September 1, 2011
Dr. Dan Miller
The following are Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s remarks as delivered at Engine 166/Ladder 86 Fire Company on Staten Island:
Updates New Yorkers on Restoration of Services and Safety
“We’re here to talk about somebody that gave us a weekend to remember – and that was Irene. It was a storm that obviously could have turned out far worse. The storm isn’t behind us yet.
There still are thousands of New Yorkers still without power, including some 7,000 customers here on Staten Island, but last night that was something like 25,000 so Con Ed really is making a big difference. And the FDNY and the NYPD have been very helpful in blocking off areas where there are downed power lines. If you see a downed power line, please don’t go near it. We just don’t need a tragedy. Con Ed will come eventually and fix it, they’re working as fast as they can, and I think in a day or so that all of the people will be back having power. But the most important thing is that nobody gets hurt.
“We have a big clean-up job ahead of us, there’s no question about that. And although our city did miss the worst of Irene, many of our neighbors upstate weren’t as fortunate. They’ve experienced serious flooding and our hearts go out to them. That’s the reason why, if you look at the MTA system, the subways which I took this morning.
