The block of 93rd street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive was shut down on Monday after Con Ed found “energized objects” near 317 West 93rd street. The agency detected the high levels of energy from the objects in the morning, but still hadn’t pinpointed what was causing the problem when we spoke to a Con Ed rep at about 4:30 p.m.
Metal objects on the street can become electrical hazards in the winter when salty water begins to thaw and eat away at the insulation around wires (this can also lead to manhole fires). Dog walkers have been warning people about the electrocution risk posed by manhole covers and other objects that could be surging with stray voltage. Dogs were reportedly zapped by manholes last month in Brooklyn. We actually first started investigating this story because a tipster had told us a dog was electrocuted on the block. But the Con Ed spokesman said they had not heard of any person or animal being affected.
The Con Ed spokesman couldn’t tell us what objects they suspect are electrified. Most of the time, he noted, the electrical problems are actually caused by wires that are not controlled by Con Ed, but the organization fixes them anyway.
Con Ed detects stray energy with the truck shown in the video below:
Correction: we initially reported that the shutdown was from West End to Broadway.
Photo of 93rd street by Aaron Biller.
