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Because of blocked roads, downed trees and dangling power lines throughout the city, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano has asked residents not to trick-or-treat on Wednesday. Instead, the mayor encouraged residents to celebrate the holiday on Saturday, when city streets will likely be safer for children.
And to put some teeth behind the request, Spano has issued an executive order extending the city’s curfew to children under the age of 18.
In it, he orders children not accompanied by an adult to be home by 6 p.m. Wednesday night and remain in their homes until 6 a.m. the next day.
“I love seeing ghosts and goblins running around the city but I don’t want to put children’s lives in danger,” Spano said at an afternoon briefing in the Office of Emergency Management.
For those who insist on celebrating on Oct. 31, the mayor asked residents to exercise caution and stay close to home.
“Wires are down, power is out and the streets are dark,” Spano said. “There are a multitude of dangers that lie ahead for children.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, city officials estimated there were more than 400 downed trees throughout the city. Con Edison has also reported more than 400 individual cases of breakage of its power lines, city officials said, meaning there are plenty of live electrical wires on the streets.
Yonkers isn’t the first city to put Halloween celebrations on hold while clean-up from Hurricane Sandy continues. Several towns and cities along the east coast have done the same in an effort to protect residents from the dangers.
“We’re just trying to discourage children from being on the streets due to conditions from the storm,” Police Commissioner Charles Gardner said.
But it’s not all bad news for Yonkers children. Superintendent of Schools Bernard Pierorazio announced Tuesday afternoon the Yonkers Public School District has canceled classes for Wednesday, the third consecutive day school will be closed.
Eleven school buildings remain without power and with many of the city’s streets blocked off by fallen trees, it would be all but impossible to get children to school safely, Pierorazio said.
The superintendent said he hopes to have the power situation resolved in the near future.
“We’re hoping that within 24 hours we can get the schools up and running and have classes on Thursday,” he said.
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