Melissa Bailey Photo
LCI’s Rickie Mazzadra (left) and Rafael Ramos prepare a food delivery.
(Updated 7:41 p.m. Thursday) All schools regained power by Thursday and plan to be open Friday, which is the first day of school for kindergarten.
The portion of New Haven homes still without power is down to 4 percent, according to a Thursday evening reverse-911 call from Mayor John DeStefano. That’s down from a third of the city.
City-wide parks clean-ups are scheduled for Saturday.
Buses will run scheduled routes, including to suburban towns, unless blocked by fallen trees or debris. If your street is blocked, school officials urge you to “find alternative transportation or keep your child home.”
Meanwhile, city officials from the Livable City Initiative began distributing bottled water and ready-made meals to senior centers that remain without power, such as the apartments at 135 Derby Ave.
Seniors or other New Haveners who need food, ice or to plug in medical devices can call the Emergency Operations Center at (203)946‑8221 for help. LCI officials will deliver the supplies, officials announced at a press conference Tuesday at the New Haven Regional Fire Academy.
Mayor John DeStefano said the supplies came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He joked that President Obama packaged the ready-meals himself. “It’s Obama Ice.”
The city has 47 crews out on the road in 104 trucks, DeStefano said. The fire department was riding along with United Illuminating Tuesday afternoon checking out the damage. DeStefano said his house has not had power for two days. People who don’t have power should consider throwing out food in the fridge.
Meanwhile, UI is making progress repairing lines — but has no estimates yet on when power will return.
As of 6 p.m. Wed., just under 3,000 households in New Haven remained without power, according to a recorded reverse-911 call from Mayor DeStefano. That’s down from a peak of 18,733 New Haven customers who lost power in the storm.
The number of obstructed streets was down from 136 to 47 as of Wednesday evening. The mayor said neighborhood cleanups would be organized for Saturday.
UI completed an initial assessment of its 3,000-mile distribution system across the state, which includes 140,000 poles. The company found “1,500 to 2,000 trees in need of clearing, 450 sections of electric wire that needed to be replaced and a minimum of 103 poles in disrepair,” according to a company press release.
On Wednesday, the company announced it had restored electricity to 62 percent of the 158,000 customers who lost power during the storm. Company officials said they were “hopeful they could reduce that number to 10,000 during the weekend.”
DeStefano encouraged neighbors to help each other. “Be patient, and we have a lot to be fortunate about,” DeStefano said Tuesday, considering the damage to other towns.
Mayor DeStefano has estimated Irene will cost the city about $1 million. The city has already put out $500,000 in overtime pay to workers, he said Monday. “I’m sure we’ll get to well over $1 million in the week.”
He said he expects the FEMA will reimburse the city for most of that.
As of Wednesday, the emergency shelter at Benjamin Jepson school remained open.
Southern Gets Power Back:
Southern Connecticut State University got power back at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Students can move back in from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The university is opening at noon Tuesday for staff, said Joe Musante at the Office of Public Affairs.
Classes will start Wednesday and will be held according to the regular Wednesday class schedule.
Trash collection: Refuse pickup is running on a holiday schedule, which means trash and recycling pickup will be delayed by one day.
Bus Service: Some CT Transit bus service resumed Monday at 7 a.m.
Bus service changes are as follows:
• C Route: No service on Quinnipiac Ave between East Grand to Route 80.
• D Route: No service to Oxford Street.
• D‑Dixwell Ave Route: No service to Circular Ave.
• F‑East Haven route: No service on Coe Ave between Bradford Ave up to the terminus.
• F‑Branford route: No Service to Branford Center. Straight Route 1.
• J‑Milford route: No service between Ocean Ave and Jones Hill Rd up to New Haven Ave and Gulf Street.
• O‑Winchester route: No Leeder Hill Service.
• O‑Route 1: No service to Tuthill Rd, Meloy or Dogwood. Straight Route 1.
• Q‑Lombard route: No service between State and Humphrey up to East and Humphrey.
• Q‑Beverly Hills route: No service on Edgewood between Dwight St and Orchard.
• Z‑West Hills: No service on Valley St between Blake and Emerson.
• S‑Madison route: No Service to Guilford Green stay on Route 1.No service on Route 1 between Kirkham to Short Beach Rd.
State: Restoring power to the state is the top priority, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said. Some areas of the state received as much as 8.3 inches of rain and the shoreline was devastated.
Is this a real emergency or is everybody just overcompensating for last winter's snow follies?