time––just two to three hours.

Teaneck council members were cognizant of resident concerns, and made an effort to communicate with those affected. Mark Schwartz, Teaneck’s deputy mayor, was disappointed that he did not see PSE&G representatives checking in with customers about power recovery status––a task he and other council members took on themselves.

“Why couldn’t middle management grab a polo shirt and do the same thing Teaneck council members did?” he said. “We listened to people, and made sure their issues were reported. We pushed and prodded for a resolution. There’s no reason they couldn’t do that.”

During one of his trips around town, Schwartz saw seven collapsing poles on Minell Place at Warren Parkway. He described the area as “a war zone.” The poles were later replaced. Both Schwartz and council member Karen Orgen, who accompanied him on his walks, would have liked to have seen more communication within PSE&G as well as between the company and city residents. They hoped communication will be improved in the future.

“Trucks would be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or waiting for instruction,” said Orgen. “A utility truck from Alabama was in a parking lot waiting for direction––that’s three hours of wasted daylight when they could have been someplace else.”

In regard to communication with its customers, PSE&G stated that on the day of the storm, its call center handled as many calls as it normally does in one month. The center was open an additional 30 hours, and its social media team had responded to more than 22,000 customer issues (compared with 450 on a normal day).

On Aug. 17, PSE&G announced that it would reimburse residential customers up to $250 and commercial customers up to $5,000 for food spoilage if their service was interrupted for 72 hours or longer between August 4-12. Customers will also be reimbursed for losses, up to a maximum of $300, for prescription medications that were spoiled due to lack of refrigeration. Customers can apply for reimbursement at pseg.com/claims. The deadline for filing a claim is Sept. 16.

By Elizabeth Zakaim and Josh Gindi

 

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