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....August 5, 2:12 PM |
| Power Struggle: Economic Impact Of Blackout Devastating
By ANDREW MOESEL Even with power restored last Friday, the freezers in the Cold Stone Creamery on 31st Street were warm, containing only a few plastic sacks of spoiled ice cream mix.
“That’s poison right now,” said the store’s owner, Mike DiStefano, gesturing to the sacks, filled with a pasty white substance. “You can’t feed that to anyone.” Nearly two weeks earlier, DiStefano had stocked the freezer to the ceiling with supplies, preparing for the sweltering July weather to bump up business. When he lost power on July 18, it took six hours for the ice cream to spoil, and another 18 hours for him to lose the toppings, cones and other perishables. In total, DiStefano estimates he lost $20,000-$24,000 in destroyed merchandise, $25,000 in sales profits and $40,000 in damaged machinery. After opening last October, his store closed its doors this week, unable to raise the funds to restock and continue business. His insurance company will not even consider covering the spoiled goods until it receives a letter from Con Ed, DiStefano said, which the company will not give him. In the meantime, he must contend with more than $250,000 in debt from business loans and the financial requirements of his franchise agreement. The disaster could put in jeopardy two other Cold Stone franchises that he owns elsewhere on Long Island. While one of the more dire cases, DiStefano’s situation mirrors the plight of dozens of merchants in western Queens – especially food and flower vendors – who have suffered tremendous financial losses from the nine-day blackout that ended last week. Many are facing a difficult battle to keep afloat, and they are calling out for help. Elected officials have descended upon Astoria and other neighborhoods in recent weeks to express their outrage over the power outage and to pressure Con Ed to fully compensate affected businesses for their losses. Although Con Ed loosened and expanded its reimbursement policy in reaction to the blackout, several leaders are calling their gesture a drop in the bucket. In The Dark While it will take time to judge the final economic impact the blackout inflicted on the region, interviews with many local small business owners suggest the harm was extensive. A survey of 63 businesses in Astoria, commissioned by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, found that uninsured businesses lost an average of $12,300. A handful of businesses lost upwards of $100,000, the survey reported. Con Ed has said it would follow its normal reimbursement policy, which promises residents up to $350 and businesses up to $7,000. The company dropped some of its receipt requirements after the blackout to make it easier to apply for aid. But the policy only covers perishable items, not broken equipment or lost sales that many store owners say has cost them thousands. Out of all the surveyed businesses, only one responded that the Con Ed policy would fully compensate them for their losses. “Astoria businesses got their power back, but they’re still waiting for fair compensation for their losses,” Maloney said. “$7,000 is just a drop in the bucket for some of the hardest-hit businesses in my district. Con Ed’s aging and unreliable power grid caused this mess and they need to offer much more help to businesses devastated by the blackout.” Charles Marino, owner of Marino and Sons Fish Market on 30th Avenue, said he lost his entire stock twice: once during the initial blackout, and again after he reordered more product under the belief that the outage would only last a few days. Each time it cost him $35,000 to replenish his market with fresh fish. His family business has been open since 1932 – weathering the great depression and Sept. 11 – but it has never faced such a difficult economic challenge, Marino said. “We need help, and we need it right now,” he said. The fallout from the outages continues to sap local business, even after power has generally been mostly restored, several store owners said. Consumers, worried that the persistent heat could cause another blackout, have been reluctant to restock their refrigerators, according to John Kosmidis, co-owner of the International Meat Market, also on 30th Avenue. Kosmidis also pays several thousand dollars a week for a generator to supplement the electricity he receives from the grid. He too lacks confidence in Con Ed’s ability to keep the lights on. |
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