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Bloomberg rushing Verizon to restore service in lower Manhattan buildings
Photo credit: Crew works to pump water from the basement of the Verizon Building. (Getty Images)
Verizon phone service is still out in some lower Manhattan buildings because of Sandy, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday he's pushing the telephone company to rush restoration.
At a forum on the city's post-Sandy future Thursday, Bloomberg said that during a phone conversation, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam put the company's timetable for full restoration around May.
"I pointed out that is just not acceptable," the mayor said. "Those buildings downtown that lost electricity and heat should be back up by the end of the month. But they can't be occupied unless we have telephone service. And that's going to be our No. 1 priority for downtown."
Verizon has said that 95% of its copper wiring was taken out during Sandy. The company is replacing it with fiber optics.
"They have to basically do 20 years of fiber optic installations within the next four months," said Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway, according to the New York Post, adding that the company will try to provide interim service in the buildings until restoration is complete.
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