Stranded Red Hook Woman Recharges Wheelchair From Mobile Generator

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Red Hook, like other devastated areas of the city, has had Time Warner Cable mobile stations deployed to the neighborhood to allow those without power to recharge their cell phones, use WiFi, laptops and other communication devices.

But on Tuesday, one mobile team put their generator to use in an unexpected way when a team of workers helped a woman charge her electric wheelchair so that she could leave her house on Lorraine Street.

"We were more than happy to assist this New Yorker in need," said Eric Mangan, a representative of Time Warner Cable. 

After "Get Out The Vote" volunteers learned that Kacania Taylor, 63, was stranded in her apartment, they approached the TWC mobile station to see if their team could help.

In response, the TWC unit brought their mobile station’s generator to the ground beneath Taylor's home. Representative Robert Levy ran an extension cord through the window of the apartment and after an hour and a half was able return Taylor's wheelchair to full power for her.

"She has a lot of health problems, sores on her legs and has had trouble this week moving around and seeing by candlelight," said her son Matrice Taylor, in a phone conversation. 

But Kacania Taylor did tell Patch she was headed out of the house to a doctor's appointment Wednesday morning. So the newly powered wheels were certainly being put to good use.