KINGSTON – Governor Kathy Hochul joined with State Senator Michelle Hinchey and Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan to tour the extensive damage in Ulster County caused by Friday’s ice storm. Utility crews are working to restore electricity at a rapid pace.
The ice storm caused substantial power outages due to trees falling onto power lines under the weight of the ice. At the height of the storm on Friday, nearly 80,000 Central Hudson customers were without power in Ulster. Central Hudson’s Vice-president of Electric Engineering and Operations, Ryan Hawthorne briefed the officials, saying that as of Monday afternoon, approximately 7,300 customers were still without power in the county.
Hochul remarked that County Executive Ryan “has a can-do attitude,” that was instrumental in mobilizing county agencies to establish warming centers for those in need as well as infrastructure repair. The county’s Emergency Operations Center was activated and remains in operation to assist county residents. The state deployed the National Guard and Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to the county, including Commissioner Jackie Bray to assist the county with emergency operations.
Hawthorne noted that typically, there are 130 linemen working in Ulster. “We have the largest filed force ever established working in Ulster to restore service,” he said. There are utility workers from across the country that have been deployed to the hard-hit county.
With temperatures hovering near the freezing point, Hochul noted that several warming centers are in operation throughout the county. On Friday, Ryan declared a state of emergency which included the following warming center locations:
Kingston
Andy Murphy Center
467 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401
2nd Church La Mision Church
80 Elmendorf St, Kingston NY 12401
New Paltz
SUNY New Paltz Elting Gymnasium
1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz, NY 12561
Saugerties
Frank D. Greco Memorial Senior Citizen Recreation Center
207 Market St, Saugerties, NY 12477
