About an hour or so later, we found ourselves in a blackout of our own. First, the air conditioner went off and then the TV. A few minutes later we made our way outside and found the whole street was without power. We walked north on Columbus Avenue and found that everything was normal above 72nd Street.
Unlike the 1977 blackout which was caused by lightning strike, this was caused by a fire at a transformer on 64th Street. While the 1977 blackout covered nearly the entire city, this blackout was confined to Manhattan's Midtown West and part of the Upper West Side. Perhaps a smaller area, but an area which included Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Carnegie Hall, the Time Warner Building and Lincoln Center. This forced the evacuation of these buildings and the abrupt cancellations of programs going on including various Broadway shows and a Jennifer Lopez concert. A few Broadway performers and musicians outside of Carnegie Hall delivered impromptu outdoor performances.
In the Upper West Side, this gave Dad and I the opportunity to experience Manhattanhenge where the sun aligns perfectly with the borough's grid & made our way to Broadway & 72nd Streets.
There were some tense moments as we walked home as some folks behind us started acting menacing. The dark does strange things to people. Fortunately, we returned to our apartment only to discover the carbon monoxide detector had gone haywire. After lighting a candle and a little assistance from our landlord we fixed the problem. We also decided to may our week to Richard Tucker Park on 66th between Columbus and Broadway. If nothing else it was a good way to prevent my hummus from going iffy by finishing it off some hummus with some carrots and celery I had just bought from a convenience store on Columbus & 73rd which needless to say was with power. Restaurants and delis without power below 72nd weren't so lucky and will probably have to throw out food as a result.
Needless to say we weren't the only people who decided to gather there and our mood improved. The mood improved more when the power was restored at 10:30 p.m. Let there be light and it was good. Here's a picture of my Dad just moments after the power came back. Like nothing ever happened.
In the grand scheme of things, we were lucky. Neither of us was in elevator, in a building which required electronic access to enter or exit or on a train as we had been earlier in the day to and from Yankee Stadium.
Nevertheless we pay a price for convenience and creature comforts and when they are not there even for a short time it can throw our lives into chaos. Given that many of these systems are now online I shudder to imagine what would happen if there was a major cyberattack which did far more than affect electricity. I don't think we are prepared for such an event. Hell, New York City certainly wasn't prepared for what happened tonight. It doesn't help that Mayor de Blasio is more focused on trying to convince Democrats in Iowa to nominate him to face President Trump than he is on governing the biggest city in America and Governor Cuomo made it clear he was none too pleased.
On the bright side, however, there appear to be no deaths or injuries or acts of looting of any sort. We might not be so lucky next time.
With that I hope tomorrow is a boring day.
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