Downpour Causes Power Outages, Suspension of Some Train Service

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The New York Sun

A morning downpour left many New Yorkers wading through flooded streets, caused scattered power outages, and led to the suspension of train service in some areas of the city yesterday.

Flooding caused the suspension of service on three subway lines between 9:40 a.m. and about 11:30 a.m., a spokeswoman for the New York City Transit Authority said. Service was stopped on the F line between Jamaica and Forest Hills in Queens, as well as on the A and C lines between Broadway Junction and J Street in Brooklyn. The L train was also suspended between Broadway Junction and Myrtle/Wyckoff avenues. “When the water starts to collect on the tracks, we take the power off before it reaches the third rail,” the spokeswoman, Deidre Parker, said.

Meanwhile, Con Edison reported power outages that were mostly restored by late afternoon. A spokesman, Alfonso Quiroz, said about 1,000 customers in Queens reported outages due to a combination of high winds and fallen trees.

The National Weather Service measured 1.05 inches of rain in Central Park yesterday, with the bulk falling between 9 a.m. and noon, a spokesman, Chris Vaccaro, said. While the rainfall did not beat the day’s 1901 record of 3.07 inches, Mr. Vaccaro said precipitation is way up this year. Since June 1, 9.63 inches of rain have fallen in Central Park, 5.08 inches more than normal, Mr. Vaccaro said.

Although the rain fell hardest in the morning, commuters described delays and soggy conditions that made the day uncomfortable. After walking 20 minutes in the downpour yesterday morning, an attorney who commutes to Newark, N.J., from Manhattan, Amy Metzger, said water sloshed out of her shoes when she entered her office. She said they were still wet by late afternoon. “I think they’re ruined,” Ms. Metzger said.

A Manhattanite returning from a long weekend on Martha’s Vineyard, Jacob Schiffman, complained that the weather delayed his train and made him late for work. “Everything was running on time until the rain came,” he said.


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