Power Problems Leaves Local Club in the Dark

4:49PM | March 3, 2009 | comments: 11

Business suffers at hands of Con Edison.

Nyokah Cole owns a small club and catering business in the Bronx. "Nyche Lounge" hosts and caters private parties on weekends. But the 18-month old operation has struggled a lot, especially after Con Edison turned their power off for nearly a week back in July 2008.

According to Nyokah, Con Ed needed to dig up the ground outside her building to fix a nearby gas main. It was only supposed to take a day, but ended up taking 4 days. Nyche Lounge lost power during this time and Nyokah was forced to cancel all the parties booked that weekend, costing her over $40,000.

When she filed a claim against Con Edison for compensation she was denied, so she called Help Me Howard in February of this year. It was during this time that Nyche Lounge experienced another power outage on Valentine's Day. The loss of heat and power sent partygoers out the door and once again her business had suffered another black eye.

Con Edison showed up the next day, February 15th and installed a cable, called a "shunt" from a nearby power line. It was supposed to provide heat and electric power until they came back to make repairs.

According to Nyokah, Con Ed said they were coming back on Tuesday, February 16th, but they didn't. When Help Me Howard visited Nyche Lounge on February 19th, Nyokah showed us how the shunt was not providing adequete power to all the venue's rooms.

So we called Con Edison and they told us they had also been out there on the 19th to make repairs, but found out that to access their dropline, they have to get permission from the Parks Department, which owns the gated property across the street. Con Ed insists the shunt was working properly and the problem lay not with them, but with some of the lamps or electrical units inside Nyche Lounge.

When we asked them about last year's power problem, Con Ed had this to say:

"Con Edison needed to do work on their gas main, they contacted the customer on Tuesday July 29th 2008, they turned the gas off Wednesday July 30th and they didn't turn it back on until Sunday August 2nd, 2008. Our tariff does not provide for compensation for loss of business, so that was why the customer was denied the reimbursement claim."

We then spoke with the State of New York Public Service Commission about Nyokah's case. The PSC helps consumers deal with their complaints against local utilities, including gas, telephone, electricity, water and cable tv. The PSC has agreed to help Nyokah straighten out her current power problem with Con Edison, but unfortunately they do not have the authority to award damages, so if she wants to pursue her past claim, she will have to do it in court.

Right now Con Edison is waiting for the Parks Department to give them access, so they can make repairs, but as a precaution they installed three more shunts, so Nyche Lounge continues to have power. This past weekend's parties went off without a hitch.

If you're having a current problem with a utility you can contact The New York State Public Service Commission at 1-800-342-3377. They can advise you and make sure that the utility responds to your problem. For more information or to file a complaint go to www.dps.state.ny.us

Comments: 11

Posted by luz rios at July 9, 2009 3:08 PM

please howard i need your help im having a big problem with my boss i work at a hospital and he owns me 3,000 and he always has an excuse to give me my money im from ny and my name is luz i work at beth israel hospital at 16th and 1st ave in manhattan is you could please help me i apreciated please help me

Posted by luz rios at July 9, 2009 3:08 PM

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Power Problems Leaves Local Club in the Dark

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