Princeton Hurricane Sandy Sunday Update

Utility workers from Missouri hard at work on Witherspoon Street Saturday. Photo by Jan Weinberg.

PSE&G is bringing more workers to Princeton today in an effort to restore power to Princetonians who are still in the dark. The power company estimated that as of Saturday morning, 23 percent of Princeton Borough customers and 28 percent of Princeton Township customers were still without power. According to the PSE&G schedule submitted to the state, the company estimated that Township residents would have their power restored before midnight last night and that Borough residents would have their power restored before midnight tonight.

Princeton officials were more cautious in their estimates of how many people had power restored and how long it would take for people to be back on line. They estimated that about 65 percent of residents had power restored, and that it could take until Monday for everyone to have power.

PSE&G announced Saturday night that additional feet would be on the ground and more trucks would be rolling through NJ streets. Another 600 workers are joining the more than 3,000 linemen and tree contractors already working in the state. The federal government is flying in some workers and their equipment from California to McGuire Air Force Base near Trenton.

Witherspoon Street is still blocked off at Paul Robeson Place. Workers have been toiling around the clock to repair a major power line there that feeds power to Borough Hall, the Township Municipal Building, the firehouse on Witherspoon Street, Community Park School, the Arts Council of Princeton, and part of the John Witherspoon neighborhood. Estimates are that the work will be completed early Monday.

In startk contrast to Friday night, we did not receive reports from neighborhoods Saturday night that their power had been restored.

The warming center at the John Witherspoon Middle School on Walnut Lane saw more activity Saturday, with about two dozen people spending the night and dozens more stopping by to take showers, recharge electronic devices, use the Wifi, drink coffee and relax. The center will remain open until at least 6 a.m. Monday. The warming centers at the Friend Center at Princeton University and the Princeton Township municipal building on Witherspoon Street are closed. Trinity Church on Mercer Street and the Princeton United Methodist Church on Nassau Street are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Montgomery Community Center is open for Montgomery residents who need a place to warm up. Lawrence High is also open and showers are available.

New Jersey Transit is operating on a special schedule from Trenton to New York until further notice. The Dinky is not in operation, but Princeton University’s Tiger Transit shuttles are making the trip to and from Princeton Junction to meet each train. The pick up point in Princeton is at the Dinky station. The shuttle is free of charge and is open to the public. NJ Transit buses are running on a Saturday schedule. Gov. Christie also announced restoration of the other NJ Transit lines last night. Coach/Suburban Transit is operating on a weekend schedule.  SEPTA is operating on a normal schedule.

Most businesses in downtown Princeton were open Saturday. We will no longer be listing the ones we know of because the list is so long and few still remain closed. Now that power is back at the Princeton Shopping Center, businesses that have been closed are reopened yesterday. New York Sports Club reopened yesterday and is welcoming any Princeton resident to stop by and use the shower and gym facilities.

We will post a listing of school openings for Monday as soon as information is available. The Pennington School and the Lawrenceville School have both confirmed that they will hold classes Monday. Power was restored to the Hun School yesterday. All of the public schools in Mercer County will hold classes on Nov. 8 and 9 now that the NJEA teachers’s convention has been canceled.

The Princeton Public Library is open from 1 to 6 p.m. today.

McCarter Theatre has power and programs will go on as scheduled.

Infini-T Cafe at 4 Hulfish St and Nassau Barbers at 68 Chamber Street are serving as drop off locations for non-perishable food, medical supplies, toiletries and blankets  as part of Occupy Sandy Relief. The collection will be ongoing.

A reminder that the Princeton Half Marathon scheduled for today has been postponed. The new date has not been set yet. The New York City Marathon has also been canceled.

Halloween will be celebrated in Princeton on Monday.

We will post updates later today about election polling places, and trash and recycling schedules.

If you know of  something that should be added to the list or have a question, please let us know by emailing editor@planetprinceton.com.

7 Comments

  1. Abernathy Street in littlebrook had power restored at 6pm last night but Clover, Deer Path, and much of Snowden above Abernathy remain COLD! Thanks for this site.

  2. Witherspoon ‘reception center’ originally set to close Sunday night , will now stay open as PSEG will not complete restoration today.

  3. Freezing cold on Westcott Rd. Very large tree down on Hunter – suspended on the fallen wires. Police have only partially closed off road, but wire is hanging low across street and has been hit by a few speeding trucks, vans because it’s not easy to see. If you don’t want to electrocute yourself, find an alternate route.

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