After a sweltering weekend, and with high temperatures expected to reach into the 90's through Wednesday, New Yorkers are coping as best they can by cooling off at public pools and beaches, and by finding creative ways to beat the heat in some of the city's hottest zones.

In East Harlem, Nita Whitehead said she has no air conditioning and found it hard to sleep at night. During the day, she said she seeks out relief in a variety of places.

"Go to the pool. Go somewhere where they have AC even if it's in the supermarket," she said laughing. "Go somewhere and sit because this heat will kill you."

Vendor Jo Anna Washington was pulling a wagon full of cold water near a train station on Sunday. The 65-year-old said she's making money but also performing a public service for fatigued customers she finds there.

"Long stairs no escalator," she said sweating under a floppy hat. "You come upstairs on a day like this and you meet somebody like me, right now. How happy would you feel?"

Washington said she also has no air conditioning at home and relies on fans to keep cool.

Con Ed has been asking customers to conserve energy. Over the weekend, there were isolated power outages, including for about 1,000 customers in East Harlem Saturday night.

Agnes Griffin was one of them. On Sunday afternoon, the 68-year-old was sitting in a lawn chair in front of her building.  

"If they don't fix this tonight I guess I'm gonna have to sleep in my bathtub and leave the cold water running a little," she said. "I mean at least I'll be cool, you know?"

Griffin said she lost a refrigerator and freezer full of food during the outage.

As of Sunday evening, electricity had been restored to all but 151 customers, according to Con Edison's power outage map.

Con Edison also reported equipment problems in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Voltage was reduced by 8 percent there and in parts of Washington Heights. Customers were being asked not to use heavy duty appliances like washers and dryers.

The city is keeping cooling centers open on Monday for those trying to escape the ongoing heat.