Elsewhere in New Yorks summer of 1977, a sweltering heatwave, financial downturn, rising poverty and inequality levels, paranoia about the Son of Sam murders, and the shining lights of Studio 54 took hold of the city. By 9:30pm the city would be plunged into darkness for more than 24 hours. Parts of the city, like the southern part of Queens and the Statue of Liberty were not affected by the blackout (since the flame torch of the statue is fueled by gas). The events of July 13, 1977, as Hunters show us, are not all fiction. We've seen our citizens subjected to violence, vandalism, theft, and discomfort. Stevie Wonder (at piano) jams with Stephen Stills (with drum), Stephanie Mills, and Teddy Pendergrass (behind Wonder) for New York secretary Mary Ann Cummings and 300 guests on her birthday at Studio 54. On the night of Wednesday, July 13th, 1977, the power went out in all of New York City and parts of Westchester County, leaving eight million people in the dark. Police detain suspected looters in the Bronx. "[12] However, most early DJs dismiss this story as inaccurate, with Afrika Bambaataa stating that Blackout '77 got nothin' to do with hip-hop . Within a few years of his death, three more bodies were found there: a local man with his head slumped over the wheel of his Oldsmobile, and a drug dealer and his Cuban girlfriend, whose bodies, with black hoods over the heads, were discovered when blood was seen dripping from the trunk of a car. People gather around the site of a car crash in the dark. One shot hit him. }) window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { New Yorkers jam the Brooklyn Bridge on their way home after the blackout shut down the subway system. Likewise, as fires burned down much of the Bronx, hip hop began to rise from the ashes. A - Probably very few, given that it seemed most people were out looting. On Wednesday, July 13, 1977, a series of lightning struck on the power lines and infrastructure led to a cascade of shutdowns, power failures, and overloads. The New York Mets were losing 21 against the Chicago Cubs. At 9:19p.m., the final major interconnection to Upstate New York at Leeds substation tripped due to thermal overload which caused the 345kV conductors to sag excessively into an unidentified object. During New York's 2003 blackout, The New York Times ran a description of the blackout of 1977: Because of the power failure, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports were closed down for about eight hours, automobile tunnels were closed because of lack of ventilation, and 4,000 people had to be evacuated from the subway system. But there was just one murder victim that dark night: Dominick Ciscone, 17. On the evening of July 13, 1977, two lightning strikes just north of New York City led to a massive blackout that plunged the city into darkness. New York City Blackout Of 1977: Causes, Facts, And Photos Show The Blackout From The Streets And Aftermath 3.2k Views 1 On Wednesday, July 13, 1977, a series of lightning struck on the power lines and infrastructure led to a cascade of shutdowns, power failures, and overloads. Please try again later. That failure plunged the Big Apple into darkness at around 9:30 p.m. By 1:45p.m., service was restored to half of Con Edison's customers, mostly in Staten Island and Queens. "[7], In all, 1,616 stores were damaged in looting and rioting. [9] Jane Jarvis, Shea's organist and "Queen of Melody", played "Jingle Bells" and "White Christmas." These steps were done in accordance with Con Edison's use of the words "shed load" while the Power Pool operators had in mind opening feeders to immediately drop about 1500MW of load, not reduce voltage to reduce load a few hundred megawatts. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), The earlier outage affected far more people (25 million, spanning New York and seven other states, plus two Canadian provinces, compared to the 9 million people in New York and its northern suburbs who lost power in 77, per TIME). 3 (also known as "Big Allis"), shut down and with it went all of New York City. The Blackout has threatened our safety and has seriously impacted our economy. The Bitcoin Bust That Took Down the Webs Biggest Child Abuse Site. Thieves stole 50 new Pontiacs from a Bronx car dealership. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. And yet, some went about their evenings, which for some lucky people at Rockefeller Center in 1977 meant a stop at an ice cream truck. People cross Lexington Avenue in darkness. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Why the 1977 Blackout Was One of New Yorks Darkest Hours. The power failure was. ga('ads.send', { Im the Operator: The Aftermath of a Self-Driving Tragedy. Former Bouquet seller now making a go with blogging and graphic designing. Power was not fully restored until late the following day. The sweltering streets became a battleground, where, per the Post, even the looters were being mugged., The mayhem of 1977 came as a night-and-day contrast with New Yorks previous citywide blackout, in 1965. During New York's 2003 blackout, The New York Times ran a description of the blackout of 1977: Because of the power failure, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports were closed down for about eight hours, automobile tunnels were closed because of lack of ventilation, and 4,000 people had to be evacuated from the subway system. On a steamy July night in 1977, exactly 42 years ago, the same thing happened: New York City plunged into darkness, but that time the city was left without power for 25 hours. As Russia's failures mount in its war against Ukraine, can Biden prevent an isolated Putin from doing the unthinkable? They implemented significant changes, which are still in effect today, to guard against a similar occurrence. Store owners guard their damaged storefront against further looting. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ 8:42 PM Second lightning strike caused the loss of two 345 kV transmission . The skyline went entirely dark, and the lights went out nearly everywhere: in the subways; at major transit hubs like Grand Central Terminal, stranding commuters; at places like Shea Stadium, where the Mets were forced to stop a game against the Chicago Cubs in the sixth inning; and in many of the citys neighborhoods. An economic decline, coupled with rising crime rates. It is the essential source of information and ideas that make sense of a world in constant transformation. ga('ads.send', { The Post reported that thieves grabbed everything from cars to clothespins, the streets a battleground where even the looters were being mugged., A total of 3,776 people were arrested throughout the five boroughs. A DOE report has concluded that the 1977 blackout in New York City cost $350 million, with at least half this cost due to looting and arson. It became a defining event. You can unsubscribe at any time. A little more than three hours later, Con Edison announced that power was being restored. For the song by Soul Asylum, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States, "Improbable Strikes by Lightning Tripped Its System, Con Ed Says", "New York Blackout II, 1977 Year in Review", "The Blackouts of '65 and '77 Became Defining Moments in the City's History", "The mystery behind the only murder during the 1977 NYC blackout", "Was the 1977 New York City Blackout a Catalyst for Hip-Hop's Growth? hitType: 'event', A breakdown of impact areas shows that indirect impacts account for over $290 million, which led the DOE to conclude that indirect as well as direct impacts must be incorporated in the cost of power outages. Beame accused Con Edison of "gross negligence" but would eventually feel the effect himself. Stranded people sleep in the lobby at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. ga('ads.send', { Pedestrians used their cellphones as flashlights to cross the streets, Broadway shows were disrupted and commuters scrambled to find alternative ways home after subway stations were shuttered. New York was already in a financial crisis with high unemployment rates creating even more poverty and devastating many communities. But the power outage is not the only darkness the episode is all about. Fred R. Conrad/New York Times Co./Getty Images. Police officers and passersby stand in front of a looted store in Brooklyn. Privacy Policy. Despite the looting, some New Yorkers took to the streets to help direct traffic. For much of July 14, most of the television stations in New York City were off the air (as the areas where those TV stations were located were still without power for much of the day), although WCBS-TV (Channel 2) and WNBC-TV (Channel 4) did manage to stay on the air thanks to gas and diesel-fueled generators, resuming their broadcasts only 25 and 88 minutes after the blackout began, respectively. Now it seemed as if New York had set itself to auto-destruct. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { D. Gorton/The New York Times. Disclaimer : The views expressed in this article belong to the writer and are not necessarily shared by MEAWW. Within an hour, most of the citys electrical grid went dead. The Mets-Cubs game at Shea Stadium ended in the bottom of the sixth inning. Capacitors. Looters grabbed whatever they could get their hands on, such as vehicles, furniture, food, clothes, and several other things. }); Then lightning struck, and the city went dark for real. Check here if you would like to receive subscription offers and other promotions via email from TIME group companies. The area, which had been home to mob enforcer Crazy Joey Gallo, was a tight-knit world unto itself, where everyone knew each other and outsiders werent welcome. From the blackout to the .44 caliber killer, these photos of New York City in the summer of 1977 reveal a city on the brink of collapse. Putin and Biden Must Choose: How Does Russia Want to Lose? July 15, 1977. In some cases, they wrenched off metal gates with ropes tied to cars. Very respectful of his elders. Please attempt to sign up again. Heres what we want to talk about. If something bad went down, chances were that a grandmother was watching from her third-floor window and soon the whole neighborhood knew exactly what had occurred. Until Sept. 11, 2001, they were the most wide-ranging catastrophic events to strike modern New York City, causing, in the case of the 1977 blackout alone, 3,800 arrests and more than a billion . pg.acq.push(function() { It became a. Mayor Abe Beame spoke during the blackout about what citizens were up against during the blackout and what the costs would be. Andrew looked down Nelson and saw a guy running, near Smith Street. Owners and employees of a sporting goods store stand guard outside with baseball bats after the store on New York Citys Upper West Side was looted during massive power failure, Wednesday night, July 13, 1977. Despite the prevalent mood of panic, many did spring into action, helping neighbors in need, directing traffic, and trying to keep the peace. It was an area of Carroll Gardens that offered just about everything a person might want: A pizzeria, a drug store, a grocery that made sandwiches, a candy store, a bike shop, a place that sold Buster Brown shoes. As you can imagine, it was totally devastating, said his cousin, Joan Ciscone. . Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? Mildred moved away, taking painful memories. It was not until the next morning that power began being restored to those areas affected. NEW YORK (CNN) -- For many New Yorkers, the blackout of 1977 is a dark memory. With this letter, Berkowitz revealed the name "Son of Sam" for the first time. Massive hands. Switch to the light mode that's kinder on your eyes at day time. pg.acq.push(function() { Among the outcomes of the blackout were detailed restoration procedures that are well documented and used in operator training to reduce restoration time. Most of the thefts occurred in Brooklyn Crown Heights, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant as raging crowds savaged stores. 8:37 PM Lightning strike at Buchanan South, a substation on the Hudson River, trips two circuit breakers in Westchester County. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Each claimed to have knowledge about the perpetrator. 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This magical night ended with the thin crescent Moon, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and the orange star Aldebaran all lined up in the eastern sky at dawn, followed by a beautiful sunrise. Firemen battle flames at a store in the Bronx borough of New York, one of many fires that broke out during the massive power failure that crippled the city for more than 24 hours, seen July 14, 1977. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ Hunters Episode 8: David Weil revisits the New York City blackout of 1977 in a brilliant fictional take. The New York City Blackout lasts for 25 hours and results in looting and disorder.. More Information and Timeline For the New York City Blackout . During the now-notorious 25-hour blackout, which affected all five boroughs, some 1,000 fires were set and 1,600 stores looted. Hip-hop music took off rapidly in the months following the blackout, with some attributing its rise to the large quantity of DJ equipment stolen that night. In some placesperhaps most memorably, Bushwick and parts of the Bronxthe extended power outage led to looting and instances of arson. Mayor Abe Beame called it a night of terror.. We've received your submission. She relived it over and over, said Mildred. The light-filled city became a black pit. On Saturday at 6:47 p.m., parts of Midtown Manhattan and the West Side went dark. eventAction: 'click_ads' Notifications can be turned off anytime from browser settings. Refresh the page, check Medium 's. Hey Friend, Before You Go.. A building in Brooklyn burns as a result of arson. Possibly the hardest hit were Crown Heights, where 75 stores on a five-block stretch were looted, and Bushwick, where arson was rampant, with some 25 fires still burning the next morning. Still, on the 40th anniversary of Doms death, local police have once again heated up efforts to solve this cold case. This story has been shared 133,347 times. "New York blackout" redirects here. What Dallas looked like in the 1950s Through these Fascinating Historical Photos, What Montreal looked in the 1960s Through these Fascinating Vintage Photos, Washington D.C in the 1860s: What U.S. Capital looked like during and after the Civil War, What Austin, Texas looked like in the 1970s Through These Fascinating Photos, Stunning Photos from the Expo 1967 in Montreal that brought 50 Million Visitors, Phoenix in the 1930s: A Photographic Journey Through a City's Great Depression Era. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. An economic decline, coupled with rising crime rates and the panic-provoking (and paranoia-inducing) Son of Sam murders, had combined to make the late 1970s New Yorks Dark Ages. On the anniversary of the enormous blackout, another one sent parts of Manhattan into darkness. Morning broke hot and humid over New York on July 13, 1977, at the outset of what became one of the longest heat waves in the city's history: The temperature would top 100 degrees three times. New York City Blackout. The Real Story of the New York City Blackout of 1977 | by Gena Vazquez | New York Voice | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. [5], By 9:37p.m., the entire ConEdison power system shut down, almost exactly an hour after the first lightning strike. Magazines, Digital By the time the . How One Man Lived 555 Days With No Heart In His Body, Lasers Reveal Medieval Cambodian Cities Hidden In Jungle, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. In fact, the looting of music stores during the blackout enabled people who couldnt afford turntables and mixers to gather the equipment they needed to become DJs. MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. Enjoying our content? With subway service cut off, people crowd aboard a bus on Seventh Avenue. By 10:26p.m., operators started a restoration procedure. [Andrew] ran after the guy, [who] started shooting. A congressional study later put the damage caused by looting and vandalism at $300 million. pg.acq.push(function() { Some pointed to the financial crisis as a root cause of the disorder; others noted the hot July weather, as the East Coast was in the middle of a brutal heat wave. Just after 9:27p.m., the biggest generator in New York City, the 990MW Ravenswood Generating Unit No. Around 7a.m. on July 14, a section of Queens became the first area to get power back, followed shortly afterward by Lenox Hill, Manhattan; the neighboring Yorkville area on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, though, was one of the last areas to get power back that Thursday evening. 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