Family of elderly woman who died climbing to apartment during NYC power outage speaks

The elderly Jamaican immigrant who died after trying to climb 19 floors to her apartment in Co-Op City after a power outage shut down the elevators was remembered Saturday by her children as a “giver.”

Ada Longmore, 73, who came to the U.S. about eight years ago, had reached the 18th floor of her De Kruif Place building when her oxygen tank apparently gave out and she collapsed, her husband Algon Longmore, 77, told The Post.

The couple had just returned from the hospital, where they had refilled Ada’s oxygen tank.

“My mother thought she could have made it up these stairs. Oh my God, I don’t how she did it,” Sandra Nicholas, 52, said of her mother reaching the 18th floor. “It must be her will to live because I don’t know how she did it.”

Algon Longmore of Co-op City.
Algon Longmore said his wife’s oxygen tank gave out on the 18th floor of their apartment building.
J.C.Rice

“My mother was a giver, and she always shared with others,” her daughter Alicia said.

Thousands of Co-Op City residents were left without power, water and heat early Friday, until around 10 p.m. when services were restored.

“The damage caused by the transformer fire is extensive and will take a while to repair,” the Co-Op City Department of Public Safety tweeted at 6:30 p.m.

Sandra Nicholas, daughter of Ada and Algon Longmore (at left), tries to locate where her mother's body has been taken
Sandra Nicholas, daughter of Ada and Algon Longmore (left), tries to locate where her mother’s body has been taken.
J.C. Rice

Longmore worked as a home health side until she got sick and had to use an oxygen tank to breathe, her family said.

She and her husband have five grown children — four girls who are teachers, and a son who is a lawyer. 

A Con Edison spokesman said Con Ed has limited control over Co-Op City.

The 18th floor stairewell where Ada Longmore died.
The 18th floor stairewell where Ada Longmore died.
J.C. Rice

“Co-op City is unique in New York City in that it generates its own power and distributes it to its residents. Friday’s outage was the result of fire damage to Co-Op City’s system. Con Edison maintains feeders running to Co-Op City that can be used for backup power, but those feeders ran uninterrupted yesterday and remain in service.”

source: nypost.com