BEACON – State Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D, Newburgh) is slamming Central Hudson for alarming residents by using a helicopter to trim trees in the Mount Beacon area last week without prior notification.
“As soon as my office was alerted to the situation last Thursday, we called Central Hudson to find out exactly what was happening,” he said. Central Hudson informed his staff that they had hired a subcontractor to clear tree limbs around service lines.
“On top of all of their recent billing problems, I’m shocked that Central Hudson would allow a helicopter equipped with multiple spinning blades to do this kind of work so close to neighborhoods with young children—not to mention near a popular hiking trail—without notifying residents,” the lawmaker said.
“I insisted that, going forward, Central Hudson alert municipalities in advance of this kind of work and either cordon off the area where the work is being done or—at the very least—ask municipalities to put out a robocall to residents. Causing this kind of panic is thoughtless and unnecessary,” Jacobson said.
Joe Jenkins, Director of Media Relations for Central Hudson responded to Jacobson’s concerns.
“Many major utilities utilize the strategy of helicopters and attached circular saws to safely trim tree limbs to help maintain electric reliability,” said Jenkins. “This strategy is typically used in locations that are difficult to access, or sometimes for wildlife reasons. Central Hudson uses a licensed contract firm to do this work. These pilots follow all applicable FAA guidelines and use congestion maps to keep the public safe. The safety of our communities and all of our customers continues to be our top priority.”
In response to Central Hudson’s ongoing billing issues, Jacobson has introduced two pieces of legislation, one limiting a utility’s ability to use estimated billing and the other limiting the number of months a utility can back bill customers. Both will be taken up in the Assembly after the budget is passed in April.
*According to Central Hudson, the video provided “is a 10-year-old video from YouTube and is not affiliated with Central Hudson or the contract crews we use to safely conduct our State approved vegetation management program.”
