Thousands remain without power in NYC

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Con Edison reported 6,426 customers without power in New York City as of Tuesday morning in Brooklyn and Queens.

The customers haven't had electricity since Sunday night. And it was no accident: Con Ed said it planned the blackout to prevent it from spreading.

Up and down the streets of the Flatlands and Canarsie section of Brooklyn, one could see homes with air conditioners but no way to turn them on had their windows open.

Due to the power outages, many traffic signals in parts of the city are dark.

"Drivers should treat impacted intersections as an all-way stop, except when directed by NYPD," the Emergency Department tweeted. "Drive with caution and always yield to pedestrians and cyclists."

Desperate times call for desperate measures for Sabrina and Andre Samuel. The power went out in their Flatlands home just before their kids' bedtime Sunday night.

As the suffocating heat from outside, caved in through the house, the couple told their kids to sleep in the car.

"I took the kids outside to the car and put on the AC, we had no other choice because it's too hot inside," Sabrina said.

"It's been hell. It's very hot," Andre said.

More than 40,000 outages swept parts of Brooklyn and Queens starting around sundown Sunday, which was a cruel end to one of the summer's hottest days yet. On Monday afternoon, those outages were down to about 12,000 customers.

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Con Ed crews were still out all day Monday. Con Ed was distributing dry ice to customers affected by the power outages.

NYPD and NY State Police were out directing traffic at busy intersections in Marine Park, Brooklyn because street lights were out. Power has been restored for some, others haven't been so lucky.

"It's hot its really hot, you take a shower and it does not matter, you're still sweating," says Jodie Espinal, a Flatlands resident.

Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted that Con Ed had to take 30,000 Brooklyn customers offline to prevent an even bigger outage.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo blasted the power company on Twitter: "We've been through this situation w Con Ed time & again & they should have been better prepared—period."

The governor also deployed 200 state police, 100 generators and 50 light towers to the affected areas.