James Barron and Mihir Zaveri

<h1>NEW YORK — A power failure plunged a stretch of the West Side of Manhattan into darkness Saturday night, trapping people in subway cars and elevators for a time, leaving drivers to fend for themselves at intersections with no traffic signals and eerily dimming the lights in a swath of Times Square.</h1>

Stores emptied out, and Broadway shows did not go on: Most theaters canceled their performances. In restaurants and bars, people drank by the glow of their smartphones.

But the lights — and, on a warm Saturday night in midsummer, the air conditioning and fans that keep people cool — began to return about 10 p.m. Power was fully restored by midnight, with cheers ringing out on the streets in response.

Con Edison said that the power failed at 6:47 p.m. and that 73,000 customers were in the dark for at least three hours, mainly on the West Side. The blackout stretched from 72nd Street to the West 40s, and from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River.

Con Edison said the failure apparently stemmed from a problem at a substation on West 49th Street and affected six power sectors.

John McAvoy, Con Edison’s chairman and chief executive, suggested it was a mechanical failure but emphasized that the utility would not know the cause until an investigation was completed.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo was more specific, saying the failure started with an explosion and fire at a substation that caused other substations to “lose power and malfunction.”

“Once we get past the emergency, then I want to know what the heck happened,” Cuomo told WABC-TV, “because this is not the first time we have had a substation issue.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was in Iowa campaigning for his presidential bid, ruled out terrorism or criminal activity.

Con Edison customers “expect to have a system that contemplates, anticipates and prevents foreseeable occurrences,” he said.

The blackout happened on the same date that a large power failure in 1977 plunged the city into darkness. (Now as then, Times Square — usually blindingly bright with crowds strolling to theaters — was dark, and traffic signals were out.)

At intersections, police officers and civilians worked together to direct traffic while firetrucks and ambulances screamed down side streets. Two young women posed for a selfie in the middle of 46th Street before an officer rushed over and chastised them, saying, “Ladies, this is not the time.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, said the blackout affected the entire system, with limited service for a time on several lines.

Ellie Shanahan, 23, was on the A train between West 50th and 59th streets when the train stopped unexpectedly. She waited with the other passengers for nearly 20 minutes before an MTA worker announced that there was a power outage and that there would be no train service between 59th and 163rd streets.

After evacuating the subway station, she said, she noticed police officers trying to monitor the frantic crowds at West 50th Street.

She got on a Citi Bike and rode it to 125th Street.

“What was craziest to me was there were no traffic lights,” Shanahan said. “I was in shock, but people still seemed to know what to do. Everyone was being polite, even though there were no lights to tell us when to go.”

May Martinez, 33, who lives in Manhattan, said she got stuck on a different A train when the power went out.

“It was scary,” she said. “We were just wondering — are we going to sleep here?”

Martinez said that the lights and air conditioning remained on but that the train stopped.

Eventually, she said, the train started, but the rest of its trip was erratic. It took 40 minutes to reach Columbus Circle, where she and the other passengers got off the train.

Most Broadway shows — including “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” “Hadestown,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “Aladdin” — canceled their performances.

On the sidewalks outside the theaters, the casts staged impromptu outdoor shows. Performers from “Waitress” and “Come From Away” sang versions of songs from their shows, and actors from “Hadestown” improvised a blackout-themed rendition of one of its songs.

Carnegie Hall canceled all performances Saturday night. At Lincoln Center, a performance from the Mark Morris Dance Group was canceled, but outside, the Midsummer Night Swing band kept going.

Renee Chung, 35, of Brooklyn, was having dinner at a restaurant at West 63rd Street and Broadway when the power went out.

“In New York, we’re used to things like this,” she said.

Chung said the restaurant was using an honor system for customers who did not have cash because its credit card machines were not working.

But then there was the challenge of getting home to Brooklyn.

“We’re just going to walk for a little bit and see what happens,” Chung said.

At the Jennifer Lopez birthday-themed extravaganza at Madison Square Garden, the power failure happened during the fourth song. The lights had been shining and the bass had been thumping and the opening notes of “Dinero,” Lopez’s hit Latin pop song, had sounded. A crew of dancers was onstage.

Suddenly, the lights went dark, and the speakers fell silent. The only sound was a live drum set, still playing as dancers continued their routine.

It soon became apparent that this was not part of the show.

Lopez appeared on the stage and seemed to be speaking. But with her microphone out, her message could not be heard.

After a while, a backup generator kicked in, and the lights came on. Minutes after that, a high-pitched chime sounded, and the audience was told to leave.

In the darkness outside, some fans were frustrated.

“I’ve waited my whole life to see Jennifer Lopez, and I didn’t get to see but five minutes of it,” said Jennifer Walker, 35, of Brentwood, New York.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/13/nyregion/nyc-power-outage.html" link="null" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.

Power Restored to Manhattan's West Side After Major Blackout

Stores emptied out, and Broadway shows did not go on: Most theaters canceled their performances. In restaurants and bars, people drank by the glow of their smartphones.

Power restored to Manhattan's West Side after major blackout

<h1>NEW YORK — A power failure plunged a stretch of the West Side of Manhattan into darkness Saturday night, trapping thousands of people in subways and elevators for a time, leaving drivers to fend for themselves at intersections with no traffic signals and eerily dimming the lights of a swath of Times Square.</h1>

Stores emptied out, and Broadway shows did not go on: Most theaters canceled their performances. In restaurants and bars, people drank by the light of their smartphones.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, asked whether anything nefarious had happened, said Con Edison believed that the blackout was caused by a mechanical issue that could be resolved in a relatively short period of time.

Con Edison said that the power failed around 7 p.m. and that about 62,000 customers were in the dark, mainly on the West Side. The Fire Department said the failures stretched from 72nd Street to the West 40s, and from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River.

Con Edison said it did not know how soon electricity would be restored.

The blackout happened on the same date that a massive power failure in 1977 plunged the city into darkness. (Now as then, Times Square — usually blindingly bright with crowds strolling to theaters — was dark, and traffic signals were out.)

At intersections Saturday, police officers and civilians worked together to direct traffic while firetrucks and ambulances screamed down side streets. Two young women posed for a selfie in the middle of 46th Street before an officer rushed over and chastised them, saying, “Ladies, this is not the time.”

A spokesman for Con Edison said the failures apparently stemmed from a problem at a substation on West 49th Street. The New York City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, said on Twitter that there had been a “major disturbance” at that substation and that the utility was working to fix it.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subways, said that “our entire system is affected” and that there was only limited service on the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 lines on the West Side; the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 lines on the East Side; and the No. 7 line between Manhattan and Queens.

The Fire Department said it had sent firefighters to a transformer blaze on West End Avenue in the West 60s, where Con Edison also has a facility. It did not say whether that fire was related to the power failure.

There was also “smoke in multiple buildings” on the West Side, the Fire Department said, and the department was answering “numerous” reports of people stuck in elevators.

With signals not working, men in shorts and T-shirts were directing traffic at the intersection of 10th Avenue and 47th Street. With no police officers in sight, one called out: “If you’re going to walk, walk now, people!”

Another yelled as pedestrians began to cross hesitantly: “Health and safety! Health and safety!”

Ellie Shanahan, 23, was on the A train between 50th and 59th Streets when the train stopped unexpectedly. She waited with the other passengers for nearly 20 minutes before an MTA worker announced that there was a power outage and that there would be no train service between 59th and 163rd Streets.

Shanahan was on her way to visit her parents in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. After evacuating the subway station, she said, she noticed police officers trying to monitor the frantic crowd at 50th Street.

She immediately got on a Citi Bike and rode it north to 125th Street.

What was the craziest, Shanahan said, was that there were no traffic lights. “I was in shock, but people still seemed to know what to do. Everyone was being polite even though there were no lights to tell us when to go.”

As she biked north on Broadway, Shanahan noticed restaurants emptying out and long bus lines. She saw people evacuating a pitch-black movie theater on 66th Street.

Most Broadway shows — including “Moulin Rouge,” “Hadestown,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “Aladdin” — canceled their performances.

On the sidewalks outside the theaters, the casts staged impromptu outdoor shows. Performers from “Waitress” and “Come From Away” sang versions of songs from their shows, and actors from “Hadestown” improvised a blackout-themed song of one of its songs.

Carnegie Hall announced it was canceling all performances Saturday night. At Lincoln Center, a performance from the Mark Morris Dance Group was canceled, but outside, the Midsummer Night Swing band kept going.

Power Failure Hits Manhattan's West Side, Leaving 62,000 Customers in the Dark

Stores emptied out, and Broadway shows did not go on: Most theaters canceled their performances. In restaurants and bars, people drank by the light of their smartphones.

Power failure hits Manhattan's West Side, leaving 62,000 customers in the dark

But the lights began to return about 10 p.m. Power was fully restored by midnight, with cheers ringing out on the streets in response.

Con Edison said that the power failed at 6:47 p.m. and that 73,000 customers were in the dark for at least three hours.

The utility said the failure apparently stemmed from a problem at a substation. John McAvoy, Con Edison’s chairman and chief executive, suggested it was a mechanical failure but emphasized that the utility would not know the cause until an investigation was completed.

The blackout happened on the same date that a large power failure in 1977 plunged the city into darkness.

At intersections, police officers and civilians worked to direct traffic while firetrucks and ambulances screamed down side streets. Two young women posed for a selfie in the middle of one street before an officer rushed over and chastised them, saying, “Ladies, this is not the time.”

Most Broadway shows — including “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” “Hadestown,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “Aladdin” — canceled their performances. On the sidewalks outside, the casts staged impromptu shows.

Carnegie Hall canceled all performances. At Lincoln Center, a performance from the Mark Morris Dance Group was canceled, but outside, the Midsummer Night Swing band kept going.

At the Jennifer Lopez birthday-themed extravaganza at Madison Square Garden, the power failure happened during the fourth song. Suddenly, the lights went dark, and the speakers fell silent. The only sound was a live drum set, still playing as dancers continued their routine.

Power restored to Manhattan's west side after major blackout

NEW YORK — A power failure plunged a stretch of the West Side of Manhattan into darkness Saturday night, trapping people in subway cars and elevators for a time, leaving drivers to fend for themselves at intersections with no traffic signals and eerily dimming the lights in a swath of Times Square.

Con Edison said that the power failed at 6:47 p.m. and that 73,000 customers were in the dark for at least two hours, mainly on the West Side. The Fire Department said the failures stretched from 72nd Street to the West 40s, and from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m., Con Edison announced that six power networks had been knocked out but that five had been restored.

One network between 32th and 42nd streets remained out, the utility said, adding that it hoped that power would be returned there relatively quickly.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, asked whether anything nefarious happened, said Con Edison believed that the blackout was caused by a mechanical issue. De Blasio was speaking from Iowa, where he was campaigning for president.

John McAvoy, Con Edison’s president, said at a news conference that the failures apparently stemmed from a problem at a substation, later identified as located on West 49th Street.

McAvoy said that the utility was investigating the cause but that it did not appear to have originated from “excessive load,” often prompted by heavy use of air conditioning in the summer.

As she biked north on Broadway, Shanahan noticed restaurants emptying out and long bus lines. She saw people evacuating a pitch-black movie theater on West 66th Street.

At the Jennifer Lopez birthday-themed extravaganza at Madison Square Garden, the outage occurred during the fourth song. The lights had been shining and the bass thumping and the opening notes of “Dinero,” Lopez’s hit Latin pop song, had sounded. A crew of dancers was onstage.

It became quickly apparent that this was not part of the act when Lopez appeared onstage to no fanfare. She made her way to a platform that extended to the middle of the floor. She appeared to be speaking, gesturing for fans to stay put. But with her microphone out, her message could not be heard.

After a while, a backup generator kicked in, and the lights came up.

Minutes later, a high-pitched siren wailed, and the audience was told to leave.

Lights Slowly Come Back On in Manhattan After Major Power Failure

NEW YORK — A power failure plunged a stretch of the West Side of Manhattan into darkness Saturday night, trapping thousands of people in subways and elevators for a time, leaving drivers to fend for themselves at intersections with no traffic signals and eerily dimming the lights of a swath of Times Square.

Lights slowly come back on in Manhattan after major power failure

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James Barron and Mihir Zaveri

Articles written by the author

Power restored to Manhattan's West Side after major blackout

Power failure hits Manhattan's West Side, leaving 62,000 customers in the dark

Power restored to Manhattan's west side after major blackout

Lights slowly come back on in Manhattan after major power failure