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Volume XVIII • Number 41 • October 6 - 12, 2011 •
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Lightning may have struck twice on Fieldston Rd. By MIAWLING LAM The Alter family is certainly counting their lucky stars. The Riverdale family walked away unscathed after a live 13,000-volt electrical wire tumbled down onto the front lawn of their house last Thursday, setting their flowerbed alight. Eerily, a similar incident occurred 16 years ago at the exact same place. The dramatic chain of events began around 1p.m., when torrential rain brought down a large tree near the intersection of Fieldston Road and Faraday Avenue. The tree hit overhead power lines and caused a wire to snap off the utility pole, sparking a transformer fire. Fieldston Road resident Amy Alter said the swinging live wire, which landed on her front lawn, was a case of déjà vu. “It’s kind of scary, because it was the same exact pole where the cable broke 16 years ago,” she said. “So when it happened again, we pretty much knew the drill. We called 911 and ran out of the house. Luckily it was raining and everything was wet because if the cable landed on our house, we would’ve been toast.” Firefighters rushed to the scene and cordoned off Fieldston Road between Faraday Avenue and West 256th Street while they battled the small lawn blaze and the transformer fire. The ensuing drama drew a sizable crowd, with many residents—home for the Rosh Hashanah holidays—congregating in the street to witness the smoke and sparks. Residents, whose lights flickered four times before the pole started crackling, were left without power for around six hours while Con Edison crews work to restore service.
DEJA VU: Torrential rain brought down a 13,000 volt power line, sparking a fire at the Atler house. A similar blaze broke out 16 years ago. Con Edison spokesman Bob McGee said the transformer fire knocked power out for a total of 459 customers. “The Fire Department and our tree crew and overhead service technicians responded immediately, and all customers had been restored by 9:50 p.m. on Thursday,” he said.
Alter praised the firefighters, policemen and Con Edison crews for restoring power and bringing the situation under control. She was also hoping that lightening didn’t strike a third time. “We were very, very lucky that nobody was killed, the house wasn’t destroyed and the neighbors’ houses weren’t destroyed,”
she said. “We had the best outcome possible, but it really could have been a disaster. I think the bigger issue is that something needs to be done here. “I really think the city needs to do something about these overhead wires because it really is disaster in the making.”
Parks Dept. ignores crumbling historic Van Cortlandt House By BRENDAN McHUGH It’s going to be an uphill climb to clean up these stairs. Walking through the park last month, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz noticed the stairs outside the Van Cortlandt House Museum were littered with garbage and were literally crumbling. “George Washington slept there,” he said. “It’s a very important, historic building, but the area of the park coming from the south is in terrible disrepair. In fact, it’s a disgrace.” Dinowitz saw trash throughout the grass, which also needed to be mowed and tended to. Condoms, papers, sandwich bags—which he assumed might have been carrying drugs at one point—and more were strewn
throughout the area. Dinowitz also noted that the stairs themselves were falling apart. “Maybe the parks department doesn’t consider it a priority because it’s not on Broadway and the public doesn’t see it,” he pondered, adding that he plans to send a letter to the city within the week asking them to fix the problems. “Given its proximity to the mansion, its something which should be remedied as quickly as possible.” Unfortunately, the 17-year assemblyman knows the parks department’s typical response in cases like this and isn’t holding his breath for quick repairs. While he hopes his letter will encourage the city to clean the area a bit more often, he doesn’t expect a promising response on the construction aspect.
“Capital money has to be spent,” Dinowitz said the city will tell him, meaning he or another elected official will have to use some of their allotted public money to pay for it. A call to the parks department was not returned, though by earlier this week the grass had been tended to and most of the garbage removed. “They managed to put a mask there,” he said, referring to a large temporary art project near the base of the stairs that looks like a drama/comedy mask. “Those type of things, that’s not as important. Spend less time worrying about that and more time worrying about actual infrastructure. Capital work has to be done. “Putting up an art exhibit, in this case a mask, doesn’t mask the problem,” he said. “It’s been neglected for Continued on Page 5