Croton-On-Hudson Opens Cooling Center

From Croton-on-Hudson Village Hall

The Village of Croton-on-Hudson has opened the Community Room at the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building as a cooling center for those residents who need to beat the heat. The room will be unstaffed and will remain open 24/7 until the heat wave breaks.

The Croton Free Library, located at 171 Cleveland Drive, is also available for residents who need a place to cool down during their normal business hours. Please check for current hours.

The hours for Silver Lake are as follows: Monday - Friday 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM, Weekends & Holidays 10:00 AM to 7:30 PM. All users of Silver Lake must either have a season permit or pay the appropriate daily fee. To purchase your permit, please contact the Recreation Dept. at 271-3006.

As with all heat waves, the possibility exists for power outages/brownouts. Should you lose power, please report the outage to Con Edison at 1-800-75-CONED as well as the Croton Police Department at 914-271-5177.

Below are some tips from Con Edison on how to conserve energy during the heat wave:

• Turn off air conditioners, lights and other appliances when not at home and use a timer to turn on your air conditioner about a half-hour before arriving home;
• Make sure air conditioner filters are clean so the units will run at peak efficiency;
• Set thermostats to the highest comfortable temperature. Each degree lower increases cooling costs by 6 percent;
• If you have a room air-conditioning unit, close off the rooms not being used; if you have central air, block the vents in un-used or vacant rooms;
• To reduce heat and moisture in your apartment or home, run appliances such as ovens, washing machines, dryers and dishwashers in the early morning or late at night when it’s generally cooler outside. Use a microwave to cook, or barbecue outside, if possible;
• Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed. About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply drawing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat in your apartment or home;
• Try using fans instead of air conditioners, but be sure to leave your windows open for ventilation. Fans use as little as one-tenth the energy as air conditioners.