I was out from tuesday morning at around 6 to wednesday night around 9:30. I think a big problem in Manhattan is the number of neighborhoods that have no access to the lines that run through backyards. The city just seems to let people do whatever they want with the easement. They don't need to put in cement alleys like the olds parts of town, but times like these really show that having those easements open would help out power companies, etc. I suppose the rationale is that this is like a once a 50 years type of deal.
