Power woes after Isaias storm

Do any PSEG Long Island customers remember the March 2020 “Dear Customer” letter we received [“PSEG was not ready for Isaias,” Editorial, Aug. 11]? Here’s some of it:

“PSEG is standing up to severe weather by strengthening the electric infrastructure powering your community. Since 2015, PSEG Long Island has ... storm-hardened more than 1,000 miles of electric infrastructure ... Storm-hardened circuits have seen a significant reduction in storm damage and 45% fewer outages ... will strengthen 50 miles of distribution lines per year for the next five years, targeting the most vulnerable circuits across Long Island ... stronger poles ... capable of withstanding winds up to 135 mph ... To help wires deflect falling limbs instead of catching them, PSEG Long Island will be installing shorter cross arms atop some poles ... current wire will be reconductored with more resilient and durable wire ... We will trim trees when it’s necessary to improve safety and reliability. We follow ... Best Management Practices Tree Pruning ... we are excited to bring you even more reliable power ...”

Does anybody feel better now?

Richard Siegelman,

Plainview

I got my power five days after the tropical storm by walking around the block and asking the out-of-state electric crew to take a look at our block. A worker said he would seek permission. He did, and we got our electric. Then, 18 hours later, a Texas crew shows up to repair the power. Communications? They said they would never come back here because of the disorganization.

Steve Gawrych,

Commack

We lost power Tuesday. PSEG Long Island first said the 12 houses on my block would be back Thursday. Then Friday. Then Saturday. Then Sunday. Then Monday. By now, I’ve thrown out everything in my refrigerator. On Monday, a neighbor drove around the neighborhood looking for a PSEG truck. When he found one, the guy had “no idea” our block was out. Thank you, Will, for hooking us back in five minutes.

Theresa Walsh,

Seaford

I live on a street in East Islip where 29 people lost power [“Restoring power may go into Wednesday, beyond,” News, Aug. 11]. After four days of no response from PSEG Long Island, we flagged down a passing employee. He went into our yards and returned, saying it looked as if a switch needed to be reset. He put in a work order. Two days later, a crew from Tennessee flipped the switch, and we had power. For six days and after many messages, PSEG was assessing. All it took was a flip of a switch. Hundreds of dollars of spoiled food. No sleep for a week. No communication. The chief executive asking for patience. They took my monthly payment of $206, though. I am beyond disgusted. Time to look for a new place to live.

Ron DePrima,

East Islip

Looking at Tuesday’s cover photo of a resident still without power “taking a knee,” I have to wonder whether in fact he’s doing so to protest the length of time it’s taking PSEG Long Island to restore his home’s power.

Thomas Smith,

Riverhead

Fund poor districts’ Wi-Fi access

Two recent Newsday articles regarding Long Island schools have prompted me to write.

In one article, “Wide gap in online learning since shutdown” [News, July 27], you highlighted the discrepancy among the school districts in access to tools for remote learning. In another article, “Districts’ reserves grow” [News, July 26], you highlighted the tremendous dollar reserves held by school districts. There is no reason that the more well-funded school districts cannot provide the funds necessary to allow all students and teachers in the less well-funded districts to have computer and Wi-Fi access. A mechanism can be created to assess and fund the needs of a particular district. Perhaps a district can partner with another.

In addition, in this virtual age, any student in any school district should have access to online courses from any other public school.

Kenneth Robinson,

Huntington

Democrats revel in crime, you say?

In “Trump ramps up appeals to suburban voters,” former Suffolk County Republican leader John Jay LaValle said, “We live in the suburbs ... we don’t want to be city dwellers. We don’t want that type of life. ... We want to have peace, and we don’t want crime . . . and bottom line is, that’s not what the Democrat party is advocating” [News, Aug. 10].

Did I get this correctly: If I’m a Democrat, I want crime? Or, if I don’t want crime, my friends from the city who will come to the suburbs to raise hell are going to know which are the Democratic homes and which are the Republican ones so they can pass over us in the commission of their dirty deeds.

I appreciate LaValle’s updating the biblical story we tell at every Passover seder, but I don’t think his brilliant analysis is going to win him, or President Donald Trump, any votes here.

Bill Bernstein,

Dix Hills