Parts of midtown, Manhattan and the West Side went dark On Saturday at 6:47 pm.
People used their cellphones to light their own ways with flashlights and to cross the streets. The shows of Broadway were disrupted and commuters scrambled to find alternative ways home after subway stations were shuttered.
Con Edison announced that power is going to be restored after just 3 hours of the beginning of the blackout.
Exactly 42 years ago, the same event occurred in 1977, New York city went into a total darkness but that time the city was powerless for more than 25 hours.
The blackout caused Looting and arson spread through the streets, resulting in 3,800 arrests and millions of dollars worth of damage.
With no power, Refrigerators went off causing food to spoil. But that didn’t stop restaurants and pubs from keeping their doors open and their liquor pouring.
People who were eating in restaurants had to finish their meals on cellphone lights, an option that did not exist back in 1977 during the blackout.
The city’s skyline became a silhouette, as iconic buildings like the Empire State Building blended in with the night sky.
However, some New York people took to the streets to help direct traffic. The same scene played out on Saturday evening when over 200 traffic lights went out, according to the city’s Department of Transportation.
Source: NYtimes
