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Neighbors press Con Edison over oversized equipment, landscaping and safety tests in Greenburgh pilot
Summary
Residents of Birchwood Lane and Richard Terrace told the Greenburgh Town Board that Con Edison’s undergrounding pilot left large pad‑mounted transformers and junction boxes that they say harm aesthetics and property values; Con Edison said the work improves reliability, is paid by ratepayers, and offered onsite EMF testing and a follow‑up meeting.
Residents from Birchwood Lane and Richard Terrace urged the Greenburgh Town Board on Monday to hold Con Edison accountable for the visual damage and safety concerns they say followed a Selective Undergrounding pilot project.
"Con Edison must be required to pay for the purchase and installation of the landscaping," said Catherine Lederle Plasquette, president of the Birchwood Civic Association, citing a slideshow that documented what she called numerous large pad‑mounted transformers, junction boxes and risers placed across the block.
Con Edison project manager Christine Halkick said the pilot’s purpose is to "make our electric service in the area better, and that's to reduce the impact from severe weather events," and described placing cables and conduit in the roadway and pad‑mounted equipment on the right of way to improve reliability.
Residents repeatedly pressed Con Edison on why the pad‑mounted units appeared larger than in other communities, whether plants can be placed near equipment, and how often crews will need to access the devices. Halkick replied that some unit sizes reflect design needs for redundancy and that safety placards and clearances are required; she also offered to bring the company’s engineering team to take electromagnetic‑field (EMF) measurements in the field.
Laura Rizzo, who identified herself as representing Westchester Regional Community Affairs for Con Edison, told the board the company "is in the business of providing safe and reliable service" and that landscaping is not typically included as part of an undergrounding reliability project because it is an additional cost that would fall to ratepayers.
When asked how the project was paid for, Con Edison staff said the work is funded by company ratepayers, not federal grants. Halkick described five selection criteria used under state approval—recurring outages, critical customers, high tree‑damage risk, disadvantaged‑community designations and cost effectiveness—that led to choosing the Birchwood block for the pilot.
Residents asked the town to press Con Edison to repave affected streets and to finance or provide more substantial, professionally designed landscaping to reduce the installations’ visual impact. Several speakers also asked for an independent EMF assessment; Halkick said Con Edison would schedule field measurements with the company’s engineers in the coming weeks.
Board members and residents agreed to arrange an on‑site field visit with Con Edison to review mitigation options and follow up on paving and landscaping commitments. The board thanked Con Edison for attending and said staff would be in touch to set the meeting.
Next steps: town staff will coordinate a site visit and follow‑up meeting with Con Edison and neighborhood representatives.
