Power Restored, But Questions Remain Following Massive Blackout In Manhattan
AT-A-GLANCE
- Cause Of Massive Manhattan Blackout Under Investigation
- Blackout Hurts Many Manhattan Businesses, But Some Soften Blow With Quick Thinking
- Carnegie Hall Choir And Orchestra Performers Shined Brightly On Dark Saturday Night In NYC
- PHOTOS: Massive Power Outage Hits Parts Of Manhattan
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Power has been restored but many questions remain following the massive blackout that plunged the West Side of Manhattan into darkness.
Con Edison still doesn’t know what caused the outage, and commuters may be feeling the effects this morning at Port Authority. The air conditioning still isn’t fully working, so people should prepare for warmer than usual temperatures inside the terminal today.
The City That Never Sleeps came to a standstill on Saturday. While we may be out of the darkness, many still feel in the dark about what caused the massive blackout.
“I’d like to know how this happened. It’s a terrible thing,” Upper West Side resident Steve Dzik told CBS2. “It’s a huge amount of inconvenience… All the sudden, everything was closed, everything was stopped. I had no idea what to do.”
It all started around 6:47 p.m. Saturday. Commuters were stuck on stalled subways, others were trapped on high-rise elevators, and thousands crowded the streets trying to stay cool on the sticky summer night.
Web Extra: Mayor Bill De Blasio Discusses Manhattan Blackout
The blackout spanned from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River and the West 30s to 72nd Street. Officials believe it may have begun with a transformer issue.
“I saw on the corner of 64th and West End Avenue one of the manhole covers – there was some black smoke coming out of it. Then, the power went completely out, and I ended up calling 911,” said another man.
About five hours later – just before midnight – power was fully restored.
Now the question remains: How can 72,000 people lose power at once in a city of this size?
“It is a good question, and the governor of the state of New York is wondering also,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “It’s just unacceptable, it is unacceptable. We need a better power system, better power grid. The system has to be designed with redundancies.”
Web Extra: Sen. Chuck Schumer Addresses Manhattan Blackout
While Con Ed investigates the transformer issue, officials say the blackout was not due to high demand on the electrical grid and cyber or terrorist attacks have been ruled out. Still, the agency has not confirmed the root cause.
“We really need to build a very detailed chronology to understand what was happening when, to piece together what happened, to understand how we might prevent it moving forward,” said Con Edison President Timothy Cawley.
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio is coming under fire for being absent Saturday night. He was in Iowa campaigning for president.
“It was knowing that it was going to take quite a while to get back, so I was going to have to provide guidance wherever I was, which is what any leader has to do. And I was doing that with conversations directly with the police commissioner, with my chief of staff, with Commissioner Criswell,” he said on Sunday. “I want people to understand that this job, and any public CEO today, you have to take charge wherever you are, and I did that.”
The mayor said he decided to return to the city as soon as it became clear this was not a crisis that could be resolved immediately.
Photos: Massive Power Outage Hits Parts Of Manhattan
He and other officials applauded first responders and those impacted for coming together. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
Ironically, the blackout happened on the 42nd anniversary of the 1977 power outage.
Tonight will be take-two for Jennifer Lopez after her sold-out concert was cut short by the blackout. She was on stage performing when the lights suddenly went out Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The arena was evacuated, and the show was canceled.
The singer is currently on her “It’s My Party” summer tour in honor of her 50th birthday on July 24. She will be performing in Massachusetts tomorrow.
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July 15, 2019 at 03:25PM
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