BOREUM HILL, Brooklyn (WABC) — Power problems began late Friday night for residents in Boreum Hill and neighboring Park Slope, leaving over a thousand customers dealing with flickering lights, partial outages, and disrupted routines through the weekend.<\/p>\n
Currently, 1,750 households are without stable power — this in the middle of historic low temperatures.<\/p>\n
“We started getting flickering on Friday night,” said Boreum Hill resident Tosca DiMatteo.<\/p>\n
Things quickly went downhill inside her apartment near St. Marks Place. DiMatteo wasn’t alone. Multiple residents in the area reported similar power issues, including appliances cutting out unexpectedly.<\/p>\n
“We were trying to run the oven and all of a sudden the fan kind of shut off,” said Travis Crawford, who also lives nearby.<\/p>\n
According to Con Edison, by 10 p.m. on Friday, roughly 480 customers were experiencing service interruptions. By midday Sunday, that number had climbed to about 1,100 customers across parts of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
Con Edison crews were dispatched, but the utility says repairs have been challenging due to snowpack covering many manholes. Officials say road salt mixing with melting snow can seep underground and damage electrical equipment.<\/p>\n
Back inside DiMatteo’s apartment, conditions were uneven. Her kitchen lights were out, while power in other rooms came and went. She did, however, still have heat, hot water, and a working refrigerator.<\/p>\n
“We just have to plan ahead,” DiMatteo said. “We have a gas stove, so we can turn it on and make some eggs or something.”<\/p>\n
To help stabilize service, Con Edison brought in mobile generators. But for some families, the outages have added stress during an already busy time.<\/p>\n
Jane Reisman, visiting from Seattle to help her son, daughter-in-law, and new grandchild, says the power loss has been especially difficult.<\/p>\n
“My daughter-in-law has a lot of breast milk in the freezer,” Reisman said. “It’s tough for them… This is a huge stressor.”<\/p>\n
Con Edison says crews will remain in the area as long as it takes to restore full service.<\/p>\n
For residents needing warmth or assistance, PS 133 on Fourth Avenue is open as a warming center.<\/p>\n
You can also check the status of an outage at Con Edison’s outage map here.<\/a><\/p>\n * Get Eyewitness News Delivered<\/a> <\/p>\n * Follow us on YouTube<\/a> <\/p>\n * More local news<\/a><\/p>\n * Send us a news tip<\/a><\/p>\n