The Alternative Press

MADISON, NJ - The following statement was released by Madison Mayor Bob Conley late last night, Nov. 1:

First a thank you for everyone's patience and understanding during this emergency. And now the update on the recovery effort in Madison.  At this time all roads have been cleared except for Overhill Dr and Seven Oaks Circle.

Wednesday night at 7:20 our feed into Madison was restored. Since that time and over the next 24 hours the priority will be restoring the 15 circuits that serve our town. The expectation is that 12 of the circuits will be up by tomorrow morning.  Once this is accomplished, the crews will work on areas with downed poles, damaged transformers and then individual homes with dropped lines. This effort is led by the crews of Madison Electric assisted by 2 crews from Louisiana with Verizon installing utility poles.

Some neighborhoods sustained major damage and may be without power for 3 to 5 days. These neighborhoods include but may not be limited to:

    Woodcliffe
    Hardwood
    Edgewood and Dogwood
    Pomeroy, Cross Gates East and West Lanes
    Hillcrest, Highview
    Park Lane
    Pine, Rose, Beech and Cedar
    Barnsdale
    Garfield
    Niles
    Shunpike/Olde Green House

As announced earlier Madison will celebrate Halloween on Saturday from 2 to 6 PM. This will allow for everyone to celebrate Halloween without the worry of dark neighborhoods that we will be faced with when daylight savings ends Saturday.

Our DPW  and electric department crews having been putting in long hours to get our town back on track. Plus staff and volunteers have handled over a thousand calls in the call center and hosted hundreds in our our warming and charging stations as well as providing shelter for those in need.  Please thank them if you see them around town.

Remember whether you were among the first to get power or the last, we are all in this together. If you have lights please reach out to your friends and neighbors who may still be in the dark.

Our Operations of Emergency Management Phones will be staffed this Friday starting at 7 AM to address specific questions related to this emergency.