Power outage at Commodore Perry Homes after contractor cuts conduit

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Many people in the Commodore Perry Homes in Buffalo are checking their fridges before Thanksgiving after power was knocked out at the housing development due to a contractor error.

The executive director of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, Gillian Brown, told News 4’s Jeff Preval that a contractor working for the developer on the Perry Homes redevelopment project cut a hidden conduit Tuesday morning knocking out power to the existing buildings that house tenants. Residents here had no power all day Tuesday.

The BMHA has been in the process of building its massive $200 million Perry Homes redevelopment project by demolishing 24 abandoned buildings and putting up new ones.

Prior to the widespread outage, residents described hearing a loud boom. Once the power was knocked out that created a major inconvenience for hundreds of residents. There was no heat.
The elevators weren’t working which made it extremely difficult for people to get around, especially those with mobility issues.

“Yes, it was frustrating because some people couldn’t even stay here, they had to go other places to stay [with] somebody, a family member’s house or something like that, that’s what we had to do last night,” since William Lance, a BMHA resident. “It was inconvenience more because you have elderly people up in here and they got their little scooters, they ride in and some of them live on the eighth floor, they can’t get around, they need the elevators and the elevators wasn’t working so how can they move around or charge their cart up?”

Brown said power and heat were restored late Tuesday night, but it appears that a generator is powering the buildings as the conduit is repaired. But many residents here are still frustrated this incident even happened and say that the whole situation lacked communication from BMHA officials.

“People had to leave here and go to the store just to use the microwave to heat some food up. That’s frustrating, that bothers you, and they should’ve been on top of it, which they wasn’t,” Lance said.

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Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.

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