NYC Looters Dress Like Con Edison Workers to Gain Access to Houses

With limited metro access, New Yorkers had some of the worst commutes imaginable today. Thousands of people lined up at bus stops to try to get into Manhattan, and cars without three passengers weren't allowed into the city to try and cut down on traffic.

Looters have taken advantage of the confusion and desperation by dressing as Con Edison workers and breaking into houses on the pretext that they were doing electrical repairs. Sushko reports that around 15 people have been arrested for looting.

When Hurricane Katrina struck downtown New Orleans, a huge issue that we saw unfold in the days after was the problem of looting and violence in the streets. Has New York seen anything like that in the past few days?

It has. Sadly it did. From what I understand there have been 15 arrests so far in the outer boroughs of New York City for people who were looting and were arrested. Here are a few stories that I’ve heard. People actually dressed up as Con Edison power utility workers during the actual storm and in the hours after it passed and went and looted apartments that way. Read more >>

ConEd Lays Off Over 8,000 Employees

As the city heads into a week of expected high temperatures that could strain the electricity grid, managers at the Consolidated Edison Company began settling into new roles on Sunday, doing the jobs of more than 8,000 unionized workers who were sent home after an early morning breakdown in contract negotiations prompted the company’s first labor lockout in decades.

The workers, members of the utility’s largest union, were locked out after their contract expired at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, and talks broke down less than two hours later. About 5,000 managers, including some former union members, will step in to keep the utility running, Con Ed said. But union leaders warned that those managers, who they said included retired supervisors called back to work, might not have the numbers or the training to keep up if the hot weather and the increased demand for air-conditioning created major power failures.

“This was an irresponsible move on Con Ed’s part,” said Harry Farrell, the president of the union, Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America. “What they said last night to the people of New York was, ‘Drop dead.’ ” Asked if he believed the management stand-ins could handle a crisis, he said, “They’re asking retired supervisors to climb poles and work in manholes and stuff — I just don’t see it happening.” Read more >>