Con Ed vows to share project info with public

By N. Clark Judd

Construction of Con Edison's highvoltage power transmission line officially got underway in Marble Hill on Monday. The first step will take about a week and a half to complete, but the entire process of laying underground cable from Yonkers to Manhattan is scheduled to take two years.

At a "pre-construction meeting" on March 20, Con Edison's director of public affairs for the Bronx, Eric Soto, explained that contractor Felix Associates is kicking off the work by digging a manhole on West 225th Street between the River Plaza shopping center and Marble Hill Houses, and another one on West 230th Street at Riverdale Avenue.

Shortly thereafter, he said, construction will begin on a stretch of trench up Riverdale Avenue from West 230th to West 236th streets.

But the process got off to a rocky start when, a Con Edison spokesman said Monday, work on the manholes had to be postponed for a few days so the Metropolitan Transportation Authority could re-route its buses.

Con Edison staffers tried to put their best foot forward at the meeting, attended by representatives of Felix Associates, the state Public Services Commission, Community Board 8, state Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and City Councilman Oliver Koppell.

Faced with continuing criticism from elected officials - Chris McShane, an aide to Mr. Dinowitz, took the meeting as an opportunity to reiterate his boss' displeasure at not receiving any personal contact from Con Edison prior to the meeting. Officials from the power company stressed their attention to exactly what they've been accused of neglecting: communication.