UPDATE: The Peekskill Shelter at PHS will Stay Open Tonight

Update, 2:45 p.m.:

  The emergency shelter at Peekskill High School will remain open tonight.

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As temperatures dipped below the 40s Wednesday night, the last thing residents needed to hear is that there is no estimated time for their power to be restored.

But that is what many people continued to hear as power restoration continued to in the area. As of 6 a.m., Cortlandt had 4,518 customers out of power while, Croton-on-Hudson had 1,872, Peekskill had 1,390 and Buchanan had 277, according to  Consolidated Edison.

Peekskill reopened its emergency shelter at the Peekskill High School gym yesterday when it became clear that it could take several more days before power was restored in the area. John Miksad, senior vice president of electric operations for Con Ed, said power restoration could take as long as 10 days for local residents.

“The temperature is starting to drop at night, so that’s why we’re starting to see people come in,” said Shawna Robinson, a security officer for Peekskill schools who was assigned to watch over the shelter Wednesday night. “Even they want to stay home, they’re cold. They’re coming to get whatever they can, like blankets.”

Other people have stopped by in hopes of getting batteries since many nearby stores have sold out, according to Robinson. Unfortunately, the shelter doesn’t have any batteries to hand out.

Peekskill resident Mary Ellen O'Brien said she came to the shelter Wednesday because of the drop in temperature.

“It was like 56 when I got home from work and  i was tired sitting home alone in the dark with no heat,” O’Brien  said. “And also, it gave me an opportunity to take a shower.”

The Town of Cortlandt’s shelter, located in the town’s community center off of Westbrook Drive, also remains open. Unlike the shelter at Peekskill High School, people can bring their pets as long as they are in crates. Power is also available for  people to recharge their electronic devices.

The Cortlandt shelter is available 24 hours and will remain open until power is restored by Con Ed. The Conference Room 1 at the Cortlandt Town Hall, which has wi-fi, is also available from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.  

There were 76 roads closed in the town Wednesday evening due to fallen trees and wires.