In the summer months, hundreds of thousands of tourists from across the globe flock to New York City, but on Saturday night disappointment filled the air as shows on the “Great White Way” as well as the much anticipated Jennifer Lopez concert at Madison Square Garden were cancelled due to a massive blackout that hit the west side of Manhattan.
By: Fern Sidman
The blackout occurred 42 years to the day that all of New York City was in darkness due to another blackout. In 1977, rampant looting and violent crimes took place on July 13th and 14th as all five boroughs in the Big Apple were directly affected.
On Saturday evening, the blackout sent theater-goers spilling into the streets, knocking out Times Square’s towering electronic screens and bringing sub way lines to a near halt.
According to an AP report, those attending the Jennifer Lopez concert said that Madison Square Garden went dark about 9:30 p.m. in the middle of Lopez’s fourth song of the night. The arena was later evacuated. And at Penn Station, officials were using backup generators to keep their lights on.
The AP reported that the New York City Fire Department said a transformer fire at West 64th Street and West End Avenue affected hundreds of thousands of customers along a 30-block stretch from Times Square to about 72nd Street and Broadway.
The fire occurred just around 6:47 pm on Saturday, authorities said.
AP reported that Con Edison officials later said they were working to restore electricity to customers and businesses primarily on Manhattan’s Upper West Side by midnight. Most customers had their powered restored by 10:45 pm.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement that although no injuries have been reported “the fact that it happened at all is unacceptable,” and the Department of Public Service will investigate the 4 hours long blackout.
In Iowa, stumping for the White House in 2020, New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio said in a tweet posted at 11:48 pm on Saturday night “Power was restored to remaining customers. I want to thank all of our first responders, the men and women of the NYPD, FDNY and @NYCEmergencyMgt for their hard work tonight — and every New Yorker for responding to the black out with that trademark NYC grit and toughness.”
When the lights went out early Saturday evening, thousands of people streamed out of darkened Manhattan buildings, crowding Broadway next to bumper-to-bumper traffic, according to an AP report.
People in Hell’s Kitchen began directing traffic themselves as stoplights and walking signs went dark.
