By Eric W. Schoen
I was getting prepared to celebrate my birthday on Monday by going to bed fairly early Sunday night. I’m a pretty sound sleeper, but for some reason I woke up at 11:58 p.m. Sunday night, 2 minutes before the clock struck midnight and I would turn a year older.
I went to put my bed light on and no luck. I chalked it up to a burned out bulb. Got up to put the room light on and no, it did not go on either. Neither did the light in the hall nor Bathroom. Looked outside and things were pitch black. Maybe Donna Summer was ‘Dimming all the Lights’ in anticipation of my approaching birthday?
I called Con Edison. Always remember to call them (1-800-752-6633) or your local utility company when the power is out. They will call you when you owe them money, but perish the thought they would call your cell phone when there is a power problem at your home or in your neighborhood. Don’t assume they know! So the Con Edison tape recording said there was no one to talk to but a major part of my area had a blackout.
I called the police to see what was happening and they told me they had gotten several calls about a blackout but had no further information on it.They told me to call Con Edison. So I was right back where I started from. Couldn’t someone from Con Edison pick up the phone and alert the police as to what was occurring as we are all so very much on edge now?
It ended up being a blackout of several Yonkers neighborhoods including Park Hill and Nodine Hill. Within several hours the lights were back on and all was well in Yonkers. Do we know why lights went out. Conditions seemed to be stable. We weren’t having surprise snowstorms and weather colder than we normally have this time of year.Unfortunately it is too little a story for our daily paper to report on. Come to think of it though it affected 1000’s of people maybe they didn’t know.
I would normally be toasty in Florida in or around my birthday. With what’s going on in the country and the world not this year. But I had to have my favorite traditional birthday meal. Throughout Florida there is restaurant chain called Original Pancake House. They opened a branch several years ago in downtown White Plains. Off the diet for the 49’ers Flapjacks ‘plate sized, buttery and chewy.’ So far superior than the big pancake house so many of us know.
And now for the rest of the story:
-Mayor Mike Spano’s idea to put a campus of Westchester Community College (WCC) on the for sale Leake and Watts campus. Reminds me of the television show Gilligan’s Island. People stranded at the farthest corner of the City of Yonkers. Minimal bus transportation. If it snows the number #32 bus which travels the hills of Yonkers doesn’t run. No major highways or parkways anywhere near it. Roads unprepared for traffic. Such a far walk for anyone considering walking from downtown Yonkers.
Mike called the current Yonkers Westchester Community College Campus a ‘shopping mall’ college. Former County Legislator Bernice Spreckman and a committee I was part of worked hard for the WCC campus at Cross County. And then State Assemblyman Mike Spano supported it too! The place is jammed (in normal times) and offers everything Leake and Watts does not. Sorry Mike you are wrong on this one.
Speaking of education, why not use Leake and Watts to build some new Yonkers Public Schools. Maybe existing buildings can be retrofitted. What South Yonkers needs is more class space for our Yonkers Public Schools with so many public school students living on the west side of town!
-Let’s hope that the new Covid-19 vaccination site at the Yonkers Armory opens more slots for people in Yonkers. I congratulate those of you who have been able to navigate the state site and get vaccinated. I tried it the other day for a neighbor. Got a slot at Aqueduct Racetrack. I don’t mind the drive. Maybe my neighbor can get vaccinated and put $2 on a horse, long shot and win the money it would have cost me for gas and tolls. Completed 75% of the registration and the system kicked me out. New York has got to come up with a better way of doing this.
-Spoiling doses of the vaccine putting a hand warmer in the container they were being stored in. Now 88 people need to be vaccinated again. The thought of wasting doses of the Covid-19 vaccine because the people available when all scheduled shots are given don’t meet the current criteria. Any other dumb things related to the virus?
-I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Governor Cuomo would not let a drop of the vaccine hit the arms of New Yorkers before his medical team analyzed it. No one was smart enough to say hey, wait a minute Governor, before we reintroduce or introduce individuals with Covid-19 into nursing facilities we better think about it? This mess needs to be investigated and those responsible lose their jobs or go to jail. Investigated by someone with no ties to New York State or Cuomo or those in his administration.
-Is anybody thinking of the families of the 15,000 people who lost their lives because of this terrible mistake? To hear a public official at the highest levels of government say, ‘We got Frozen!’ This is not a Disney movie or play. We are talking about people’s lives here. For the Cuomo administration to have any fear of the Trump administration? Boggles my mind.
-In the politicians do some of the stupidest things, we have two contestants this week. New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio who wanted to close two very popular, heavily used skating rinks in the middle of the ice skating season because they are operated by the Trump organization because years ago the city couldn’t get its act together. Affecting 1000’s of people desperate for outdoor activities and things to do in the midst of a pandemic! Fortunately cooler, no more intelligent heads prevailed.
And our buddy, what did Donald Trump call him, was it ‘Lying Ted Cruz’ who left town for warmer climate when his state was in the middle of one of the worst weather events it had ever seen? Put yourself in his shoes with similar family situations. First thing you don’t do is have your wife send a group text to other families asking if they wanted to get away from the mess they were in. Would Texans and all of America be screaming if his wife took the girls who were on spring break to warmer climate without their father. Only problem here is that the school the Cruz daughters go to does not encourage out of the country vacations.
Right after it is announced on the radio that New Jersey had approved recreational marijuana we hear a commercial for a drug program for people who have increased marijuana smoking during the pandemic to help them stop or at least cut back! Mind boggling!
That new car smell we love is actually chemicals in the carpets, leather and paints of the vehicles that can be dangerous to our health. Scientists say long rides smelling this stuff could be dangerous. Please, Stay well my friends!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
