Here comes the HEATWAVE!

summer in the big city #51

I often think of this shirtless man puking, seen during my Grand Canyon trip earlier this year

It’s HOT! To help New Yorkers, we ran so many great stories this week at THE CITY about the triple-digit heat index, like how to get a spray cap for a fire hydrant and why the city’s heat island effect makes it feel so much hotter where you live.

But the story that really blew my mind was my colleague Sam Maldonado’s on energy usage. Up until the moment I read Sam’s story I was the type of person who would say things like “hey if they don’t shut the lights off at the Forever 21 in Times Square, I’m keeping my AC at 64.” 

I even said it to my friend Alfonso who works at ConEd Thursday morning at a press conference at the Office of Emergency Management. He just smiled, which I realize now was him being polite while thinking “what a moron.” It simply doesn’t work that way!

From Sam’s story:

Customers might be frustrated if they have their power cut on purpose, while other neighbors and businesses stay online. McHugh said customers will ask, “‘Well, why didn’t you shut off Times Square?’”

The answer is that the glowing billboards and flashing lights of Times Square are on their own network. That means lowering electricity usage there would not affect customers in Harlem, Jackson Heights or anywhere outside of Times Square.

In other words, customers within a network affect other customers in that same network, so when you mind your usage, you’re helping your neighbors and increasing the odds that the power remains on.

I certainly don’t want to mess things up for my fellow Woodsiders, so I’ll keep my energy use low.

We also wrote about about the broken misting portion of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. And why the city extends pool hours but can’t keep lifeguards on the beaches for longer hours during a heat wave (An OEM spox said it’s because beaches are far and people shouldn’t travel there in the heat.)

And here’s what to do if your apartment is too hot.

Shameless plugs:

I’ve been talking a lot about the lifeguard shortage — the who, what, why — including Mornings on 1 last week, the Brian Lehrer Show on Tuesday, and Morning Edition on Friday. 

Preparing for both interviews set me down a newspapers.com rabbit hole where I found this amazing work of art from the Daily News –

💫A few more interesting stories💫

Migrants are being turned away from the city’s shelters, as the city bakes. [THE CITY] What will New York City look like if it reaches 110 degrees? [NY MAG]
People scammed by COVID test bills will get refunds, with interest! [THE CITY]
Everybody’s talking about OLIVES! [GRUBSTREET]

thanks for reading!