New York pledges more aid to Puerto Rico after latest blackout

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday, leaving residents in the dark once again. Officials blamed the outage on an excavator that accidentally downed a transmission line.

Seven months ago, Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory has been struggling to repair its unstable power grid.

Shortly after the hurricane hit, New York State sent over workers from the New York Power Authority to help in the reconstruction. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced that more assistance is on the way.

While the island tries to get back on its feet, thousands of Puerto Rican families who came to the United States mainland after Hurricane Maria are calling on the federal government to do more. About 10,000 are in New York City. The group is demanding FEMA extend aid to displaced families. Right now, many are living in hotels but the funds have run out. That means they will soon be homeless.

Cuomo said he supports the group. He said he will ask the FEMA to extend the temporary shelter allowance. He said he sent a letter to President Trump and to FEMA to extend the program through June.