Cablevision service up for most LI customers

Cablevision Systems Corp. said 1.5 percent of its 755,907 Long Island customers with power didn't have cable or related services Wednesday.

Cablevision Systems Corp., which owns Newsday, and Verizon Communications Inc. are the two primary cable providers on the Island.

Cablevision reported that 33,838 of its Long Island residential and small business subscribers to at least one Optimum product -- cable, Internet or phone -- had no power Wednesday, and therefore no Optimum service. Of the customers with power, 11,587 were without service.

"There was extensive damage to our system that occurred not only during the storm, but also when crews doing electrical or tree cleanup cut or damaged our cables," Cablevision spokesman Jim Maiella said in a statement. "Cablevision crews have been working around the clock to repair storm-related damage to our own network, some of which was revealed when power was restored."

Verizon spokesman Phil Santoro said the company did not have data on how many customers were still without service.