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Volume XIX • Number 47 • December 6-12, 2012 •
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After Sandy, pols ask: ‘Is it time to go underground?’ By MIAWLING LAM Con Edison has vowed to meet with local residents to discuss the feasibility of running power lines underground—instead of overhead—to prevent future electrical outages. The Riverdale Review can reveal the utility provider has indicated it will hold a series of meetings with area residents in the coming weeks to explore the idea of burying cables. However, it is unlikely the power company will give in to demands, with officials again insisting the move would be too costly. Con Edison officials agreed to meet with residents after Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz renewed his call to abolish overhead lines during a press conference in Spuyten Duyvil last Friday. Joined by more than 40 residents who clutched posters reading “Let there be light, and heat, and hot water too” and “enough with the outages,” Dinowitz said it was time that Con Edison acted. He said thousands of residents in at least seven apartment buildings bordering Independence Avenue, Kappock Street and Palisade Avenue were unfairly subjected to frequent blackouts. “They lose power when it snows. They lose power when it
rains. In fact, they lose power when it’s sunny out. It’s been a chronic problem and it’s been a persistent problem,” Dinowitz said. “Con Ed’s claim that it is cheaper to make frequent repairs—which cannot possibly make sense over the long run—doesn’t take into account the cost of spoiled food and other unreimbursed expenses of neighborhood residents. Con Ed needs to do the right thing and put people ahead of profits.” Community Board 8 aging committee chair and City Council candidate Andrew Cohen said many of those who live in the affected buildings are elderly tenants who depend on power for their medication. “This is a very serious issue, and one that Con Edison has the means to address. And they should address it and they should do it now,” he said. Con Edison spokesman Chris Olert said running overhead power lines underground was simply too expensive. “Not only would it cost millions of dollars a mile, but to dig up the streets and avenues there would be disruptive,” he told the Review after the press conference. “In addition, equipment that’s underground takes longer
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz has renewed his call to put overhead utility lines underground. to fix because it takes longer to find a problem.” Despite Con Edison’s insistence that area power lines cannot be moved, Olert said officials were willing to listen to the concerns of their customers. “We are going to have a whole series of meetings in The Bronx,” he said. However, as of press time,
Con Edison has failed to provide the date, time and location for a single meeting. Local resident Noelia Alvarez said Con Edison’s justification that high cost precludes the lines from being moved underground doesn’t cut the mustard. The 65-year-old, who lives at 2550 Independence Avenue, esti-
mates she has suffered 10 blackouts this year alone and was left without electricity for eight days following superstorm Sandy. Alvarez said if Con Edison can afford to bury the power lines in Manhattan, there’s no reason they can’t do the same in The Bronx. Continued on Page 14
Ari Hoffnung edges closer to possible City Council run
By MIAWLING LAM Riverdale resident and city deputy comptroller Ari Hoffnung is mulling a run for Councilman G. Oliver Koppell’s seat in the 2013 citywide elections, it can be revealed. Koppell is currently serving his third and final term and must vacate office due to term limit rules. Hoffnung said he remains undecided about whether to jump into the muchanticipated City Council District 11 race but gave the strongest indication yet that his political aspirations were still alive. “I am encouraged and touched by the number of friends and neighbors urging me to run for the City Council in 2013 but have yet to make a final decision,” Hoffnung told the Riverdale Review this week. “In the meantime, I will continue to be laser-focused on serving as New York City deputy comptroller. I feel truly fortunate to be in a position where I have the opportunity to work every single day to help make New York City a better place.” The latest comments are in stark contrast to Hoffnung’s previous remarks
Ari Hoffnung and reflect an evolving position on his potential candidacy.
During an interview with the Review last year coinciding with his promotion to deputy comptroller, Hoffnung indicated he would not mount a run and was instead dedicated to his current position. “I am thankful for this opportunity and am committed to carrying out my duties as deputy comptroller,” he said at the time. Hoffnung, 39, first ran for the City Council seat in 2005, but lost to Koppell by a 3-to-1 margin. He planned to run for a second time in 2009 when Koppell was due to vacate the seat but bowed out before the primary after term limits were extended, allowing Koppell to run one last time. The former Wall Street executive, who remains registered with the city’s Campaign Finance Board, has not raised a single cent in four years but still boasts a healthy war chest totaling more than $72,000. As a result, Hoffnung would have a significant leg up on his opponents if he entered the race. Community Board 8 member Andrew Cohen and Van Cortlandt Village resident
Cliff Stanton have already declared their intentions officially. Cohen, who is a private attorney and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has already picked up the endorsement of all four local elected officials—Congressman Eliot Engel, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, state Senator Jeffrey Klein and Koppell. Stanton is treasurer of the KingsbridgeRiverdale-Van Cortlandt Development Corporation and is involved with the parents associations at P.S. 24 and the Bronx High School of Science. He is also the leader of a boycott against the Riverdale Review. According to the latest Campaign Finance Board filing, Stanton raked in $32,830 in the first half of 2012. Cohen is not required to file his first disclosure statement until January 15. Prominent Community Board 8 member Daniel Padernacht said he would make a decision about his candidacy in January. Padernacht paved the way for state Senator Gustavo Rivera to defeat scandalContinued on Page 14