Warbasse Residents Recall Sandy Panic During Two-Hour Blackout

Residents of the Amalgamated Warbasse Houses panicked last night when a power outage plunged all five buildings of the housing development into blackness for nearly two hours.

Lights started dimming and flickering at approximately 9:16pm and by 9:30pm the complex, television screens, and computers all went eerily dark, according to residents.

For some, the experience recalled memories of Superstorm Sandy, when many Warbasse residents, young and elderly, were trapped in their high rise apartments without heat, hot water, or elevator service for weeks after the flood had receded.

“It was basically Sandy all over again,” said Sam Bodner, a Warbasse resident of more than 20 years. “Everybody started getting nervous, started calling 911, because there was no notice, no nothing. Especially myself, I have a 2.5-month-old and it was the scariest experience of my life.”

Describing the Warbasse Houses during Superstom Sandy, Bodner said, “It was horrible; it was a war zone, basically.”

Tenants who tried to call the management office say they received a busy signal. Instead, people began communicating with each other and posting updates on a Facebook group for Warbasse residents. By 9:45pm, some residents had received text message notifications from management, but it did little to ease anxieties.

The Warbasse Houses is one of the few housing developments in the city that uses an independent energy generator called CoGen, a Con Edison spokesman confirmed. Warbasse recently installed three brand new, above-ground generators to serve the complex’s five buildings — after the complex’s original underground generators were destroyed by Sandy in 2012.

Rumors quickly spread that that people were trapped in the elevators (though we were unable to confirm this), and some residents complained that their electronic keys no longer worked.

For others, the frustration was just missing their favorite TV show.

“Can’t believe we are missing davya pozhenemsa,” wrote one resident on housing complex’s Facebook group, referring to a Russian dating show called “Let’s Get Married.”

Another Warbasse resident who has been living in the development for just two and a half years — well after Superstorm Sandy — took a more zen approach.

“I know that shorts happen. Nothing in life is guaranteed to be working 100 percent,” the resident, who asked to remain anonymous, told Bensonhurst Bean. “There are a lot of people who are addicted to television and online gaming. There are ways that people are connected to the world, that when you don’t have that outlet, you start to get worried.”

Councilman Mark Treyger was one of the first people on the scene, and was joined by representatives from the NYPD, the Fire Department, and the mayor’s office.

“All power has been restored to Warbasse and there are elevator checks going on to ensure they are all working,” Treyger wrote on Facebook last night. “My thanks to the 60pct, FDNY, CERT, Michael Silverman and Warbasse security and staff, Eric J. Hébert Jon Paul Lupo from the Mayor’s office who immediately responded to help us connect to OEM, and to all residents who reached out to help one another. There is an assessment underway to determine the cause of the malfunction. Times like this remind us how residents always have each others’ backs.”

A manager from Warbasse did not return our request for comment in time for the publication of this article.