Saturday is the 42nd anniversary of the July 13-14, 1977 New York City blackout, which took out power to most of the city, resulted in widespread civil disturbances and looting, and helped usher in an era of noxious “tough on crime” politics. Another blackout struck NYC today, though this one appears to be restricted to parts of Manhattan and the primary concern appears to be rescuing people trapped in elevators.
According to CBS New York, neighborhoods confirmed to have been affected include the Theater District, Hell’s Kitchen, and the Upper West Side. Street lights are out and several metro stations are dark, CBS added, while there are reports of individuals trapped in elevators (one tweet from a Twitter user purported to depict just that). The Con Edison outage map showed over 45,000 customers without electricity, per NBC.
The New York Daily News reported that the cause is currently believed to be a “transformer explosion and fire around W. 64th St. and West End Ave” (alternately described as a “manhole explosion on 65th Street and West End Avenue,” per CBS) around 6:55 p.m. ET.
Some photos, per Twitter:
Times Square is down, i repeat, Times Square is down. This is not a drill!! #Blackout #NYC pic.twitter.com/8IUfER7ozl
— Sahid Abraham (@Sahid0) July 13, 2019
Times Square still has some lights but one of the main fixtures is dark #blackout pic.twitter.com/nG65zrlCAw
— James Crugnale (@jamescrugnale) July 13, 2019
59th street subway @CBSNewYork #Blackout pic.twitter.com/X54aIn77SM
— Alice Gainer (@GainerTV) July 13, 2019
Very dark here at 30 Rock, but we’re safe. #poweroutage #blackout #poweroutagenyc #blackoutnyc pic.twitter.com/fnTjAeYfLh
— Erica Grow Cei (@EricaGrowCei) July 13, 2019
No traffic lights, no power 57th & 6th Ave #blackout pic.twitter.com/Px1W7C7zL0
— Ali Bauman (@AliBaumanTV) July 14, 2019
I guess this is what they call a New York moment. After being trapped on the F for an hour because of the power outage I emerged to see dark restaurants & traffic lights, civilians directing traffic, & an evacuated Carnegie Hall concert happening in the street. #nyc #Blackout pic.twitter.com/3p9UWtRrel
— Briallen Hopper (@briallenhopper) July 14, 2019
The eastern half of Times Square appeared to lose power to billboards, though social media posts showed the western half is still online:
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1150194114320838657
One part of Times Square is fine, the other isn’t #blackout pic.twitter.com/YLSW93ui8D
— Polina M. Pompliano (@polina_marinova) July 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1150215261598998530
Other tweets appeared to show bystanders (or possibly officers in plainclothes) taking it upon themselves to direct traffic, as lights were out:
No cops directing traffic at 66th Street and Broadway. Up to the #fruitstandguy to direct traffic because of the #blackout in nyc pic.twitter.com/jQpCC8TgMI
— Scott Wilks (@wilkssc) July 13, 2019
Add Hell’s Kitchen to the #blackout list. Here you see a man helping direct traffic on 43rd and 10th Ave. @ConEdison #NYCblackout pic.twitter.com/wZGY6uhrZf
— Ethan Harp (@EthanHarpNews) July 13, 2019
Yet another Good Samaritan directing traffic at the hairy Lincoln Square / Columbus / Broadway intersection on the Upper West Side. #blackout pic.twitter.com/0NqKPhirpy
— LookyLoo (@grammarflic) July 13, 2019
Transit authorities said that Con Edison was working to restore power, although subway service into the city was severely disrupted.
While Con Edison works to restore power in Manhattan, we encourage everyone to avoid below-ground subway stations.
We will continue to provide updates as soon as we have more information.
Your safety is our top priority. If you need emergency assistance, please call 911. pic.twitter.com/LsbgEih5BQ
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) July 13, 2019
.@NYCEmergencyMgt is working with the NYPD, FDNY and city agencies to respond to power outages in Manhattan due to a manhole fire earlier this evening. Disruption is significant.
We’ll have further updates soon — please follow @NotifyNYC.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) July 14, 2019
Hopefully this will all be resolved soon with no physical harm to anyone. But in the meantime, we advise New Yorkers to avoid what could be a big headache and steer clear of the affected areas, if possible.
