Downed Power Lines Trap Residents of Dead-End Streets [UPDATE]

Update at 5:57 p.m. A crew has cleared the street.

Residents of more than 30 homes in Hillsdale were blocked for days behind a tree that brought down power lines across Paul Court.

Like many area streets, Paul Court and Buff Lane — another dead end off of Paul — have been without power since Hurricane Sandy knocked down numerous trees Monday evening. In this case, the tree and power lines it brought down were blocking the only road out of the neighborhood.

"You'd think they'd be working on this by now," Paul Court resident Sam Tenzer said Thursday morning.

Tenzer told Patch he understood many areas did not have power, but he would be happy if the power lines were just cleared so residents could safely move the tree out of the way.

A PSE&G representative told Patch Thursday that she could not say how soon a crew would arrive to repair the wires on the dead-end street. Hillsdale, Westwood and Washington Township each had between 2,001 and 5,000 customers without power as of Thursday afternoon, according to the company.

Some residents of Paul Court and Buff Lane were walking over the wires to meet family or friends on the other side. 

Ellen George said she had borrowed her brother's car so she could get into town. Still, she was concerned about help being able to reach the area in the event of a fire or medical emergency. Many residents were using generators or candles because of the power outage.

"It's a safety issue," George said. "It isn't just power."

Residents said they had also been unable to get PSE&G to say how soon a crew would be out to the street.

"I just want to know when we're going to be able to get out," Buff Lane resident Wendy Jankowitz said.

Hillsdale Police Chief Chip Stalter said he had been out to visit the site and had tried to expedite a cleanup with PSE&G, but expected it would still take some time.

"Every town in Bergen County has multiple streets like that," Stalter said. Public Service is trying to get power on, then address those smaller issues. It really is a smaller issue, but to those people who can't get out, it's a big issue."

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Jim Leggate at Jim.Leggate@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.