[Rithlilky]

Heat brings power failures in Brooklyn, subways - & it could hit 100 today

BY BARRY PADDOCK, WIL CRUZ, JORDAN LITE and STEPHANIE GASKELL
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Monday, June 9th 2008, 4:00 AM

Schwartz for News
Kids cool off on a corner of Amsterdam Avenue near City College.

Sabo/News
Jose Roman, 16, of Puerto Rico shades himself with a flag at the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Click image for more pics from the parade.

Maisel/News
A young girl is taken to an ambulance after she was overcome by the heat at the beach in Coney Island.

Here we go again.

Just two days into a record-breaking heat wave, power cuts knocked out subway service and shut down air conditioners in Brooklyn Sunday, even though Con Ed promised it was ready for summer.

Christine Rankin was sitting on her stoop in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, last night waiting for the power to come back on.

"If we have a hot summer, this is just going to suck," said Rankin, 42. "Our second hot day and they can't even handle it."

Temperatures hit 93 and could make a run at 100 Monday.

On Bergen St., about 300 customers lost power and were forced out onto the street to find relief from the sweltering heat as their air conditioners stopped running. "Like anything else it gets too hot and blows," a Con Ed worker on the scene told the Daily News.

Several street lights were out, forcing police to direct traffic.

Bobby Kucevic, manager of Gino's Pizza, closed his doors early last night as the Italian ices started to melt. "I don't want to close [because] maybe the lights are going to come on," he said. "But nobody knows nothing."

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, about 160 customers lost power.

Belowground, riders on several subway lines were stranded as power cuts kayoed the signal system.

The entire G line, which links Brooklyn and Queens, was shut down. Parts of the F and 4 lines were stopped, too. The 2 and 3 lines experienced delays.

All of them were up and running within about two hours, NYC Transit officials said.

After the blackout of 2006, Con Ed vowed to fix the system. Just last week, Con Ed officials told The News that there was enough electricity to meet demand.

Sunday, a Con Ed spokeswoman repeated those reassurances, saying there is "sufficient supply."

"This is a severe heat wave, but we have extra crews on standby and we are monitoring the system closely," said Con Ed spokeswoman Elizabeth Clark.

She urged New Yorkers to conserve energy when the temperatures rise, as they're expected to reach close to 100 degrees today.

The Health Department said heat-related emergency room visits were up threefold and heat-related calls to the Emergency Medical Service were 10 times higher than usual.

"People may not be acclimated to the heat so they're feeling it more than they would if it were a midsummer heat wave," said Dr. Tom Matte, the city's director of environmental research.

The official start of summer isn't until June 21 - but the soaring temperatures feel more like the dog days of summer than spring.

Today "will be the peak of the heat wave," said John Murray, a spokesman for the National Weather Service.

On Long Island, strong thunderstorms knocked out power lines and downed trees. Service on the Long Island Rail Road was disrupted, and thousands of people were without power.

John David Wheeler, a professional barbecue griller from Mississippi, toiled over a hot pit at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party in Madison Square Park yesterday.

The temperature near the grill was a whopping 170 degrees.

"If I knew it was going to be 98 in New York today, I wouldn't have come," he said.

sgaskell@nydailynews.com

With Bill Egbert, William Sherman, and Jess Wisloski

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...oklyn_s-2.html

© Copyright 2008 NYDailyNews.com.

[Abnorttrano]

Scorching Heat Blankets East Coast


Beachgoers at Orchard Beach in the Bronx on Monday. The red flag signified strong currents.

By JOHN HOLUSHA
Published: June 10, 2008

Scorching heat and stifling humidity gripped much of the East Coast on Monday, with the National Weather Service issuing heat advisories as temperatures approached 100 degrees in many areas.

The heat wave is expected to last into Tuesday and prompted officials in Philadelphia and Connecticut to send students in public and parochial schools home early both days and cancel evening programs, The Associated Press reported. The heat caused power failures that interrupted some subway service in New York.

The New York City Office of Emergency Management said it was opening cooling centers for people who do not have air conditioning, and other cities are making similar arrangements. Officials urged relatives and neighbors to check in on elderly, housebound people, who are most in danger during hot spells.

The hot weather extended from New England down through the Middle Atlantic states into the Carolinas.

Weather officials said heat waves are not just uncomfortable, they are dangerous. “Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer,” the weather service said. “On average, more than 1,500 people in the U.S. die each year from excessive heat.”

That is more than the deaths attributed to tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and lightning combined, the agency said.

In New York City, service on the F and G subway lines in Brooklyn was disrupted during Monday’s rush hour by power failures on the subway signals. Officials of New York City Transit said generators were being sent to the affected areas so service could be resumed.

Paul Fleuranges, a spokesman for the transit system, said the problem was relatively minor, but critical. “We have third-rail power. That hasn’t been affected. So we can move trains, but without signals we can’t operate safely, which is why we have to bring in generators.”

Sunday’s high temperature in Central Park was 93 degrees, just shy of the 95-degree record for the date.

As the East steamed, large areas of the Midwest were struggling with flooding and bracing for more rain. Heavy weekend downpours sent river out of their banks, covering roadways and flooding newly planted farm fields.

Indiana was particularly hard hit, with President Bush declaring a major disaster in 29 of its counties late Sunday night. The National Weather Service predicted that 1 to 3 inches of rains was likely to fall Monday in addition to the 11 inches that fell on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Gov. Jim Doyle of Wisconsin declared an emergency in 29 counties and Gov. Chet Culver of Iowa sought federal assistance to cope with problems in nearly a third of the state’s 99 counties.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/us...hp&oref=slogin

Copyright 2008 New York Times Company

[Qvqnubpj]

My ac is out and, the thermometer in my living room reads
103 degrees in the shade!

[F1grandprix]

It was 91 degrees at 7:30PM.

As far as summer weather goes, there are few things as bad as NY in a heatwave. All that radiating heat blaring up from the cement throughout the day. Fat people in the subway are particularly sticky during these periods.

Actually, now that I think about it, DC is worse than NYC in a heatwave.

[elapicearpisp]

Well the subway was done in today. My W train wouldnt go past 57th street, of course they told us this at 57th street. "please go to 42nd st and take the 7" WHY DIDNT YOU SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

And of course the N/W wasnt working when u got there anyway, luckily it wasnt that much of a walk in one million degree weather with 5000% humidity, i could almost swim home.

[TheBest-Host]

Picture: SPLASH NEWS

Lightning strikes the Empire State Building during a thunderstorm in a sweltering New York City

Daily Telegraph 10th June 2008

[lmHVYs8e]

David Lettermen:

" It so hot out there, Angelina Jolie adopted a penguin"
" It so hot Hillary Clinton conceded she was sweating"
" It is so hot Eliot Spizer got in bed with his wife for the cold shoulder"
" It is lousy hot. It is like 105 and miserable. You know, like John McCain"

[Flankrene]

Heat wave in New York. July 6, 1911. "Licking blocks of ice on a hot day." 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

[ticskebasse]

Records Tumble and Sweaty New Yorkers Grumble as Heat Persists

By KEN BELSON
Published: June 11, 2008

New York is famous for its superlatives. On Tuesday, the city did not disappoint.

Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times
Jonathan Masciarelli, a Con Ed worker, was part of a team cooling down an underground transformer at Third Avenue and 81st Street on Tuesday as temperatures set a record for the day. More Photos »




For a second consecutive day, the 96-degree heat and electricity use set records as residents cranked up their air conditioners to get through the unusual four-day June heat wave.

The early-season swelter forced Consolidated Edison to work around the clock to repair sporadic failures from Williamsburg to Westchester County.

Big commercial electricity users, including railroads, hospitals and government agencies, dusted off energy-saving plans typically unveiled in the dog days of August, like turning off down escalators or using backup generators.

With temperatures expected to stay in the 80’s on Wednesday after thunderstorms Tuesday night, the worst may be over for now. But the average temperature in New York City for this time of year is 78, so temperatures nearly 20 degrees above normal on Tuesday caused inconveniences large and small.

Hundreds of Con Ed customers, primarily in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, were without power for parts of Tuesday, while commuters grappled with delays as Metro-North and other railroads ran trains at slower speeds to avoid snags in overhead electrical wires that were sagging in the heat.

The thermometer hit 96 in Central Park, one degree above the record for June 10, set in 1984. Temperatures at La Guardia and Newark Liberty International Airports also reached new peaks.

Con Edison, which provides power to 3.2 million residential and business customers in the five boroughs and parts of Westchester, said peak demand hit 12,987 megawatts on Tuesday, a new record for a June day and the fourth-highest day in the company’s history. The surge gave Con Edison a chance to prepare for the potentially warmer weather to follow.
“We are battle-tested now,” said John F. Miksad, the senior vice president of Con Edison’s electric operations. “This was a really good test for the system.”

According to Con Edison’s calculations, the biggest jumps in demand came in residential neighborhoods where many homeowners turned on their air conditioners for the first time this year. In Park Slope, Brooklyn, for instance, peak demand soared 45 percent on Monday at 5 p.m. compared with the previous Monday at the same time. Customers in Flushing and Rego Park, Queens, used 41 percent more power over the same period.

In Midtown Manhattan, demand rose by 10 to 15 percent. Commercial landlords, Mr. Miksad said, run their air conditioners much of the year, so the increases in the last few days were more incremental.

Some of the city’s biggest commercial customers also cut their usage as part of a program organized by the New York Power Authority. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, for example, used backup generators that run on diesel fuel to supply power to many of its facilities between noon and 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

At the Port Authority Bus Terminal, some elevators and escalators were shut off, and the air-vent fans at the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels ran at lower speeds for several hours. In some places, the air conditioning was turned up earlier in the day to precool buildings, and then turned down during peak hours.

“It’s almost routine now when the weather is such that there is pressure on the grid,” said Ernesto Butcher, the Port Authority’s chief operating officer. “Everyone has the playbook and gets the message first thing in the morning.”

With assistance from some of its biggest customers, including the City of New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York State Office of General Services, the power authority expects to reduce electricity consumption by 61 megawatts, or enough to power 48,000 homes, on days when it requests relief.

Participants in the conservation program receive $40 for each kilowatt of electricity they reduce. Last year, the Power Authority paid about $1.9 million.

The savings on Tuesday were not enough to help the hundreds of Con Edison customers who lost power. One stretch of two-story brick homes in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, lost power on Monday night and Tuesday morning because a cable that fed the block burned out.

Frank Moravito, 74, spent Monday night in an easy chair in his cool basement, while his wife stayed in their warmer bedroom.

“Every year, this happens,” said Mr. Moravito, a refrigerator mechanic. “It’s uncomfortable.”

Attendance at the city’s schools was 84.8 percent on Tuesday, compared to 88 percent on the same day last week.

The United Federation of Teachers said on Tuesday that it had filed a complaint with the State Labor Department’s Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau, claiming that the city’s Department of Education had violated state health laws by not having adequate air conditioning at some older schools.

“If the city Health Department can implement codes to protect carriage horses during periods of excessive heat, then the Department of Education should be able to take steps to protect our students and educators,” Randi Weingarten, president of the teachers’ union, said in a statement.

Ann Farmer and Elissa Gootman contributed reporting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/ny...l?ref=nyregion

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

[Hedkffiz]

The pic is classic.

"Fancy Cheap Groceries"

You would NEVER see that nowadays!!!

[JonnLeejsp]

World's least researched map of Queens and Brooklyn.

[OpVJokl8]

New York City Braces for Risk of Higher Seas

With Ocean Levels Rising, Coastal Cities Assess Computer Forecasts as They Weigh Future Costs, Exposure and Dangers

By ROBERT LEE HOTZ

NEW YORK -- When major ice sheets thaw, they release enough fresh water to disrupt ocean currents world-wide and make the planet wobble with the uneven weight of so much meltwater on the move. Studying these effects more closely, scientists are discovering local variations in rising sea levels -- and some signs pointing to higher seas around metropolitan New York.

Sea level may rise faster near New York than at most other densely populated ports due to local effects of gravity, water density and ocean currents, according to four new forecasts of melting ice sheets. The forecasts are the work of international research teams that included the University of Toronto, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., Florida State University and the University of Bristol in the U.K., among others.

video

Scientists are laboring to make their predictions more reliable. While they do, New York has become an urban experiment in the ways that seaboard cities can adapt to climate change over the next century. For their part, the city's long-term planners are taking action but are trying to balance the cost of re-engineering the largest city in the U.S. against the uncertainties of climate forecasts.

"We can't make multibillion-dollar decisions based on the hypothetical," says Rohit Aggarwala, the city's director of long-term planning and sustainability.
Still, prompted by a possibility of floods from higher seas, some university-based marine researchers and civil engineers are debating whether New York ought to protect its low-lying financial district, port, power grid and subways with storm surge barriers like the mobile bulwarks that safeguard London, Rotterdam, Netherlands, and St. Petersburg, Russia. Engineering concepts for multibillion-dollar barriers around New York harbor were discussed here this week during the H209 Water Forum, an international conference on coastal cities and climate change, held by the Henry Hudson 400 Foundation at the Liberty Science Center.

The Last Great Storm to Hit New York

slideshow

World-wide, cities in 40 countries depend on dikes or seawalls. The seaside of the Netherlands is protected by storm surge barriers big enough to be seen from space. In Venice, Italy, engineers are completing a $7 billion barrier to block high tides that flood the city 100 times a year. In New Orleans, construction crews have started a $700 million barrier to help prevent hurricane floods. In California, it could cost $14 billion to protect 1,100 miles of vulnerable urban coastline with reinforced sea walls and $1.4 billion a year to maintain them, the Pacific Institute reported in March.
Unlike New York, though, those urban areas were built at or below sea level. Moreover, most of them also are on land that is sinking, adding to the danger posed by higher oceans.

While most of New York is above sea level, its subways, telecommunications cables, fiber-optics networks, plumbing and power mains aren't. "There is so much underground," says urban water management consultant Piet Dircke at Arcadis, one of four engineering firms that recently developed concepts for a storm surge barrier here. "The economic impact of flooding could be huge."

Indeed, some civil engineers argue the city already risks catastrophic storm flooding. "A storm surge is not really a global warming issue" for New York, says senior engineer Dennis Padron at Halcrow Inc., which helped design a 15-mile-long storm barrier in St. Petersburg. "It could happen tomorrow."

Under certain conditions, a hurricane now could generate a 30-foot-high storm surge and flood 100 square miles of New York. If ice melts and sea level rises, that risk increases. "If you have 20 inches of sea level rise, the edges of lower Manhattan would flood 20 times a year," says Douglas Hill, a consulting engineer at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. "It would look like Venice."

To be sure, the city that never sleeps is rarely dry even now. Every day, transit crews pump 14 million gallons of water from city subways. Authorities recently installed $400 million of more powerful pumps. Last year, they started installing higher sidewalk grates -- disguised as street art, bike racks and benches -- to help keep storm water away from subway rails.

Since last summer, city planners have been persuading federal, state and regional agencies as well as private concerns to gradually upgrade vulnerable facilities here as part of routine capital upkeep. They are reassessing building codes, raising key equipment in flood zones and taking inventory of infrastructure at risk. But it can be hard to get some landlords to even move a fuse box from a damp basement to a more protected place. Any talk of storm surge barriers is premature, they say.

"Our burden of proof is somewhat higher," says the city's Mr. Aggarwala. "We have to be very clear that we do all the low-cost stuff first."

In their efforts, Mr. Aggarwala and his colleagues have been guided by a panel of city-appointed climate experts from NASA and Columbia University, whose report predicts that by 2080 New York will have the climate Raleigh, N.C., has today. By their estimate, it will be about seven degrees Fahrenheit warmer and sea level may be two feet higher, unless polar ice sheets do melt.

But such forecasts can be overtaken by new data. "You have to continually update plans as the models get better and the knowledge gets better and the unknowns become known," Mr. Aggarwala says.



Scientists are still trying to gauge how much of the Greenland ice sheet may melt and how quickly the West Antarctic Ice Sheet might respond to rising temperatures due to greenhouse-gas emissions. "When an ice sheet melts, sea level change is not uniform," says climatologist Jonathan Bamber at the U.K.'s University of Bristol who studies Antarctic ice sheets.

Generally, sea level today varies from place to place. The North Atlantic normally is two feet lower than the northern Pacific, because Atlantic sea water is colder, denser and saltier. This summer, weakened currents and persistent winds, for instance, caused sea level along the U.S. eastern seaboard to be two feet higher than normal, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported last week.

By taking such factors into account, researchers earlier this year calculated that melting Greenland glaciers could shift ocean currents enough to make sea level along New York's 570 miles of shoreline an additional 20 inches higher than seas elsewhere. "It will cause the sea level along the coastal region of the Northeast U.S. to rise faster," says climate modeler Aixue Hu at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.

So far, city planners are biding their time. "We are not planning for the worst case yet, but we are thinking about what happens if Greenland melts more quickly," says Adam Freed, the city's deputy director of long-term planning.
For Mr. Aggarwala, any changes in climate are best countered by incremental adjustments as science and circumstances demand. "If we have to shut the stock exchange for a day because water is running down Wall Street, that's not unprecedented," Mr. Aggarwala says. "A major snowstorm can do that. The key challenge is how quickly we can recover."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1252...googlenews_wsj