Manhattan Blackout Shines Light on Infrastructure, Tech [VIDEO]
New Yorkers are enjoying trains and charging devices, following a weekend of blackout chaos that left subway riders stranded and the Upper West Side in the dark. This week city officials are investigating how a system designed to support hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, failed on a busy Saturday night causing commuters to scramble to find electricity and transportation.
A major blackout happened Saturday night following a transformer failure at an upper west side Con Edison power site. More than 70,000 power customers from Times Square to west 72nd street were affected. The MTA was forced to evacuate its busiest transportation hub, Columbus Circle at 59th street due to a complete loss of power both in the station and on train tracks. The MTA was forced to close stations and park trains on the tracks to because of low power and complete power outages across the westside subway lines.
At the time of the power outage about 6:45 pm Saturday, passengers were stuck in train cars on the tracks. The FDNY and NYPD were deployed to help control crowds on city streets, evacuate buildings and rescue citizens trapped in elevators. No serious injuries or deaths were reported as a cause of the blackout.
Singer Jennifer Lopez was forced to reschedule her concert tour due to power loss at Madison Square Garden. The arena, just a short walk from Times Square, was evacuated immediately after losing electricity. The concert was rescheduled for Monday.
. Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was in Iowa campaigning for a Presidential nomination at the time of the blackout, held a news conference Sunday with Con Edison leadership to explain the incident.
Mayor de Blasio praised the first responders and provided an explanation of his absence during the night of the power outage. Press play and watch the video below. For more details, photos and videos of news happening in New York City technology follow us on Twitter and Instagram @NYCWired
