A relentless tempest took its toll on Merle Place near Fingerboard Road in Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York, on the fateful day of Friday, July 25, 2025. The storm’s fury brought down a towering tree, a utility pole, and an interconnected network of wires. The resulting debris of tree limbs and branches came crashing onto unassuming parked cars.
What ensured was a pandemonium of sorts on one key block in Fort Wadsworth. The storm’s wrath was unprecedented, with fallen trees and disrupted power supply bearing witness to the havoc it unleashed. As a result, more than 17,800 homes were temporarily plunged into darkness on that Friday.
In the wake of the storm’s devastation, Con Edison, a major utility provider, rose to the situation. Their dedicated workforce got to work swiftly, striving to bring back essential electricity supply to the beleaguered customers. Their efforts ensured that power was back online for the vast majority of affected customers on the following Saturday morning.
The storm showed no mercy during the peak evening traffic as it unleashed torrents of heavy rain combined with high-speed winds onto Staten Island. Particularly hard-hit was the East Shore, where residents had to contend with power outages, fallen trees, and malfunctioning traffic signals.
The brutal storm exhibited its might once again on Merle Place near Fingerboard Road, where it uprooted a tree along with a utility pole and wires. The depositional aftermath of the storm left tree branches and limbs scattered across the road, some landing crushingly onto parked cars.
Merle Place in Fort Wadsworth presented a disheartening scene with a massive tree entwined within a utility pole. The spectacle bore witness to the storm’s fury: how a robust tree had cracked at the trunk, its shattered remnants ensnared within the pole. Large limbs of this mighty tree and fragments of the pole dangled dangerously over the sidewalk and the curb.
Statistically assessing the damage, fallen trees were an all-too-common sight along the East Shore during the storm. Locations affected included Henry Place and Burgher Avenue in Dongan Hills, as well as Prescott Avenue and Clawson Street in New Dorp. The ruin was so vast that it triggered an FDNY response when a tree fell on Garretson and Magnolia avenues in Dongan Hills.
Friday’s storm was also responsible for causing other instances of power disruption when fallen trees led to power line collapses. One such incident occurred at Greeley Avenue and Clawson Street. Elsewhere, on Fremont Avenue in Grant City, two vehicles sustained damage due to a toppled tree.
Besides structural damage and power disruptions, the storm also caused significant disruption to commuters in the region. Transportation services had to be momentarily ceased; the Staten Island Railway suspended its operation between St. George and Grasmere for about 45 minutes, owing to a tree that had fallen onto the tracks.
Weather-induced disruptions were not only confined to the railway services. The fierce winds led to the temporary shutdown of the upper level of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in both directions lasting about one hour. However, as calm returned, the bridge was reopened and full Staten Island Railway service was restored slightly after 5:20 p.m.
The storm also induced chaos on the roads during the evening rush hour on Friday. Traffic regulation systems malfunctioned at a number of locations, including the traffic lights at major intersections such as Hylan Boulevard and New Dorp Lane and Richmond Road and New Dorp Lane, both situated in New Dorp.
Further, a widespread breakdown of traffic lights occurred along Richmond Road, starting at Todt Hill Road and extending to at least New Dorp Lane. The failing signals added to the challenges that the storm had unleashed onto the residents of Staten Island.
Among the areas particularly affected by the power outages were neighborhoods located on the East Shore. Communities such as Grasmere, Dongan Hills, Ocean Breeze, Midland Beach, Grant City, New Dorp, and Oakwood were left powerless under the storm’s effect.
After the storm had subsided, Con Edison decided to dial down voltage in certain parts of the East Shore. The utility company’s crews worked tirelessly through the night to restore lights for the impacted residents and businesses on Staten Island and in Brooklyn.
In the face of adversity, the efforts of Con Edison were not in vain as the power restoration was fully completed by Saturday. The situation significantly improved with electricity being restored to most places by morning.
Reporting on the power status by Saturday morning, only 255 customers were still without power. Despite the storm’s ferocity and the extent of the disruptions it caused, the resilience of the utility workers, residents, and emergency services helped restore some semblance of order in the borough quickly.
The post Unprecedented Storm Ravages Staten Island, Leaves Thousands in Darkness appeared first on Real News Now.
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