Nationalgrid linemen, Bryan Bruce,left, and Michael Burek prepare to replace a utilty pole in a swamp area damaged by Tropical Storm Irene on Knox Cave road in the Town of Knox N.Y., Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011. Utility companies continue to bring New York electricity customers back on line, but almost 182,000 are still blacked out four days after Irene pounded the state with drenching rains and high winds. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
A Central Islip man was arrested at his home early Saturday morning for a bomb threat made toward the Long Island Power Authority, prompting police to investigate over two dozen facilities, Nassau County police said.
Rajiv Pandey, 33, placed a call to News 12 Long Island in Woodbury and threatened to place a bomb at an unknown LIPA location, police said. Officers were dispatched to more than 30 facilities across Long Island. The investigation revealed that the call was false and was placed from Pandey’s cell phone, police said.
With tens of thousands of LIPA customers still without power, Long Islanders and elected officials have expressed their displeasure with the utility seven days into the outages.
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Earlier this week, a Hicksville man was arrested for allegedly threatening LIPA.
Over 34,000 customers are still without power.
Frustration has reached the governor’s office, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo also voicing his displeasure with LIPA and National Grid.
“If National Grid hopes to renew its contract, they better get the power on now,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Reacting to the governor, Howard Steinberg, Chairman of the Board for LIPA responded in a statement:
“This was the third largest storm event in Long Island’s modern history, and maximum efforts have been expended in terms of manpower. We wish to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the many women and men who have been working around the clock to get the power back on.”
Pandey was charged with second-degree falsely reporting an incident and was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Saturday.
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