Needham Residents Without Power Invited to Charge at Library, Shower at YMCA

Needham residents still without electricity after Hurricane Sandy are being offered assistance by the town and by the Charles River YMCA. 

According to a message posted on the town website and sent out through the town's Swift Reach 9-1-1 system, local residents who are still in the dark are invited to come to the Needham Free Public Library to charge their cell phones and other electronic devices. Refreshments will be available at the library from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31 and from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1.

Regular library hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. 

The Charles River YMCA is offering Needham residents the use of the showers at its Great Plain Avenue location on Wednesday night, Thursday from 8-10 a.m. and 5-9 p.m. and on Friday from 8-10 a.m. Residents must show a photo ID to access the facility.

The town has also issued an advisory for families planning to trick or treat this Halloween evening: "Parents of children who are trick or treating this evening should exercise caution to avoid downed branches, power lines, and debris. The utility companies continue to work to clean up, but they will be unable to remove all obstacles by tonight."

According to the town alert, "Town officials continue to work with representatives of the utility companies and with state officials to ensure that power is restored throughout the town as soon as possible."

About 1,000 NSTAR customers in Needham were still without power as of 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, according to the company's Outage Map.

NSTAR crews have been able to restore power to 95 percent of those who lost it during and after the storm, according to an update sent out Wednesday evening by spokesman Mike Durand. About 400,000 customers lost power during the storm. 

“As the large area outages have been restored, our crews are now focusing on the smaller pockets of customers often impacted by heavy tree conditions,” Werner Schweiger, president of NSTAR Electric, said in the press release. “NSTAR community liaisons are in constant communication with designated points-of-contact in each of the communities we serve and are providing answers to questions regarding the restoration effort. We understand that customers are anxious to get their power back, and all crews will continue to work as quickly and safely as possible.”

The greatest percentage of customers still without power is in suburban towns west of Boston, according to the NSTAR update.

"Crews reported numerous trees down, and spent much of Tuesday assisting municipal workers in the safe clearing of roadways. Line crews and tree trimming crews will continue to restore power to customers around the clock," according to the press release.

Customers can follow NSTAR on Twitter @nstar_news or on Facebook for real-time updates. More information, such as NSTAR’s outage map, can be found at nstar.com.

More post-Hurricane Sandy information from the town of Needham is available here.

Still without power? Share your location in the comments below, e-mail to becca.manning@patch.com or tweet @NeedhamPatch. See photos of post-hurricane scenes around town (and upload your own) in Needham Patch's image gallery.