(Photo: Getty)

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, properties throughout the city's flooded neighborhoods saw critical infrastructure collapse along with everything else in the storm's path. However, four weeks after the storm Mayor Michael Bloomberg isn't interested in hearing any more excuses from landlords who haven't restored heat and electricity. At a press conference this afternoon, he announced these landlords will face "enforcement proceedings" should these critical services remain absent from their properties.

"I won't even take this question," Mr. Bloomberg at an afternoon press conference when asked what these proceedings will entail. "We're expecting everybody to cooperate. This is New York, I'm sure there's going to be somebody who doesn't and then we're going to worry about it. You have an obligation to maintain your rental units in a safe manner. If you don't, you're breaking the law."

Along with his tough talk, the mayor noted struggling landlords in affected areas do have a lifeline as they can sign up for the NYC Rapid Repairs program to receive government-provided repairs. The mayor said this process simply needs to be handled expeditiously.

"We'll get to that very quickly," he said of the deadline for property owners. "Our hope is that everybody will sign up and the tenants will push the landlords to do so and that the landlords will do so because it's in their own interest! They're going to have a tough time collecting rent if they don't do something to get heat, water and electricity back."

(Photo: Getty)

One week ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo demanded the state's utility companies step up their efforts in returning power to New Yorkers and threatened to revoke their business licenses if they failed to do so. At a press conference today, a reporter asked the governor how power companies reacted to the increasing pressure, specifically whether they were "pensive," "mortified," or "terrified." Mr. Cuomo made it abundantly clear the utilities were indeed very concerned and described the uncertain terms he used to make them feel the urgency of the situation.

"All of the above," he answered. "I think all of the above, because I've had the full range of conversations that you can have, so I think it's all of the above; frightened, frustrated, embarrassed. Look, you can't be any stronger or harsher than I have been on the utility companies. You can't. You can't use any language publicly, any other language that I've used, and I not have to worry about my daughters watching the broadcast, right? Privately, I have used language my daughters couldn't hear, so they've gotten the message."

Mr. Cuomo's ire wasn't done there, and he expressed particular frustration with the utilities' lack of poles for power lines.

"Now, they have an inability to respond, and that is partially personnel, material, by the way," he continued. "One of the frustrations for the utility companies, by the way, is that they ran of material. They ran of poles, believe it or not. They ran out of poles. Poles are something that a utility company would want to have, you would think, right? You look at what a utility does, it basically comes down to wires and poles and crews and trucks, these are things you would want to have? How can you run out of poles?"

Long Island Power Authority, which has yet to restore power to many thousands of consumers in Suffolk, Nassau and Queens counties, received additional scorn from the governor.

"So part of it is the system, but I also believe, with LIPA, part of it is just the performance and the management, which is just unacceptable," he said. "And they failed. They failed the consumers. The management failed the consumers. It's simple. And that's my position."

Mr. Cuomo was also had tough talk about what he expects from the federal government in financial assistance.

“We pay a lot in taxes to Washington,” he said. “This is a very important state, nationally, and I want the respect for our taxpayers." He added later, "I expect 100% reimbursement from FEMA."

(Photo: Getty)

At a press conference this evening, Gov. Andrew Cuomo upped the ante on power companies as millions of residents in the New York metropolitan area remain without power after Hurricane Sandy left them in the dark at the start of the week.

"There are a number of utility companies that are involved in providing power throughout the affected area, you have Con Edison, you have LIPA, etc., you have a number of others. I believe most companies are working very, very hard to restore the power," he said. "I also believe that I want them to understand how important a function this is; this is not just a restoration of power, which is important. This is a restoration of power after a storm when families are really living in hardship."

Mr. Cuomo then described his selection of penalizing tools he can use against any utility companies that are overly sluggish in this job.

"The state regulates the public utilities. The state certifies the public utilities. Their performance in this operation I believe is germane to their regulatory status," he continued. "If the state believes they were not diligent and aggressive in their activities to restore power, they could be subject to monetary penalties. They could even lose their certification. I have communicated this orally to most and we are also releasing a letter that I sent them today. I believe, as I said, most of the companies are working very hard and are trying their best. But this is not just about effort and good faith effort, this is about getting the job done because a lot of New Yorkers are relying on them. If they want to be a utility in this state, if they want consumers to pay the bill, if they want to be licensed by the state, certified by the state, then they have to perform."

View Mr. Cuomo's letter to the companies below:

November 1, 2012

Mr. Kevin Burke, Chief Executive Officer
Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc.
4 Irving Place
New York, NY 10003-3598

Mr. William Longhi, President & Chief Executive Officer
Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc.
One Blue Hill Plaza
Pearl River, NY 10965
Mr. James Laurito, President & Chief Executive Officer
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp.
284 South Avenue
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

Mr. Mark S. Lynch, President
Rochester Gas & Electric Corp. & New York State Electric & Gas Corp.
89 East Avenue
Rochester, NY 14649

Mr. Ken Daly, Chief Operating Officer
National Grid – NY
One Metro Tech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Mr. Thomas B. King, President
National Grid, USA
201 Jones Road – 5th Fl.
Waltham, MA 02451-1120

Mr. Michael Hervey, Chief Operating Officer
Long Island Power Authority
333 Earle Ovington Blvd., Suite 403
Uniondale, NY 11553
Dear Gentlemen:

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers are faced with responding to its continued harsh impacts on literally every facet of life. I recognize there are men and women in the field now working hard to restore service, and we are grateful for their efforts. But it is your job to provide them with adequate resources and support to get the job done in a timely and safe manner. Utilities, like elected officials, are vested with the public’s trust. In the case of utilities, in exchange for conducting business and generating profits for their shareholders, they are entrusted to provide safe and adequate utility service. When they fail to keep the public’s trust, they must answer.

Because we had several days’ notice of an event of catastrophic proportions, State and local government and New Yorkers prepared for an impending storm. Indeed, the public depended on utilities to prepare for such an event, respond to emergencies and to return, as quickly as possible, to providing safe and adequate electricity. The response of your companies to this emergency will be, in great part, a function of how well you prepared for it and a testament to how seriously you view this responsibility.

If you failed to prepare, however, as evidenced by your response, it is a failure to keep your part of the bargain – a failure to keep the trust that New Yorkers have placed in you by granting you the privilege to conduct utility business in New York State; in particular, the certificates of public convenience and necessity (“Certificate”) granted by the State under the Public Service Law. New Yorkers should not suffer because electric utilities did not reasonably prepare for this eventuality. In the context of the ongoing emergency, such a failure constitutes a breach of the public trust.

Under such circumstances, I would direct the Public Service Commission to commence a proceeding to revoke your Certificates. With respect to the Long Island Power Authority, I will make every change necessary to ensure it lives up to its public responsibility. It goes without saying that such failures would warrant the removal of the management responsible for such colossal misjudgments.

Sincerely,
ANDREW M. CUOMO

Senator Ball delivering dry ice. (Photo: Mr. Ball's office)

State Senator Greg Ball, a Republican representing Westchester County and other areas of the Hudson Valley, is not happy with the response efforts to get power restored to his district in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Accordingly, Mr. Ball sent out a press release this morning titled, "BALL: ‘10 DAYS IS TOO DAMN LONG,'" calling on both Consolidated Edison and New York State Electric & Gas to get electricity back to the area posthaste.

“We applaud the first responders, law enforcement, fire and work crews working around the clock, yet according to the current predictions, utilities are expecting power restoration to take over a week -- this is absolutely unacceptable, ten days is too damn long," he said in the statement. “At the highest level I am asking the utilities to heighten expectations and do whatever it takes to make the solution a matter of hours or days, not weeks. We have seniors and families that simply cannot go that long without adequate shelter."

For its part, ConEd's most recent news update on its website states the company is working tirelessly with organizations like the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to recover from "the most devastating storm in company history."

Of course, this isn't the first time Mr. Ball had mildly explicit criticism for ConEd. During the peak of the energy giant's contract dispute with its workers, the occasionally outspoken senator sent out a press release telling them to "cut the crap."

Indian Point Energy Center (Photo: Entergy Nuclear)

At the Assembly hearing on the potential closure of the Indian Point nuclear power plant this morning, lawmakers heard from energy policymakers, the company that owns the plant and some uninvited protesters.

Indian Point, which is located less than forty miles of the five boroughs, provides approximately thirty percent of the power for New York City and Westchester County. Those who want Indian Point shut down say the plant, which began operations in the early 1960's, is outdated and dangerous. Indian Point's supporters argue the plant is a vital part of the energy grid.

The Indian Point hearings were conducted against the backdrop of a recent pump failure at the plant that caused one of its reactors to be shut down Tuesday morning. Japan's recent Fukushima Daichi nuclear disaster also weighed heavily on the proceedings. Many of the activists present brought signs and buttons referencing the Fukushima catastrophe and a Japanese television crew from TV Asahi was on hand to film the hearing.

Rick Gonzalez, Chief Operating Officer of the New York Independent System Operator, which oversees the state electric system was first to testify. He was accompanied by NYISO's vice president of external affairs, Tom Rumsey. Both men argued that shutting down the plant before putting other power options in place could put the reliability of the area's power grid at risk.

"It's during the peak load periods, those hot summer days where Indian Point is most important," Mr. Gonzalez said.

Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, who noted that she represents "130,000 people in the peak fatality zone," acknowledged that reliability is a concern, but she questioned Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Rumsey about whether the plant is safe.

"I question moving forward whether Indian Point provides that reliability and safety for the entire Lower Hudson Valley region, especially given what has happened in Japan recently," Assemblywoman Jaffee said.

Mr. Rumsey said it's not the NYISO's job to address safety concerns.

"We don't evaluate safety, we manage the grid for the state, that's our role," Mr. Rumsey said. "We're a non-governmental agency, so we don't play in that world.

Before the next witness testified, the hearing was interrupted by a young woman named Luna Scarano who called for a "mic check" and read a statement prepared by the Occupy Wall Street environmental working group.

"Indian Point is old, dangerous and unnecessary. Community members who have worked for decades to close Indian Point have been denied a voice at this hearing," Mr. Scarano said. Other activists in the room repeated her words after her.

"Indian Point is old, dangerous and unnecessary, a Fukushima waiting to happen on the Hudson. In the event of a meltdown, there would be no way of evacuating the 20 million people who live within a 50 mile radius of the plant."

Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, who's chair of the energy committee, vainly attempted to end the interruption.

"Excuse me ladies and gentlemen," he said. "Ladies and gentlemen."

Ms. Scarano was undeterred and accused Entergy Nuclear, the company which owns the plant, of putting New Yorkers in harm's way.

"Entergy is recklessly endangering all of us, radiating the Hudson and killing millions of fish per year. For what? For providing a small fraction of New York City's electricity," Mr. Scarano said. "We demand that Indian Point be shut down now before there is a meltdown."

When Ms. Scarano was finished, Assemblyman Cahill jokingly asked her to take an oath as if she was an official witness.

"Do you swear that everything you said was the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" he asked. "Thank you."

Mr. Cahill then reminded the audience that those who wished to comment could do so in writing.

Joseph Oates, vice president of energy management at Con Edison, was next to testify. He said other power options should be explored, but until those are in place, Indian Point remains necessary.

"Right now, it's needed for reliability," Mr. Oates said. "We've also made an assessment about what will happen in 2016. We're coming up with the same number that the ISO did--that there would be an approximately 1000 megawatt shortfall on hot summer days."

Mr. Oates said, in the next five years, he expects the area's electricity demand to grow to "2,000 megawatts of need if nothing else is done."

"Our view is that until there is a plan, until a plan is in place, until those megawatts are replaced, you really can't shut down this plant," he said.

Ms. Scarano wasn't the only activist who made her presence known. Three men stood in the back of the room holding signs that said "Indian Point=Jobs." A security guard told them they had to remove their signs.

The Politicker spoke to the men and found out they were representatives of SHARE (short for Safe Healthy Affordable Reliable Energy), an advocacy group that has several Entergy executives on its board. SHARE's executive director, Yonel Letellier Sosa, expressed dismay that he wasn't allowed to hold his sign when the protesters caused such a loud interruption.

"The anti-IP group got up and they pretty much started a ruckus. They interrupted the session," Mr. Sosa said. "I mean, what we did was we put up the signs. We were quiet about it and they were very violent, in a way, and intrusive."

"We support Indian Point. As you heard, they supply 25-30% of the city's energy. They employ hundreds of union members. It's practically emissions free," Mr. Sosa said.

Mr. Sosa said he believed about 1,100 workers are currently employed at the plant.

"However, there are other jobs on the periphery; in the town, and the trucks that go by and deliveries of certain things," Mr. Sosa said.

Mr. Sosa said switching to natural gas or coal power would increase pollution, while moving to solar or wind power simply isn't currently feasible.

"How the hell would you get 5,000 megawatts of solar power? You'd probably have to fill Central Park or more with solar panels. I don't know if that's even possible," Mr. Sosa said. "If you're talking about wind power, we would need 2,000 windmills, I did my research, to provide 2,000 megawatts. Each windmill costs $15,000-$20,000. I added it up and it came out to $40 billion you can imagine how much 5,000 megawatts of solar power would come up to. For $50,000 you can do one family home, barely."

Based on Mr. Sosa's estimated top cost of $20,000 per windmill and one windmill per megawatt, 5,000 megawatts of power would cost $100 million rather than $40 billion. Mr. Sosa also said it was unfair to bring up the Fukushima Daichi disaster.

"They were talking about the plant in Japan and how this happened how that happened," Mr. Sosa said. "Look, the plant was hit by a tsunami and it was hit by an earthquake. I mean you cant go against mother nature. Things happen."

Testimony was scheduled to continue throughout the afternoon.

Occupy Wall Street protesters marching in Manhattan last night. (Getty)

A new Quinnipiac poll found that New York voters largely agree with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. New York Republicans, however, do not support the movement. The poll also found New York voters support the so-called "millionaire's tax" and are divided on natural gas drilling. 

Overall, Quinnipiac's pollsters said 58% of New York voters agree with the views of the protesters. However, support for Occupy Wall Street came mostly from Democrats. Only 12% of Democrats in the poll said they disagreed with Occupy Wall Street compared to 74% who viewed the movement favorably. In contrast, 53% of New York Republicans in the poll said they disagreed with Occupy Wall Street. Nearly one third of Republican voters, 32%, said they agreed with the movement.

New Yorkers overwhelmingly support Occupy Wall Street's right to protest with 82% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans saying they're "OK that they are protesting."

Quinnipiac found 66% of New York voters support extending the so-called "millionaire's tax," which provides higher tax rates for wealthy residents. Interestingly, Quinnipiac found 66% of New Yorkers making over $100,000 per year supported the tax. Governor Cuomo has steadfastfly refused to extend the tax, which has drawn the ire of Occupy Albany protesters who are camped outside his main office in the State Capitol Building

The poll also showed voters remain divided about hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale with 44 percent supporting the natural gas drilling because of the economic benefits and 43 percent in opposition. Support for hydrofracking is down ever so slightly from the past three months.
because of environmental concerns..

Though the majority of New York voters seems to have an opinion of Occupy Wall Street, they're not all clear on what exactly is going on. Quinnipiac's poll also found just 60% of city voters said they "understand" the views of the protesters "fairly well" or "very well."