I thought I heard the substation was energized this morning from Mayor Mahr. Why is there so much conflicting information?

Define odd/even refueling and is this scotch plains or the entire state? My plate is all letters and if I walk in with a can, I have no plates? Please expand this sentence some more.

What does selling gas on an odd even schedule mean? Is that for Scotch Plains gas stations only?

The Westfield town website says the teachers convention is cancelled and the kids there will have school next Thursday / Friday. While I understand they are waiting to see when power comes back up, our mayor should at least make some comment on this topic.

Do you know what area in scotch plains is on the substation that will bring power back by Monday or Wednesday

Thank you, if not then when will scotch plains get power back I keep hearing everyone is getting power back but not us

The Fanwood and Westfield mayor seem to have more information and have lists of places people can go for power and warmth. My wife is 9 month pregnant and I have a 2 year old. There is no emergency management, social media or information for this town. This is disgraceful. The same crypted information.

When will it be restored to the north side of scotch plains then

Thanks for the link about gas rationing. What happens if both my cars end with a letter? Use the last number? And what if I just need to fill a can?

I just heard a letter is considered odd

Last number in the car plate is what you use - just drive 45 mins into PA - no lines for gas - power fully on in Easton and Bethlehem - Why hasn't the twp cleared the trees on Park and Midway?? That's the reason why most of SP is still powerless.

Mayor DP: 3-5 days is a disgrace What has DPW doing the past 3 days? Is there a dispute with PSEG over tree removal?

I live off of Lake Ave in apt complex in SP when will we see power it's getting ridiculous I have a 16 mo old n we r forced to stay out of town at families houses bc too cold for a baby at night we wana go home! Does anyone have a date when we will see light?

The 11th????????? This is wrong!!!! Why is this taking so long? Every other town had power and we are getting snow next week how do I explain to my 3 year old this.

Don't worry so much about getting gas. How far can you go in a day.....be concerned about your cold dark homes.
We've got children/grandchildren refugees here from Scotch Plains in Mercer. Doesn't seem to be forceful leadership in Scotch Plains....

I totally agree with Charlie.

does anyone know if scotch plains near clark has power restored yet?

You guys are ridiculous, thousands of people lost their homes and every posession they own...and billions more throughout the world live like this everyday...lots of selfishness going on here... Not enough. Forceful leadership in scotch plains? Refugees? Please... Suck it up for a few more days and you go back to your normal middle class life while some people will never get back what they've lost and hundreds of millions of children will go to sleep in their own filth for the nth consecutive day Of their life.... Wahhhhhhh!!! My street isn't a priority, gimme a break, you should be ashamed

WTF?!!! Are you kiddin me?!! If they give you a date of the 5th you press them constantly to stick to it!! At least Pretend your the mayor of the town if you don't want to actually work!

This is ridiculous. Before the storm the SP website had an error message if you clicked the hurricane preparedness link. After the storm we get crap for updates. How can the info be so different from Fanwood. At least Fanwood has updates on websites and sends emails to people on road closures etc. It would have been nice to know that roads were blocked due to downed trees or that you couldn't exit on Rt 22. Is it really that difficult to inform residents?

Ninja what do you have a generator? I am sure everyone feels for the people who have lost everything like the people in Staten Island. But that doesn't mean they don't have the right to ask questions and demand answers from the Council and Mayor. These are supposed to be our "leaders". That's why they have the positions. They should be communicating. And starting to communicating on Nov 1st is a little late. If you drive around Fanwood Westfield Cranford Edison, you see work being done. You see their DPW out cleaning up areas that can be cleaned up. All the politicians in SP do are vote against each other and nothing gets done. They need to grow up or get out of the position. Where is Glover? He has no problem taking $20k in health benefits from us the tax payers yet has he shown any leadership? He doesn't even work fulltime but we pay for his families health insurance? They all should be ashamed of themselves!

The mayor has the tools to communicate but isn't using them. I would expect 2x day updates via email and the web site.

The last update left me confused. We don't have any power but trees can't be removed because the lines might be live?

If there is no power then trees should be getting cleared instead of waiting for PSEG to oversee every removal.

I'm not an expert. Perhaps someone should be explaining the process to us a bit better so we can manage our expectations accordingly.

Do we have an exact date when the north side of scotch plains is getting power back, ppl in the city and log island and all over nj are getting power back, why aren't we

South side has begun to get power. Streets off Lamberts Mill are back up. Someone earlier mentioned leadership. I don't expect the mayor to be hooking up lines but I do expect her to provide better notification. If she was bragging the other day how she's on the phone with Christie every day and with PSEG twice a day, why doesn't she share the information with us? She could take a lesson from the mayors of Fanwood and Westfield. She's lost my vote.

Last number listed on your plate a 2? ( ie HCY72G) Then you fill up on an even day.
Last number listed on your plate a 7? ( ie JA17Hyc) Then you fill up on an odd day.
Have a vanity plate? ( ie COOLRIDR)
You fill up on the odd days

Get it? Got it? Good.

Do you know about the north side at all

Depaola said the north side can go to hell. Other than gas stations, she couldn't care less about the north side.

It would be great if Depaola would tell us why PSE&G aren't getting to out to Scotch Plains. If she is talking to them twice a day it must not be about helping her city. We all get it that it might take 3-4 days after a disaster such as this but after that it is poor leadership. This isn't just a few houses without power but her entire city. She should be at the offices of PSE&G banging on doors to get her city help.

Where is the leadership coming out of Township Hall?

Mayor DePaola provides a brief (sometimes) daily web update that regurgitates the tired refrain of 3-5 days or maybe 7-10 days or perhaps eleven days or more.

My street still has downed power lines strewn across the street and had several trees down until neighbors decided to chop and remove the shattered limbs and trunks themselves Friday morning.

I fully comprehend the magnitude and scope of this cataclysmic catastrophe but after five days I have several suggestions that could be implemented to improve our lives during this crisis.   

Why hasn't a Red Cross food, medicine, and recharging truck been dispatched to the downtown?

Why aren't emergency generators being provided at a distribution center?

The National Guard and FEMA could help relieve some of the burden being placed upon local law enforcement and public works officials.

Has the Mayor made a request through official state government channels for such resources to be deployed to the Township?

How many more dark and cold nights are residents with small children, the elderly and the infirm expected to endure without being provided daily emergency briefings by Mayor DePaola?

I will do whatever is necessary to assist my fellow residents but I cannot lead the town.

If Mayor DePaola wishes to retain the Mayorship beyond next Tuesday; I suggest that she and her advisors become more proactive and begin to exemplify leadership under fire.

1. we pay more taxes then 99% of this country,
2. we have the worst roads, slowest way to fix them, stop half way down the road and after reading how bad you all feel, i am not sure how this state let alone this city is going to make it.. I am guessing that all the taxes are going to grow again! streets will again have holes the size of texas and i will have to pay for 3-4 new wheels this winter because of the shit work on the roads..
Please whom ever is out there! FIX THIS NOW!!!! it is easy to see how the poeple are wanting to move out of NJ, but i don't see how or why we pay the taxes we do? wishing for power soon!! good luck all..

Well said Ryan P. The Mayor's messages have been jumbled and contradictory. At least give us straight answers so that those who have remained can get the heck out of dodge if in fact it is going to be another 2 weeks.

The mayor is not going to get my vote on Tuesday due to her lack of leadership. That's what counts.

Just a few comments to all the power outage weary residents. We are supposed to be smart but we behave extremely dumb Which one of you think a small town mayor can tell a utility what to do. Not even the president can. Utilities are governed by a different specific law and for the protection of themselves and the general public they are given the right to do things according to the better good. If in doubt go to the library and try to read the law regarding utilities.
Anger and resentment will get us no where. My family in south Jersey lost their house and everything. As senior citizens they will have to start over. What did you and I lose some groceries and maybe some damage. We have lost all conscience and become so self centered we are blind. When the early pioneers crossed the country they had nothing, fought off indians and every possible danger but they gave us something we no longer have the backbone to appreciate. Not one of you would have been able to stand up to the dangers and sufferings.
So spineless, self centered wimps thank God you are alive have a roof over your head and food in your belly. For once in your life think ; but for the grace of God go I. Get on your cell phones and tell us how magnificient you all are.

I have not seen a single town truck or a PSE@G truck on Montague Ave. Everyone around us has power. A huge tree is down along with many wires! Can anyone tell us anything? We are cold!

How can the federal government allow the NFL to play an evening game under the lights when half the state has no power? Couldn't those resources be used better? Not just the mayor that needs to be told. It's Federal as well and does anyone have more information about Meneddez and his scandal? A complete overhaul of incumbents is neccesary in our state. You can vote on North Ave in Westfield. If healthy walk in to town to save gas.

If both telephone and electric wires are down call verizon and PSEG. Get them to co-ordinate. Utilities law does not allow one to fix the other. Try PSEG early in the morning and ask for a supervisor.

I am so tired of hearing about northside - southside of Scotch Plains. In case you didn't know, we are all one town. We are all cold, tired and frustrated. The lack of leadership in this town is what should be attacked. If you want to be mayor then perhaps you should act like one. Go out around town and at least look like you care. Don't just take conference calls from PSE&G, go to the substation and see what's going on. And by the way, parts of northside got power restored last night, southside remains completely out.

Went to sleep with Power off Lamberts Mill Rd. woke up with none.. Is it going in and out?

I am dismayed at the lack of communication from our town. Fanwood and Clark have sent out updates frequently. I know we all feel grateful to still have our homes, health, possessions, etc. Communication from our government would really go a long way right now. I was undecided before the mayor election. Still undecided.

Just heard from my relatives at the shore...Point Pleasant (4 blocks from the beach) power is on. Toms River all they hear is the sound of chain saws. Howell has power restored. These were areas hit much harder than SP...yet they have crews there working and getting power back up. What's different in SP since Tuesday??? NOTHING. Why isn't our mayor & town council at least giving us information. Fanwood Mayor is posting about warming stations, charging stations, road closures....SP??? NOTHING. This is a disgrace. Here's what the mayor (supposedly) COULD do...how about giving accurate info to the residents. How about calling the County & State leaders and DEMANDING action be taken in our town. At least make it LOOK like she and the town council are doing something. Our mayor & entire town council should be ashamed of the lack of leadership. And who are we gonna vote for instead on Tuesday??? Kevin Glover??? Give me a break...

There is obviously something lacking in our leader of SP since we are all still in the dark on day 5. AC which was hit harder then us has casinos up n running and we have no power. And if 1 more person says that we are lacking sympathy for those who really go hit and lost everything I am gonna scream, my heart goes out to them and I can not even imagine a loss that they are facing. We are so lucky to have not had such damage so that means we should have power by now! We all have families and jobs we have to go back to and she should be as disgusted and fighting for her town n residents!

I just received an email update. Thank you Mayor.

FedupLiz, thanks for your advice. What we need is a clear communication and frequent updates from the mayor. Probably area by area update. Is this something too much to ask for?

This is absolutely hideous. For the amount of money we pay in scotchplains the fact that we always seem to be the last to be helped is a disgrace! Mayor MD will not be mayor for much longer. Impeach!!

Highest taxes in the country!!! Worst roads and service? Florida gets hit like this and down for a hand full of days, taxes 30% less and great roads!! What's wrong here? SAD!

The Rwj gym on lamberts has power I got an email this morning so why not the rest of lm rd? Unlike Westfield very small police presence. Granted we got off easy compared to shore but this is getting ridiculous and cold and no communication about which Rosds r open of where to get gas. Mayor took 3 days to show up afire wtr main break this summer. Useless

Totally agree- useless and ineffective mayor with zero resourcefulness. I feel angry that we pay so much tax and face this. Clearly SP is not a priority for PSEG -if they want , they can fix our power, but there are just other more important areas - there are plenty of substations by the sea where power has been restored. Our taxes should be reduced, given we are hardly a priority- go collect taxes from the other more 'important' areas.

How about investing in some portable generatos or warming trucks in neighborhoods where I people can't get out, mayor? At least we could feel better about getting fleeced at tax time. To my fellow igloo owners: finished basement is 10 degrees warmer than house may help a bit for sleeping tonite. Gotta go forage for gas it's even day and then we r headed out of town to sleep at friends in west nj who have power.

How about some clear and concise information here and now Mayor. Simply tell us area by area when we can expect our power restored. We are already in the dark so how about you strive to she'd some light?!

I know what the problem is, we need to start looting...those are the areas getting power back the fastest. We're too civilized in the Scotch. And I agree, north side and south side are both messed up. The communication has been so poor, not gonna lie. I was a Supporter of the Mayor, now I'm honestly not sure. I get her mail today to vote, but no communication. Meanwhile I read Facebook posts on my phone about friends all over Union County in their warm homes. It is kinda annoying after this long.

For charging devices, getting on line, and staying warm & more the Fanwood Memorial Library has extended hours all weekend to serve you. Call 908.322.6400 for info or online at www.fanwoodlibrary. org or on our Facebook page - SPREAD THE WORD

Who is worth voting for coming this tuesday? New to the area, taxes high, representation low, tell me who to vote for dont care what party they are. Tired of taxes rising and bring treated like garbage (which is another thing we pay for) tel me who?

We are NOT even on the list of priorities for PSE&G!! WHY NOT?!? This is an unbelieveable disgrace.

http://www.pseg.com/info/media/newsreleases/2012/2012-11-03a.jsp

Mayor DP still hasn't gotten message. NJ regulates utility companies... Christie took case of that Tues. Sorry Liz government can/does do things Communicate, stay in touch, be visable!!!! Update update.......

Unfortunately, it appears as though townspeople need to take matters into their own hands. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Call PSEG at 973-430-7734 and ask for (at least) an explanation. We are not even on the priority list - a whole town in the dark, and it's not a prioirty for PSE&G or the mayor.

PSEG's latest news release is shocking! When are they (PSEG) even planning to start the work. Next month!

How do we make scotch plains a priority on pseg list????? Someone please help us!

I am tired of the mayor's cut and paste "news updates". She needs to be more visible and specific. I had my doubts about her. They are now confirmed. WHERE IS SHE? This is worse than poor leadership. This is NO leadership.

Thanks MKriley I just called that number gave them my info and I am suppose to get a call back w am explanation lets see ! We gotta do the job of our Mayor sad !

I just called the number how were you able to speak with someone

In 3 days don't forget to vote for the other candidate. Whoever it is.

That's odd. They picked right up for me! Try again :)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/112013860/PSEG-Outage-Report-as-of-11-3-12

Hello, I reported yesterday with the scotch plains police after not being able to leave a message with the dir of parks and recreation that a tree in the park adjacent to village park condos is uprooted and leaning against another tree. There are kids playing in this park and an accident is soon to happen, either tree injuring someone, falling on our fence or hitting my house. It is windy out there and te tree that is about 30ft high is swaying...

I have requested the township to maintain their trees especially those near our property line for several years. The say it is not their responsibility. Meanwhile 4 of them thank god fell away from my home. This is a disgrace as a tax payer.

Maybe the mayor is busy posting new lawn signs every where.

@Amanda: The Mayor shouldn't bother after this debacle :)

I am a little confused regarding the latest update.

Is JCP&L assisting PSE&G under mutual aid?

Or is JCP&L the power provider for parts of the Township?

The reason I ask is because PSE&G is our power provider and yet this statement is reportedly from JCP&L.

Thank you for any clarifications because the Township government certainly isn't providing any information directly to the residents.

Additionally, my street has power lines strewn across the street and poles ripped out from the ground.

PSE&G can put as many substations back online as they please but if there are no linemen crews to repair the broken lines and shattered poles it will be of little use.

I don't blame the crews because they are working relentlessly but there has been no notification to my neighborhood by the Township regarding the downed poles and power lines.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/112013860/PSEG-Outage-Report-as-of-11-3-12
Says we are on list?

Called number and left vm for a george Valero @ pseg and lm basically on behalf of SPF . Ssid our town is not communicating and we need answers. Wonder if mayor has power would be a hoot if she does. Kevin glover is who to vote for to get mdp o-u-t.

Another night of cold darkness descends upon Scotch Plains.

How much longer are we going to endure this as a community before we respectfully and peacefully demand answers from our elected representatives?

We have to send the Mayor a message that during a crisis this is not leadership.

Voting her out of office is the clearest way to send that message.

So long as Mr. Glover promises, to the best of his abilities, that I won't have to look after my ill mother in cold darkness for six consecutive nights then how much worse could he possibly be?

I don't care for Mr. Glover but if this is the alternative then he has my vote with reservations.

Just was informed from a friend in New York the reason it is taking so long is that hundreds of workers came from out of state to assist but was rejected because they were not union workers. This clarifies a lot ..

FYI My power came on at 3:53pm this afternoon (Saturday). I'm on the north side near Henry.

Not union! really! can you get the power on? if they came from other states or towns they're obviously capable of fixing what we've got to be fixed!!! Come on!!

Got power on in Sunset Place Scotch Plains, thank you!

That union crew issue is BS....it was resolved days ago
This is a natural disaster, of humongous proportions!!
SP has a leadership problem, where's the Council if Mayor DP is "out to lunch."?????

2hrs!,, hell, I wish just by 8am.. Make it happen please and you might still have a chance Tuesday

Still cold and dark on Church Avenue and Portland Avenue.

As long as downtown has power that's all that matters, right? *weary sigh*

We can see the sparkling lights of downtown from here.

Just beyond our grasp....

A bit confused? So i heard that they will be removing fallen trees on the power lines from this afternoon into the night? How will they be able to do that in the dark? I live off of raritan near ashbrook and our street has numerous fallen trees and more importantly some dangerous trees on the lines on raritan on the corner of my street. Anyone else in this area and have an update?

DP Is MIA. Glover is a joke. A bad joke who is capable of doing real damage to the Township. I was going to vote for DP, but now I don't know. We have a choice between bad and dangerous. This is awful.

I'm Holden MaGroin and someone asked where I was. I'm here.
I do not have storm or safety information to provide and while I have much to say, I don't feel it is appropriate to comment while fellow citizens are still suffering.
Perhaps Sunday or Monday.
In the meantime, to those without power or who have suffered a loss of home or possessions, my family and friends have you in our prayers.

" I have urged them to prioritize Scotch Plains"......

A true profile in courage.

After all, it's only day six of the crisis and it has only been five nights since since my chronically ill Mother and I have been sitting in the cold darkness.

The downed power lines and poles strewn across my street did not magically put themselves back into place before midnight last night.

I was less than surprised that yet another supposed deadline would come and go with my family and I still in the cold and darkness.

Now is not the time to become political in the midst of a crisis however I have lost all confidence in the ability of the current Township 'government' to lead effectively.

I will cast my ballot accordingly.

@The Editor-In-Chief of The Scotch Plains Patch: If you have a conference call with Mayor DePaola on Sunday, could you please kindly ask her if there is a timeframe for power restoration on Church Avenue? We are having a difficult time getting a response from Township Hall. I would greatly appreciate it.

There are several elderly and ill residents on Church Avenue.

Our fellow residents next to us on Portland haven't been provided with a timeframe either.

Thank you to all of the PSE&G crews and local first responders for your tireless work during this time of crisis.

Thank you as well at The Scotch Plains Patch for being a source of illuminating light during this difficult time of darkness.

Honestly, I cannot believe we are Still talking about health benefits. First and foremost, it cannot cost $25k per year, but hey maybe it's one of our repubs trusted advisors that offer the plan.

Second, Paulette and the mayor took health plans as well...

Third, as a sp resident I want Kevin glover to have health insurance. He was the only councilman I saw out there at the local centers helping, and he doesn't have power.

Fourth, I agree with Holden. By Tuesday power will be back (we hope), and together we can vote to make a difference by electing mr glover.

Fifth and final point, just ask yourself, is this the scotch plains u want to live in if Mary gets reelected, and marks stays in power? Unreal!!!!

But now really my final point, where is Mary, bet she has power...

Sp resident - i agree with u on the cost of health insurance, but we need to find out the true cost of the plan and who sells it to the town. I have repeatedly asked I feel like for an answer on this from Paulette and and Mary's supporters and have yet to receive a response. One that I do not expect to hear bc I think it's outrageously high. Just want to ensure our current mayor and her staff are shopping around for the best offer. In the end, they took advantage of this plan for years, and only now is it an issue. Makes me question there fiscal responsibility and quite frankly consider them a puppet of former mayor marks. Wouldn't u agree? If not, I'm dumbfounded, shocked, and appalled...

Good Morning,

Does anyone have a power status in Scotch Plains? Our area still doesn't have it albeit last night when we called PSE&G they stated our area had been restored. We're not getting any ETR on power. I'll repeat the same comment from others - where is our Mayor and council representatives?

Could we perchance place a moratorium on discussing health care benefits and plans until we are all out of the dark and cold?

I believe it would be greatly appreciated.

Old Farm Rd and Concord still doesn't have power and were all right next to the high school. These streets are also being used by Brunner parents and high school kids to park and drop off their kids and both are still not passable.

Those of us w smart phones or power can look online and communicate here but what about those who lack these luxuries like the elderly? The mayor and her minions shold be found their jobs and diving around town speaking w the people. Everything we hear is second hand info and unreliable! Like the midnight restoration date. Town website should be a tool to update us on road closures, tree removal ,etc. we r a week in, mayor, what happens when the nor'easter hit wed and we start finding the hypothermic bodies? This is getting very dire. And warning stations should be open for 24 hrs the nights are the worst part.

Totally agree with the lack of communication. Westfield's mayor had a tele-conference updating everyone, Long Branch residents are getting voice recordings from their mayor, we are getting nothing.

Michael, call PSEG back and tell them your power is still out. We were told our power was restored yesterday at 2pm but it was still out. We made them re-open our ticket and had the neighbors do the same. At 5pm we saw a crew out of Missouri checking the streets and last night we got power back. If you don't call they think your power is up and running because the grid was restored.

In a few hours we will be going on day 7 without power - this town wasnt hit nearly as hard as many other towns that have had power back for days - PSE&G, the state, the mayor, and council are all to blame - vote these ineffective, money grubbing retards out of office on tuesday - even if you don't like the other candidate write in someone

Still have not seen anyone on Montague Ave in SP. Mayor came first day but never returned. I am limited with my internet access. Can anyone give me an update?

It is going on nearly a week of cold and darkness.

The Township government isn't providing any answers and when they do finally post an update on the Township website it is usually outdated, inaccurate, or both.

Why are there no members of The Red Cross, FEMA or even The National Guard being dispatched to the Township to check on the most vulnerable residents?

Why aren't twenty-four hour Red Cross mobile warming, medical, food, and recharging centers being established?

Our neighborhood is contemplating circulating a petition calling for an immediate snap election to dissolve the current Township Council, along with the Mayor.

Why aren't state resources being deployed to The Township to assist during this crisis?

We want to assist in any way possible to help get all of us through this challenging time but we need constant, accurate and updated information.

According to the PSEG website, as of yesterday morning, SP had 5798 homes without power. (That represented 1% of their total customers without power, by the way.) They have a 3 day plan to get everyone up and running. One Day 1 (yesterday) they intended to restore 4349 customers and Day 2, today (Sunday) the remaining 1160. Whether they're on schedule or not, I don't know, though from driving through town on my way to Kings last night in Garwood it seems there was still a lot of darkness, so it may be taking longer than they expected. The substations are all up but certain circuits cannot be restored until all the wires are fixed. Crews ARE in town, I saw their trucks this morning. Like Pamela said above, CALL PSEG and confirm they know you don't have power. Good luck to everyone.

The mayor has "urged" PSEG? Why doesn't she just come out and say that she doesn't know how to lead during a crisis.

Every mayor has urged PSEG to fix their town.

A monkey sitting at the mayor's desk can raise our property taxes 2% every year. A real mayor needs to step up to the plate and lead during a crisis.

On this alone, I am going to vote for the other candidate on Tuesday. Anything is better than the empty chair that we currently have.

Does anyone know if William Street has been restored?

does anyone have info on village park court townhouse power status?

I would have liked to see more visible leadership from the mayor of SP during this time. Certainly, a superstorm doesn't happen often, but the reality is that it will be happening more than usual. SP really needs to revisit its distaster/crisis management plan. As I mentioned before, the mayor may have been working around the clock to look out fo us SP residents. But we've only been connected through the PAtch, which a lot of residents still don't know about. Westfield had a townhall, Fanwood provided frequent updates -- why couldn't Scotch Plains have done the same? Instead SP set up a storm hotline that keeps ringing and disconnects -- a recorded regular update on this hotline would have helped a great deal. Since a lot of us don't have power, internet or phone line connections, perhaps a large billboard sign with updates at the townhall or main landmarks would have helped. A moving billboard sign around town would have helped as well. The point is: there are so many ways to reach us residents, but instead we've been left scrambling on our own for answers. The Patch is a heaven sent, but like I said, we should be hearing from the township directly. Do we have to worry about this everytime we're hit with a storm? During the OCtober ice storm we had last year, our street was impassable because it wasn't plowed for at least 3 days. And we pay taxes for what again?

I suggest that the township invite residents for a townhall this week to discuss how this could be handled better going forward. For SP residents' peace of mind, we need a plan to handle such disasters in the future.

Agreed - health insurance is a moot point I was just so frustrated when this became A discussion point that I felt I needed to comment. Problem with the marks klan.

Still no power on my end. Thanks Mary! Way to lead us through the crisis... Really appreciate u urging people on day 7.... I guess as long as u have power that's all that matters!

Go to http://www.facebook.com/marydepaola.sp.nj to ask the mayor to get power restored.

I too agree to leave politics out and did not intend to upset anyone. Was just stating that I had no choice for Mayor on Tuesday & went onto the benefits tangent. Forgive me.
500 blocks of William St & Victor St have power...not sure about the lower blocks heading toward Mountain Ave. Westfield Ave near the Memorial Park does not have power back yet..
Monica Place: large tree still lying across the street...took out 4 power poles & all power lines attached to them...nothing has been done since the storm...not a truck or even police tape blocking it off. Obviously power is still out in this area.

Sp resident - agreed we are all in this together, and together we can rebuild... But unfortunately that will not start until Tuesday. I am fearful that our township will never get that chance if we have a mayor like Mary and wingman in marks. Plus, I just want power...

Keep us posted as to how pseg is doing!

We are all frustrated but some of the frustration is turning into a lack of realistic view of what local government can control. As of 11am today,PSEG reports 67.3 percent of Fanwood residents without power, 56.1 for Westfield and 53.1.for Scotch Plains. So according to PSEG Scotch Plains has most residents restored - yes it would be nice to see more frequent messages,and a government member was in our neighborhood to show care, but I think these numbers directly from PSEG show Scorch Plains has not been short changed. Yes it would be nice for 100 percent to be back but these are the numbers .

You are right, Mr. Rossi.

It is breathtakingly unreasonable of us not to expect to spend yet another night in the cold darkness after a week.

It is entirely unreasonable of us to expect our elected representatives to demonstrate leadership in the midst of a crisis through frequent updates and requesting state and federal resources.

We should simply not question authority and just resign ourselves to living in cold darkness as if we were in Pyongyang.

Got an email alert from Mayor Mahr of Fanwood listing all the streets that have power. Mayor DP would it be too much to ask that you do the same?

According to the new sent yesterday all of SP was supposed to have electric by mid-night. This has not happened. Any news as to when the rest of scotch plains and homes on front street and village park court will be up?

It would be nice if the local repubs would do some fact checking! Ughhhh.... Is it true Mary is on vacation again? How convenient?

Rossi - power is on in fanwood per ryan p. please only post facts as we are trying to get power on here and trying to work together. Just wish we had leadership that will be around.

Birdie fanwood has power... Mary forgot to include us!

I live on ElizabetAve off Hetfield. I was told by several neighbors that have called PSEG that service WAS restored on our street. I'm sitting in a cold dark house and can verify that power was not restored. I called PSEG and spoke to a rep she says work has been completed but a work order is still out with a recovery date of 11/09. When I asked why so long the rep said its based on damages, however this was the same date and time given to me at 8 PM on Monday as the storm hit. Mayor DePaola and city council please look into this. Last October when we were out of power for a week the same thing happened. I stopped to a PSEG line man who made repairs then, even though he had no prior knowledge.
If the mayor wants my vote on Tuesday she will reassure me that we haven't dropped through the cracks again. BTW Fanwood and Cranford are doing a much better job of updating information than SP is.

Goddard School in South Ave still has no power so cancelled school tomorrow.

I had left a message yesterday with PSEG's customer relations department and they called me back. They have 5399 residents in Scotch Plains w/o power. They plan restoring power to 488 residents today, 649 more tomorrow, and 973 tuesday. The rest should have it restored by Friday 11/9. That's assuming that the storm that is coming next week doesn't delay work any further. Also, they said that updates on how many people's power is being restored is coming in slowly because a lot of the out of state workers don't report back to them promptly.

Stay warm everyone.

Good Question! I asked PSE&G and obviously they just say they are working to get power restored. The squeaky wheel gets attention and our Mayor didn't know how to navigate the system.

I have driven threw all the towns over the last 3 days and as you said, no workers, no trucks and lots of bull!
Oh, let's bring up highest taxes in country! Worst roads!
Umm
Give us power! My 3 kids, wife and I are now past the pissed off point and will start looking for a new home when we can see!

Dlk - very well said... Absolutely disgusted with our mayor and her pawns!

Yes our taxes are high and our services are dwindling. Tues will tell. Write-in: Holden Magroin?!

Holden, glad you r out there. Will honor your wishes. My vote will count!

Again, the SP website is update with information that doesn't jive with the latest information provided by PSEG.

I've already decided that the information provided by PSEG is bullshit. Where does the town get its information?

FWIW, I have not seen a single PSEG truck or worker on the north side today. Perhaps the mayor could tell us where, exactly, PSEG is working so hard to restore power.

Holden,hows your brother Aiken ?

I think the answer is to do a write in for Mayor Mahr -- she seems to be doing a great job. Heck, why not just merge the two towns already and make her the head -- at least we would get some leadership and information already.

Where's 11/4 the update for Scotch Plains? As another poster mentioned, Fanwood released a list of streets that have power. Let's please have the same for Scotch Plains. We still don't have answers. So, I guess we're left to assume that we won't get power until 11/11, which is simply ridiculous. As I mentioned earlier, I strongly urge the township of Scotch Plains to hold a town hall meeting within the next week to discuss how we can avoid this chaos from happening again.

WHERE IS OUR POWER!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope my fellow frozen sp residents have made alternate arrangements for warmth tonight. Lowes in union still had some generators today. Time to take care of ourselves and eachother. If nothing else be glad we r a community that helps eachother. Not optimistic for restoration of power in short term.

These numbers are awful. 9,300 original households lose power in SP.
As of yesterday they restored 3,500, which left 5,800 still without power.
The mayor now tells us there's still 4,500 households that are dark.
It's taken 24 hours to get 1,300 households up? And they're concentrating on the largest (read easiest) areas?
How can depaola tell us she is telling pseg to make us a priority when so little progress is being made? As soon as a line is repaired, at least 400-500 houses get power.
Maybe instead of fedupliz mangan giving history lessons and frank rossi giving us statistics saying we're not being short changed, they could be distributing information to the darkened neighborhoods like fanwood is doing.
I don't know what is worse, the lack of leadership, visibility and information from the mayor, or the apologists from the republican committee doing damage control for her. Disgusting

It wouldn't be so bad to use a generator if I could at least get some gas at a local gas station without having to wait in line. The Exxon on 22 west in SP was open for a while today but I can't just walk there with gas cans.

What needs to happen to get the gas stations on 22 east open? How about getting the 22 @ Glenside traffic light working?

What is the mayor doing about that?

This situation reminds me of when I was in Iraq in 2006/2007 when we were witnessing the crumbling of the country's infrastructure. I talked to a friend of mine today who works for pseg and he admitted this is a total $hit$how. I remember about a month ago driving somewhere in SP/fanwood and seeing a pole leaning at an angle secured with rope. No wonder pseg's distribution system collapses - they don't properly maintain it.

SPTax

I have week may of the same poles and rope! Hate to repeat, but why do we pay more taxe then 98% of the country? Roads never fixed and or done! Poles never correct and need to be replaced! So much crap! And I'm sure they will say they need more money!! Time to rethink living here!!

Has anyone asked if the mayor's home has power? Maybe the urgency has been reduced over the past couple of days.

So the mayor can't control PSE&G, that's apparently a given, but what about trying to relieve the suffering of those in the community still without heat? What about procuring huge generators to power Scotch Hills CC and Shahomaxon(sp?)CC or a school, and providing cots and meals? I understand the limitations of dealing with the utility, I don't understand the lack of creative problem solving. BTW, after a week of trying to get a town tree removed from their house, my neighbors serendipitously bumped into Kevin Glover yesterday. Today we watched the DPW remove the tree.

I have to admit that I am pretty ashamed of our town and the way we have been neglected in regard to active community service. While I am sure that many residents appreciate the warming stations, where is a detailed list of all their locations and other such sites for people to take advantage of. I did read (on a friends ipad, we have no power, phone, access to any info) that warming stations were open 8-2. REALLY? 'here is your cup of coffee...warm up a bit, then head home to your dark cold house for the night'. I think that most people can withstand the inconvenience of no electricity and having a cooler of milk on the front porch but living in a town with no heart makes me re-evaluate why I live here. I haven't seen one patrol car on my block, no public/town representative walking around asking me if I need help, no one distributing flyers with info on shelters etc. My little family is weathering this storm with dignity and self-reliance....I wish I could say the same for my town. Shame on you town council, and when I come up to the podium to speak with you at our next public town council meeting....don't you dare attempt to shut me up after my 3 minutes.....YOU WORK FOR ME.....FOR ALL OF US! I pray that everyone is safe and warm during these next few days.

Another night of cold and hope that sometime tomorrow power will be restored. Given the Mayor hasn't been speaking to her constituents during this crisis would it be reasonable to think she has stepped down as Mayor or taken her name off the ballot for elections? I get it from being an Officer in the military that at times a person in a leadership position becomes overwhelmed and needs assistance so either steps down or delegates tasks to others. I see nothing showing this has been done and it is evident this position is too much responsibility for our current Mayor.

Michael - Mary did the same thing during the water main break stating she was conveniently on vacation. All I know is write in wont help, and as holden said it could keep mary in office. Vote Glover And give home a chance. If your concern is health benefits, I think you should not worry as I have repeatedly asked for clarification and no answer has been given as to who sells the plan to the township and what the actual cost is. Just the usual republican propaganda when they are being questioned. Almost has bad as Donald trumps bold statement. That being said... Still waiting for power

LynnSusanWalter - I guess glover is the only one taking care of business the way an elected official should. Too bad we only have one day until election, otherwise we could try to impeach Mary! Tuesday should be much easier though. And if people do decide to vote for Mary in this town they should be ashamed and be forced to pay for all her wrongdoings!

Thursday, Nov.1 - 2:30 pm - 2 twsp. employees blowing leaves in municipal parking lot behind Rescue Squad. Back again on Fri, Nov 2 8:00 am. I find this disturbing when the town is covered with downed limbs and branches. Shouldn't these men with a truck be picking up limbs that are safe to remove? Should gasoline be wasted on leaf blowers. The municipal lot in center of town has no leaves and NO POWER. The stores are closed!

To the Patch editor Nicole. Are you in contact with mayor depaola or are you just sent these updates?

We have so many questions and these feeble updates from town hall are not answering anything.

Township employees show a pitiful lack of initiative. Try have waited idly by for instructions from a mayor who simply is not equipped to lead and for whom they don't respect. The whole town hall needs to be cleaned out and the voters need to do it. We are part to blame for putting up with the higher taxes and disfunction for so long. I am going to vote for Glover but expect him to kick the town emplyees in the a$$ and get them to break a sweat and clean the town up. I am tired of the waste, lack of initiative and plain laziness of the privileded public servant class. The police could have gone door to door but they sit in their heated police cruisers chit charting on the radio with one another. What a joke.

People, people. Come to town hall later today. I will be handing out crumbs of cake to you.
I can only stay a short time, as I will need to take an 11:00 call that will tell me what to tell you.
I also can't stay outside too long, as it is a little too chilly for me.
Can you believe that the 36 hours I lost power, I had to throw away a quart of milk because it got warm?
I understand your suffering.
As to why employees are blowing leaves in the town square, I do not want my car soiled from possible pollen on those pesky leaves when I park. You have to understand, it sometimes gives me the sniffles.
Also, please stop posting on my Facebook page those nasty messages, 26 of my 28 children have access and it bothers them.
Now run along, I have to turn up my heat.

Don't even try to give me a stupid flyer at the train station tomorrow mayor telling me to vote for you. I will use it to start a fire in my cold, dark house. As far as Glover is concerned, he better earn every penny of those health benefits we are paying for. The incompetence and blatant failure of local government must be rectified.

Leaving people in the dark and cold for a week now, is unacceptable!! Makes us feel forgotten. PSEG need to do an overhaul on their grids!!! Their customer service people are terrible , had one of them with no compassion blankly tell me ' well it's just taking a little longer - you need to understand that ' My PSEG bill better be a lot less than it was this time last year !! Whole situation is BS!!

I'm on Jerusalem and got my power back. I'd be more than willing to let someone borrow my generator, but gas is up to you.

A leader is supposed to be visible and instill a sense of order and calmness to the community. This has not happened whatsoever.

For any Scotch Plains resident, I have a generator I no longer need and would be willing to loan it out, topped off with gas and a power cord so your ready to go. If your interested please text or call 908-883-0657.

Going to pay my PSEG bill late for a few months. What are they going to do? Turn off my electricity?

PSEG continues to publish their restoration lists. What bullshit. How can they say that they are going to restore power to a specific number of customers when they can't tell you when *you* are going to have your power restored. It's just a big game to them to avoid a PR nightmare.

One of the many things that our AWOL mayor should be doing is disseminating reports of PSEG actually doing work in Scotch Plains so we know that something is being done.

When will Longfellow ave get power back???

Mayor Mary depalo we await your resignation... Do what is right for your neighbors

This is extremely disappointing. Despite the resounding outcry from SP residents, we have not seen any improvements in communications and we remain in the dark (literally and figuratively). We are left to scramble for answers on our own and assume the worst. I'm surprised that no TV networks have featured this yet. Patch, this needs to be out in the open and the governor needs to know what's going on in this neck of the woods. We keep posting here and we continue to be ignored. Another storm is coming tomorrow...what is the township doing to prepare for it? I cannot agree more with SPTaxpayer's post this morning. Mayor DePaolo is not the only one at fault here. Where are her constituents and the people who work for the town? Are they all in hiding? We need a major overhaul of the township of SP. IT's time to rid of the warm bodies who do nothing (everytime I call the township, I never get a live person, and they're closed by 3pm). That new town hall was refurbished using our tax money. THe least they can do to prove that it was worth it is to do their jobs and serve the people. I don't know if voting for the other candidate will help, but this should be a wake-up call to anybody who will win the election. Not only do we need different leadership, but we also need to replace town employees who aren't pulling their weight. I don't care how long they've worked for the town. If they aren't doing their job, they need to get out of there.

Problem is Kate, this is not the first time it has happened under Mary! Can't wait to vote her out of office tomorrow!

Stopped a PSE&g truck on Westfield Ave. they are checking the circuit that goes down Henry Street. Kevin Glover was also on Henry Street and flagged down the same truck. Expect power back in this area by tonight. I hope

True, and decide what you must. The person who wins the election better understand that it's not going to be an easy job and we have different expectations. Does anybody know if a town hall meeting will be held? We should have it. It won't be pretty, but people need to be heard.

we have no heat and electricity in our home in Scotch Plains NJ, Since Last Monday Night if you can help us
Oscar 908-477-8524

Mayor, what are you doing to help your residents? It's Day 8. We are all calling PSEG. Are you? Can you help get an update on the work order? I know the new work order has power coming to Scotch Plains throughout the week. Can you provide an update on the order of service restoration? We need more information!

The mayor should know about every PSEG truck that is doing work in SP so she can verify the #s that PSEG is publishing and hold them accountable.

I wonder what today's late press release will say.

.(I'm a different SP resident than the one above)

Prediction: When this debacle is over, Mayor Mary will say she was working tirelessly behind the scenes to get our town back up and running, and didn't have time for daily updates.

Where the heck is she? Where are the rest of the town council reps? One lives on my street...has he come out & knocked on doors to check on his neighbors? NO.

Our tax dollars PAID for the restoration of town hall...how about getting generators & opening it up as a warming station? If Westfield could open L&T on generators, certainly our town buildings could do the same.

This is an absolute disgrace & Mayor DP...you've lost 5 votes in my house. Wish we could vote to consolidate with Fanwood tomorrow & have their mayor.

Update: the situation on Monica Place remains...4 polls down...PSE&G suppose to be there Tues or Wed.

The Mayor is sooo fired.

All I know is, we need to tell our neighbors to vote Mary out of office so she can take a permanent vacation!!! I'm voting Glover tomorrow...

Len - Amazing Glover is the only on out there flagging down PSE&G trucks to help out the township... Where is Mary, oh she is watching TV because she has power!

Kate - If you don't vote for Glover, and we still have Mary in office... We get what our neighbors voted for... Your call... But my choice is to help my neighbors... I know Mr. Glover says we can do better... I think he should change his slogan to something is better than nothing...

THANK YOU MARY!!! REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIRELESS EFFORTS... BLAH BLAH BLAH

Neighbors - Tomorrow matters more than ever for us... Vote accordingly...

The mayor's re-election facebook page is open for comments.

https://www.facebook.com/marydepaola.sp.nj

Kevin Glover is the only one who has been out and about and talking to the Park Ave small business community. Let's see if we still have a small business community when we finally get power back. Glover gets my vote. The minimal information given to us by the Mayor is abysmal. Other mayors in other communities were out there pounding the pavement.

This is how you do it.
http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.ssf/2012/11/hurricane_sandy_sen_buono_open.html#incart_river_default

I am soooo relieved that I am not the only one outraged and disgusted by how the Sandy aftermath has played out in our community. The first thing I am doing tomorrow is casting my ballot for new leadership. Finally there are PSE&G trucks out on Forrest, hopefully restoring the business district. For those of us who live AND operate businesses in Scotch Plains, this has been a double whammy.

The DPW is working to keep us safe and secure? What a load of bullshit. How about telling us that the DPW cleaned up some trees. How about telling us where PSEG is doing work and holding them accountable to their estimates.

How about we elect a new mayor who knows how to lead. Mayor DePaola, I think that you are not mayoral material and the people of Scotch Plains deserve better leadership.

Every update from the mayor is another disappointment.

Below is copied and pasted from this weeks SP times. I guess the old mayor has no stomach for DePaola

Part 1 of 2

As most residents know, I was the
Mayor of Scotch Plains for the last 3
½ years until I resigned in May, due
to a conflict of interest policy, to take
a job at the state. I have attempted to
stay out of the political fray this season,
and have refrained from endorsing
a candidate or even commenting
on the election.
But, after watching the debate the
other night, I have to ask: why did
Mary DePaola have to discuss me,
several times, in a negative way? Her
comments were unwarranted, and
sometimes untrue. And what makes
it even stranger is that DePaola agreed
with my actions 99.9 percent of the
time during the 3 ½ years she served
as my Deputy Mayor, and she broadcasts
the accomplishments that occurred
under my leadership in her
campaign materials.
I am not running for election. I
made my choice to leave public office
and I have moved on. So why
disparage me after I served for ten
years on the governing body?

PART 2 OF 2

I can
only think of two reasons: Maybe
DePaola just wants to cement her
relationship with the leaders of her
party – the people who ostracized me
because I was an independent thinker
– the very people who she claimed to
despise less than a year ago because
she believed they should not dictate
to us how we should govern our town,
but now has “cozied-up” to because
they support her quest to become
Mayor. Or maybe she’s just a meanspirited
person. Or both.
I don’t know, but I do know that if
the people of Scotch Plains are paying
attention, then she has shown
them what kind of person she really
is. And they can decide if that is the
kind of person they want as their
Mayor.
Nancy Malool
Scotch Plains

I finally heard from our Mayor today. It was an automated message asking me to vote and advising that transportation could be arranged for voting if necessary. Are you kidding me? After sitting in the dark and cold since the beginning of the storm and this is the first message we received by phone? Most of us could not check the township website because we have NO POWER. I would not be online now if it were not due to the generosity of neighbors. Guess what Mayor? I would have voted for you before Sandy. That ship has now sailed. You can send someone to pick me up to vote.....but it won't be for you.

Does anyone know when Autumn Drive will get power back? The whole area has been down for a week, has been untouched by PSE&G, and we have five trees down on the roads surrounding our community, but not on our street.

Word from pseg sources is that scotch plains has been designated a disaster area from their standpoint with the goal of restoring power by end of week. Not confirmed but I would not be surprised. If we do not get power back by tomorrow I think they are probably going to wait until nor'easter passes which brings us to Fri. My money is on Saturday. On a positive note, the mayor showed some leadership today by canceling Halloween festivities. Gutsy call. I am thinking of picketing the mayors gala at the end of the month if we have no power by then.

Just goes to show you, government is not the answer to all our problems. We really need CHANGE!

Flashlight $10
Blanket $15
Tuna fish $4
Getting to wake up tomorrow morning and vote to send Mayor Mary D packing - priceless!

PSE&G guy said I would have power tonight and he was right. Power restored to the south end of Henry and Westfield Ave. Now if I could get Comcast to fix the TV and Internet life would be good.

Entering Day 8 and still no power on Church Avenue in Scotch Plains.

There were three PSE&G trucks on the block and the one gentleman said "perhaps they will get to it Tuesday or maybe not."

This is outrageous.

How many more cold and dark nights are the elderly residents on this block and my chronically ill Mother expected to endure?

It will be my pleasure to march off to Park Middle School Tuesday to vote this feckless fool of a Mayor out of office.

Does anyone know if the alleged 'three day' timeline put forth by PSE&G includes neighborhoods with downed poles?

My understanding is that Mayor DePaola was insinuating that *all* Scotch Plains residents should have their power restored by the end of the 6th Tuesday.

Is this merely a stall tactic designed to placate people with false hope?

Other neighbors are saying it won't be until potentially the 9th of November.

I leave respectful voice messages at Municipal Hall and no one ever responds.

They are apparently all cowering under their desks as we shiver in the cold darkness for an eighth day.

This Township's lack of communication during this crisis has been a complete and utter disgrace.

I am contacting a friend at CNN and another friend at Congressman Lance's office.

Perhaps they can get answers.

I want to town hall today and they do not have power. The only power they have is in the main hallway. Yes I agree not clear oommunication or lack of it has been noticed by many. I calledv PS&G and got a nice rep to tell me that we would have power by Nov 9. If not sooner. I live off of Front and noticed DPW trucks clearing trees off one of the side streets in the dark. This is the first truck I saw all week. I know it is difficult for everyone but we should all be grateful that we are alive and have a home, unlike a lot of Sandy victims. It is just making it difficult that the township infrastructure is not strong during a crisis making it more difficult to sp residents. Praying we all get warmth very soon!!!

Oooooooooohhhhhhhhh. I love the idea of picketing the gala. Maybe we could cut the power to the venue during the event!

A fictional conversation....or perhaps not.
"Marty, what should I do?"
"Mary you have to do something, the election is tomorrow"
"Well, I can tell them how we're working around the clock and I'm demanding that we become a priority. I can also tell them that only 2,800 homes don't have power"
"Mary, they're not buying that anymore. You need to take action. Show them you're a leader"
"But I did. Just the other day I made workers blow leaves on the town lawn. It looks so much better without those messy leaves, doncha think?"
"Mary you buffoon, I don't want to lose tomorrow, I mean I don't want you to lose."
"Lets get Paulette"
"Mary, she won't come out in this weather, you know it will mess up her hair"
"Well, I went out yesterday, and I'm not going out today, I'm snuggled up in my electric blanket and my fur is still in storage, so I'm staying inside where it's toasty"
"Mary, people are really angry. We need to do something."
"Well can't we just say if glover didn't take health benefits we would all be warm?"
"Mary, it's too late for minor issues and letter writing"
"What did you do Marty when people got angry with you?"
"I called them bigots, but I don't think it will work this time"
"How about we get Bo's 3 wheel motorcycle and I dress like Robin and ride with him? People love super heroes"
"Mary, we need something bigger"
"I know, I will use my 1/19 American Indian status and give a speech on tolerance"
"Ugh, why didn't I stick with Bratti?"

Clearly what everyone needs to do with the last few bars in the cell phone is call the governor directly. I don't think he would put up witht he BS PSEG is doing here. Clearly they underestimated the number of workers they told him it would take and CLEARLY our mayor has done nothing on her daily phone calls with the state to bring this to his attention. I say we sick the big guy on PSEG and finally get something done. This has gone on way too long now.

We are incredibly cold on Church Avenue.

People are pleading for help.

Total incompetence and arrogance from every level of public government.

Locally, "Mystery Mary" has miraculously managed to underperform vs a bar that was already set ridiculously low.

Cuomo said this morning that the gas problem is now due to hoarding as a result of consumer anxiety. Really? I guess it has nothing to do with all those still-closed gas stations, and the delay in getting gas to this area from every part of the country that has excess supply.

Christie says "calm down and get back to work." Really? That's so encouraging. Also, "I still don't have power in Mendham." Really? You and Mary Pat sitting in the cold and dark? Waiting in gas lines? Fact is, since his one-day love-fest with Obama neither one of them have actually DONE anything other than to state the obvious...do we really need to be reminded that it was the worst storm in history? I think we got it...the question is what the hell are you doing about it? Where was all the help immediately after the Prez's visit? On Saturday we were told "the gas is on its way." Really? Why wasn't it already here?

The suffering endured by many is the overriding concern...but the thing that will stick with me is the incompetence and arrogance demonstrated by our elected officials. Which, sadly, is our fault as well.

Would it be wrong to call the police and file a missing persons report for Mayor Mary DePaola?

What riled me on Friday was watching the County Parks Department chipping felled trees on the back 9 of Ash Brook Golf Course. On Friday there were still many main roads closed. Yesterday it was the front 9. Can't the County government prioritize the use of it's workforce a bit better?

Just voted to kick Mary to the curb, hope my neighbors are doing the right thing as well... Good luck Glover! Scotch plains needs you!

Want to warm up? Go over to Scotch Hills. It's nice and warm and you can charge your phone.

Wow, All the people complaining on her about having no power for a week.. Yes it sucks, and we had no power for 7 days. but other parts of the state are much worse off with people losing their entire houses, lives and loved ones.. Do u think any mayor of a small town could just all pseg and say put our power on and its done? Im not a fan of the the way this town is run but some of the comments on here are crazy? People saying the town should give out generators and gas? Really? come on!!! complaining about public works clearing debris? It was a crazy storm and these guys can only do so much at a time. . I am thankful for all those that were out there trying to keep us safe and doing all they could to help. But the people of this town who think the should be first to have thing done for them is craziness....NO ONE thought this storm was going to hit us here as hard as it did......

We expect her to lead - and to communicate. Has anyone else seen the notices she has attached to telephone poles? I thought someone had lost a pet, so I walked across the street to read it - it was from Mary saying she has been unable to be in touch. What is this - 1776 with broadsides nailed to trees? Unbelievable! No communication, no leadership. Yes, this has been a historic devastating storm, but the leadership and management of this township has truly failed - on a smaller scale but just like George W. and Katrina. There are just no words for how poorly the township has handled this.

SPres: Appreciate your point... However, please refer to Guess Who. Guess you are part of that conversation... If you are a good neighbor, please vote for Glover... Otherwise our property value is ruined.

i have seen the Fanwood Mayor over a dozen times throught this crisis. SHe was talking to people, trying to reassure them the best she could. Scotch Plains?? I see information posted that is incorrect, a mayor who has been hiding all week and not one alert from her. Oh wait, I did find out from her yesterday where I can vote! Shame on you Mayor. This is when your community needed you the most. Power or not, you should have been throughout this day DAILY!!! As far as i'm concerned you should have pulled out the cot and been around 24/7. Sorry that goes with job when your time is in a disaster

Kevin Glover has been out all week knocking on doors and making sure people are ok. This republican gal here is for Kevin, he is an upstanding guy who really cares. As far as our present mayor, whose been MIA during this storm, expect more of the same if she gets re elected. She has six kids, and with their sports and after school activities, I can't imagine her attending to 24,000 more people.

We have all had an experience where we didn't hold power and were wronged. It could have been with a rude customer service rep, a DMV employee or a local politician. Too often we are forced to accept our fate and walk away.
Today we have the unique opportunity to fight back and WIN against being wronged and ignored.
Send a message and vote for Glover and against DePaola. Make it a double whammy and vote against Saridaki as well.

There has to be a law requiring all gas stations to have generators so that one can DRIVE TO WARM places when electric is out and all the money spent repairing the electric could probably have been used to put lines underground so it doesn't happen continuously.

The latest update:
PSE&G has made considerable progress in the last few days, and they have informed us that 90% of the township will be powerized by Friday. Large portions of Scotch Plains are energized, including priority facilities like Senior Housing on Lake Avenue. We are awaiting updated figures for and will continue to provide updates. However we are not able to specify which areas as they are being worked on.

This update is so lacking in detail that you would think that someone could have at least proof read it. Powerized? Seriously?

The reason why you don't know where work is being done is because PSEG doesn't even know what work is being done. Their reports are bullsh*t.

Now it's 90% complete by Friday? That's not the 100% complete that they promised and a significant amount of people will not be restored well before Friday as was promised.

The latest from mayor posted on SP website. New target restoration date for power is (wait for it).....FRIDAY!!! Unreal and unacceptable.

MAYBE by 2013?

If he wins, can Glover start tomorrow?

Here is what the State Government or FEMA SHOULD HAVE DONE in preparation, after all, his storm was not a surprise like the Hurricane of 1938

There should have been a plan for gas stations to obtain generators by State issued vouchers for stations to purchase generators on the open market at fair prices which could possibly be regulated by the State. This should have been done well in advance of the storm. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to realize that during a power outage, where gas pumps are connected to the grid, that there would be a BIG problem. That is just common sense. Waiting for this to be legislated is absurd. This small step would have helped to alleviate the gasoline hassle and would have made life a little easier for everyone.

The State of N.J. dropped the ball on this one, big time and probably many other preparedness procedures.

The south end of Henry Street has gone dark again.

Mountain Ave east of Jersualem is still out. Can you imagine what will happen if power is lost during the storm tomorrow, and those who lose it get it back before those from last week? A perfect storm indeed!

so has a big chunk of fanwood.

If we believe Obama, government should be taking care of us but it doesn't work that way

If we believe Romney.We should eliminate FEMA.

Ah the sweet sound of generators in the morning and the news that we have a new mayor. Good luck preparing for the storm and even colder night ahead. Btw, foraged for gas last nite fir generator and Hess on north ave Garwood had some as does express on south ave cranford. Rt 22 had none

No power still off of front- village park court of 29 units. Very disturbing now that a storm is coming

90% restored by Friday.........that means over 1,000 homes and businesses will be without power after almose two weeks.

Spoke w/PSEG rep on Cooper Rd. this morning. He called the area a 'war zone' (really?)...and told me that Cooper itself would have to be restored before they even venture into all of the side streets as we are all powered off of those Cooper Rd. poles. Some of the damaged poles seem to be sitting on gas lines and have to be dug out by hand. He was very honest with me when saying that it will def be a couple of more days before the power is restored to the Cooper Rd area bordered by Terrill and Rahway. More info than I've received in 10 days...and I definitely appreciated the honesty.

Nicole...I so agree, but these type of areas should have had work started on them days ago! PSEG had no idea my neighbors had to go out and chainsaw our way out of our street...live wires and all...PSEG had no idea as to the extent of the damage. That in and of itself is totally unacceptable. It is the job of the mayor to communicate this to the utility companies. If I didn't see the trucks in my area yesterday I was headed down to Trenton myself.....with photos and video. We should get a rebate on our local tax bill...as the citizens of Scotch Plains are obviously doing the job of the elected officials. Is anyone even in Town Hall or did they evacuate?

Does anyone know what line is causing the outages along Autumn Drive, Clydesdale, Highlander, and by Coles School? It's one thing not to have power, but I would like to know what causes it.

Teachers don't want to go back to school and teach yet so that area is LAST on the list! Please advise when you get your electric back on. This is just inexcuseable.

Just can't believe we'll have to go through another 4 years of this dictatorship and feel like a Russian in Siberia! Don't HAVE a generator that will poison everybody around me and drive them crazy with the noise. I'll go to the back of the class for being the comedian W.T.

Glad to see some information finally being published by the SP PD.

"As of today PSE&G informs us that 2,200 customers are without power. They have provided us with a timeline that indicates 99% of those customers will have power restored by the weekend." Is weekend defined as Friday Happy Hour or Sunday night? Any timeline established by PSEG is irrelevant as they have clearly demonstrated a total lack of credibility. Heading into day 11 of no power for residents on Cooper, Raritan, Ashbrook, Lenape, Rahway, Round Hill and Wedgewood...to name a few. Keep those tax dollars rolling in, friends.

I wonder where they got the information that the following areas are without power. I know it to be incorrect as Blue Ridge Circle (on the South Side) isn't listed and doesn't fall into any of these areas.

Areas that are still without power include:

Northside of Town:

Glenside Ave area
Park Ave. north of Front St
Mountain Ave.
North Ave. area by Longfellow

Southside of Town:

Cooper Rd by Terrill Rd. area
Raritan Rd. 1600 block area

No power on Manitou Way...lines are still down at many homes. No relief in sight.

I’m with my south side neighbors in and around the Cooper Rd area and do not wish to imply that one person should be removed from that area to address my issues. Be glad that you have PSE&G crews working on the issue. From posts above it sounds like an undertaking that will take some time to put it mildly. But I gotta ask is there only one crew in Scotch Plains? There are several areas on the North side that I would think a crew would be able to work thru one after the other. Union Ave and Stout Ave between Mountain and Grand St each have a monster tree laying across the road snaping poles and taking down wires. It has got to be effecting 6 to 8 homes on each block. The east end of Grand St. at Westfield Rd has a branch took out wires that service 8 homes. Lyde Place, Coles Ave at the intersection of Henry St. have snarled wires under a tree that must be impacting 20 to 25 home or more. And there are many many more I have not listed. One more crew working on these other areas would make a world of difference as we pass the mid-point of the 9th 24hour period without power

A little information from your elected officials would go a long way...so glad these clowns got voted out.

We have friends in Westfield that got power so have been staying with them. I listened to Westfield's regular status call in briefing from the Mayor. The system even dialed the phone number automatically. It was pretty amazing to see the communication from the Mayor to his people. They had a rough idea of what streets were being addressed and when. PSE&G does have this schedule but will not give it out to the public. I called PSE&G on Monday about the schedule or areas being worked on they said it cannot be given out or everyone will complain because they aren't getting worked on first and that they cannot please everyone. If the Westfield folks have access to it our Mayor does have access to this information too. I don't understand why she wouldn't give it to us! When does our new Mayor take office? I was hoping he could step in and take charge of our city!

A quick follow up - they also have stuff out on social sites such as Twitter, etc with status updates. I know not all of us use them but if sites such as them could be used and having a few people go house to house in neighborhoods without power checking on the status of people should be a standard.

Family on Richelieu Terrace still has a tree bisecting their street. PSEG told them they are not a priority and cannot even get their car out (dead end). Rest of street has full power. Day 10 for my area but some people have power and others don't. Total BS.

SP Resident, I agree ”total BS”. After 10 days and the number without power for PSE&G down to 160,000 the majority in Bergan and Union counties, EVERYONE without power is now a priority. TOTAL BS.

We are just a microcosm of what's going on around the state. JCP&L is having the same problem. LIPA is even worse!

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/new-jersey-news/2012/nov/07/jcpl-customers/

Still no power to the Park Ave businesses from Bartle to Mountain. Spoke to the Union County Office of Emergency Management this morning. They put me on the phone with the PSE&G liaison. He says they don't really know when there are small pockets of outages. Crazy isn't it? He swears he'll call us back today. In the meantime, keep calling PSEG. They need to feel the pressure to give us info.

We still without power on Front ST in Scotch Plains, where we should go????
We need Heat!!!!

Oscar
908-477-8524

Since no one will answer the phone at PSEG, I emailed thru contact us

Your message has been sent to PSEG's Internet Inquiry Group. You can expect a reply within 7 business days. If your inquiry is of an urgent matter, please call our 7 day/24 hour customer inquiry center at 800-436-7734.

You mean the line that refers you back to the website? WTF?

Parts of the devastated shore got power back before us. Tomorrow at noon is the date on their website for restoration.

There is a PSEG rep onsite at the Union Cty OEM in Westfield. 908-518-5674

2 transformers are out on Old farm Road and Concord road no power!

To Scotch Plains resident - Just a note: generators are supposed to be connected to your heating system ONLY by a licensed electrician. I know of 2 people who did it themselves and blew out their furnaces!

Yes, we are rolling the dice to keep from freezing to death. Do you think PSEG and the mayor will come the funeral?

Awesome! Then we are both living on the edge thanks to our wonderful town. I love paying for no amenities. IF things don't start improving I forsee a for sale signs on many lawns, including mine. Sarcasm aside, I sincerely hope we don't find anyone frozen to death or overcome by CO2 as a result of the prolonged lack of power.

In emergencies, looks like you have to depend on yourself and kindly neighbors. How wonderful that KEZ was generous and offered his generator up. He or she gets a medal! You can't depend on government to take care of everything because it's not the Santa Claus that was promised. Where's the president, now that the election is over? Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent each time Air Force I lands. That money could have been put to better use. Billions are wasted election time. I will buy a chain saw so I can cut myself out of my street next time.

BTW, KEZ was totally legit. I know someone who reached out to him. He is a true boy scout. Great neighbors make all the difference--keeping my hood alive right now.

Just a note on the billions that go into campaigns. That money cycles back into the economy in the form of printing jobs, tv and production jobs. The number of people they hire to set up a stage, sound, lights is no small feat. It's a big thing.

Been here, I don't think people are asking for handouts. I think what they wanted after the storm was leadership. Bloomberg still has thousands of his citizens out of power, but he's on tv and twitter almost everyday. You can SEE him working on it. Makes a big difference.

Give me a Break! I don't care about their lighting, makeup, printing jobs, me receiving 20 dumb political phone calls a day, having roads blocked, etc so that we can hear empty promises.. "Tell the people what they want to hear and after election, do what you want" is a famous political saying. A TOTAL WASTE! Here, peoples lives are at stake and that should be THE priority. There should have been more communication, shelters available, generators at gastations, our public employees who we pay high taxes for, should be able to go out and help with the cleanup when power is out. There were workers turned away from NJ because they were not union members. Ninja says we shouldn't complain....what kind of mediocre worker is he/she? Imagine if this was a worse catastrophe. Our country WAS the best in the world and we should expect excellence.

Praise the Lord, another bulletin - "PSE&G expects to have the majority of power restored to Scotch Plains by Saturday. There may be individual customers or small areas affected past that date." Saturday? What small areas might they be? Congrats SP....we are in the remaining 4% of PSEG customers w/o power! Congrats PSEG...you have set new standards for incompetence and dishonesty. You and our local politicians are perfect together.

I want to know the plan for Coles elementary school and School one when we are still in the dark on Monday morning. I have zero faith in PSEG at this point. Complete failure.

Give the current mayor a week to think on it and when her cell phone is all charged up, she will get back to you. When her plan fails, she will fire the superintendent.

I'm on front st still no power,I went for some imfo from city hall all they say is it's being worked on,my kids are know sick and had to go to the hospital and leave the house,mean time the rest of the town has lights like the fourth of july,Im hungry cold and alone my familt had to leave or die from the ,i stayed for work reason, I bet the mayor have heat and lights,they have a food bank but have not offer anything this is a total bs JOB WE WANT TO KNOW WHATS GOING ON AND GIVE US A TIME LINES MY KIDS HAD TO LEAVE AND IS STILL MISSING SCHOOL MS. MAYOR SAY SOMETHING PLEASE A LITTLE IMFO GOES A LONG WAY. w.miller front st by stage house.

Now we have to BAG (gift wrap) tons of debris knocked from trees and what was cleaned from the streets, etc. Why can't they just pick it up from all the piles we put in the street in this emergency with their trucks? The National Guard was never sent out to help anybody either.

The power is out once again in Scotch Plains, could someone check on this matter please?

The outage allegedly involves several towns.

I contacted the *non* emergency Scotch Plains Police Department number and the on duty Desk Sergeant asked me why I was calling the police for a non police matter?!

He asked if I contacted PSE&G.

Gee, thanks.

I never would have thought of that if he hadn't mentioned the idea.....*weary sigh*

The utter rudeness and callous disrespect with which the residents are treated by our elected and non- elected officials is breathtaking.

Thank you for the information, Nicole.

I really appreciate it.

I always get more information from you than any officials in the Township :)

PSEG site says restoration by 8:01 PM. As for the police, try to cut them a break. They are getting it from all ends. We were just restored Sat eve and now it's gone again. 2 weeks in the dark is making everyone insane. Bottom line, the grid is just a patch job. Start preparing now with provisions for the long haul. The next storm will knock it all out again.

Outgoing Mayor DePaola blamed Mr.Malool for the Township's failures in this piece http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/sandy_proves_importance_of_com.html#incart_m-rpt-1#incart_hbx

@Nicole and Patch contributors: this has been the only real time and realiable source of communication in our town. Sad commentary on our officials and their communications delivery system.

Going to repost this at the bottom.. Shouldn't be missed.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/sandy_proves_importance_of_com.html

@Scotch Plains Resident: I help pay the salaries of the police officials and expect to be treated with at least minimal dignity and decency.

I didn't ask for a foot massage for heaven's sake.

If they can't handle a flurry of calls they should be dismissed as well.

I was very respectful and my respect was greeted with scorn.

One night, I called the non emergency number of the police once for something not an emergency but suspicious and got NO ANSWER of the phone at all. Next day I inquired why there was no answer and they said, "Oh, you should have called 911". Had to inform her that 911 is for EMERGENCIES ONLY.