Despite the prevalent mood of panic, many did spring into action, helping neighbors in need, directing traffic, and trying to keep the peace. The entire Con Edison system powering New York City shut down completely. Privacy Policy. 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. A restaurant owner updates the specials of the day during the blackout. Serial killer David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz being taken into police custody on August 11, 1977. hitType: 'event', Thieves stole 50 new Pontiacs from a Bronx car dealership. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. 1977: Lightning strikes a Consolidated Edison substation along the Hudson River, tripping two circuit breakers and setting off a chain of events that results in a massive power failure. Still others pointed out that the 1977 blackout came after businesses had closed and their owners had gone home, while in 1965 the blackout occurred during the day and many merchants were still at their properties. 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 heatwave. 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. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Auburn University students remains IDd nearly 50 years after he disappeared, JonBent Ramsey DNA evidence that shone light on case but investigators buried, Navy vet, 68, charged with cold-case murders of two young women in 1981, Costa Rica home may hold key to disappearance of 'Tiger King' star's ex. 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. They said they said they would get back to me.. And there was a thick darkness in all the land. }); eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), For 25 hours, the darkness led to total chaos, with widespread looting and fires in the streets. People cross Lexington Avenue in darkness. National Archives and Records Administration. As Climate Fears Mount, Some Are Relocating Within the US. He wasnt against practicing his skills on anyone stupid enough to harass the local girls or cross over from the Red Hook projects to hang out on his turf. . Newspapers abroad also focused on the looting. If so, please share it with your friends and family to help spread the word. Then lightning struck, and the city went dark for real. 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. A little more than three hours later, Con Edison announced that power was being restored. Disclaimer : The views expressed in this article belong to the writer and are not necessarily shared by MEAWW. Still, others pointed out that the 1977 blackout came after businesses had closed and their owners had gone home. It was dark so they lit up a garbage pail and were standing around, singing and laughing. Saturdays blackout caused problems along the entire subway system, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. New York City lay helpless today, stiller than on a holiday, waiting for Consolidated Edison to knit together the power system that unraveled and plunged 9 million people into . Apples laptops are expensive, and youll have to make some hard choices to pick the right one. Movie-star handsome, Dom played the part of a scuffling guardian, offering the charm of Tony Danza and the hard right of Charles Bronson. "[12] However, most early DJs dismiss this story as inaccurate, with Afrika Bambaataa stating that Blackout '77 got nothin' to do with hip-hop . window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { In the wake of the power outag. Dominick was very special. People playing a game of cards by candle light during the New York blackout. } That blackout began around 9:30 p.m. on July 13, 1977, and power wasnt restored for 25 hours. I love creating & composing history articles and lists. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Why the 1977 Blackout Was One of New Yorks Darkest Hours. The light-filled city became a black pit. Aerial view of a building burning following the blackout in Brooklyn. One shot from him and you went down. ga('ads.send', { 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. In one of those bizarre coincidences thats almost too strange to be true, the blackout that affected a large swath of Midtown Manhattan on Saturday happened on the 42nd anniversary of the massive citywide power outage of 1977. Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive/ Getty Images. 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. All at exactly 8:28 p.m. on the 13th of July 1977, striking from a line of sodden black thunderclouds rolling across northern Westchester County. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ 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. Talbot was convinced his anonymous tipsters knew who shot Ciscone, and believed that they called again two months later but abruptly hung up. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { Former Bouquet seller now making a go with blogging and graphic designing. But they wouldnt give their names and were afraid to come forward. The events of July 13, 1977, as 'Hunters' show us, are not all fiction. A police officer arrests a suspected looter. He was a bit of a showman winning best costume in a block party in 1974 after donning the outfit of a pizza chef from the old country but Mildred said her brother dreamed of becoming a boxer. }); Rumor from way back when was it was a case of mistaken identity. Young boys play in a fire hydrant in the Lower East Side's Avenue C. Residents of Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood sit in folding chairs, July 21, 1977. Looting and vandalism were widespread, hitting 31 neighborhoods. 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. By signing up you are agreeing to our, See How the Hollywood Sign Has Changed Over Time. In the summer of 1977, the NYPD discovered a handwritten letter near the bodies of Esau and Suriani, addressed to NYPD Captain Joseph Borrelli. The 25-hour outage began around 9:30 p.m. on July 13th, after a bolt of lightning struck an electrical substation in Westchester. Possibly the hardest hit were Crown Heights, where 75 stores on a five-block stretch were looted and damaged, and Bushwick, where arson was rampant, with some 25 fires still burning the next morning. [5], By 9:37p.m., the entire ConEdison power system shut down, almost exactly an hour after the first lightning strike. That was my baby brother, she said, describing the strapping Dominick as a beloved but fearless neighborhood protector who would go after anyone causing trouble. 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. In response, Con Ed operators initiated first a 5% system-wide voltage reduction and then an 8% reduction. A bolt of lightening struck a power substation in Westchester at 8:37 p.m., just as the sun was setting, followed by several more. The citizens of the Big Apple lived in sheer terror during the sweltering summer of 1977. When a flash of lightning zapped the city on July 13, 1977, panic hit New York. ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); Thieves stole 50 new Pontiacs from a Bronx car dealership. New Yorkers jam the Brooklyn Bridge on their way home after the blackout shut down the subway system. Firemen answered 1,500 alarms, 400 of which were actual fires. Firemen fight a blaze above a row of looted stores in New Yorks Brooklyn borough, July 14, 1977, the day after the power failure. In just 24 hours, more than $300 million of the property had been damaged. There was so much speculation. hitType: 'event', Very respectful of his elders. The 77 blackout presented a rare opportunity for the powerless minority to suddenly seize power, TIME concluded, quoting the head of the National Urban League as saying, [The underclass] in a crisis feels no compulsion to abide by the rules of the game because they find that the normal rules do not apply to them., Read TIMEs cover story about the blackout, here in the archives: Night of Terror. Here you'll find all collections you've created before. Passengers evacuated from the subway during the blackout. The same scene played out on Saturday evening when over 200 traffic lights went out, according to the citys Department of Transportation. 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. [10] The Yankees were on the road at Milwaukee; less than a week later, Yankee Stadium hosted the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 19. We all used to hang out over there, said Mildred. We've seen our citizens subjected to violence, vandalism, theft, and discomfort. The power outage, which began the night of July 13 and lasted up to 25 hours in some places,. Here's a look back at how the Big Apple made it through the blackout from Jul 13-14, 1977. John Stearns lights a candle at Shea Stadium. Police officers and passersby stand in front of a looted store in Brooklyn. The family matriarch, Loretta, who died in 2012, was tormented by Dominicks slaying. While 550 police officers were injured in the mayhem, 4,500 looters were arrested. A couple of years prior, in 1975, the city had turned to the federal government for a bailout. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { As The Hunters wallowed in the valley of the shadow of death, they turned to the stars to point them on their path. It was where they gathered on the night of the blackout.. [citation needed], The blackout occurred when the city was facing a severe financial crisis and its residents were terrified by the Son of Sam murders. 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. We had nobody who could tell me his story was correct.. Thirty-five blocks of Broadway were destroyed: 134 stores looted, 45 of them also set ablaze. It's Wednesday. Con Ed could not generate enough power within the city, and the three power lines that supplemented the city's power were overtaxed. Switch to the dark mode that's kinder on your eyes at night time. Baby Mia Jade Riley: Parents Lani and Tom Riley speak out after dog attack killed their 5-week-old infant, Kyle Sambrook: Hiker falls 100ft to death while carrying his dog in one hand through 'appalling' weather, Bruce Willis's mom Marlene 'not sure if her son still recognizes her' as 'aggressiveness' creeps in, Killer mom Lindsay Clancy was suffering from drug withdrawal and had 'worst side effects,' says friend, Julia Faustyna: 21-yr-old girl who claims to be Madeleine McCann admits to making 'pornographic videos' in past. In the largest mass arrest in city history, 3,776 people were arrested. 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. Talbot has since died, and the investigation passed along to other detectives. We are one of the worlds fastest growing 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 . Power was slowly restored over the next day, with the entire city online by 10:39 p.m. "New York blackout" redirects here. Putin and Biden Must Choose: How Does Russia Want to Lose? Koch would go on to win the general election. He died at the scene. In the largest mass arrest in city history, 3,776 people were arrested. The 1977 blackout that hit New York was a crisis that came amidst a sweltering heatwave, a financial downturn, rising poverty and inequality, and an atmosphere of gloom that had already settled on the city. TIME noted how news media outside the city characterized the crisis: Sample headline from the Los Angeles Times: CITYS PRIDE IN ITSELF GOES DIM IN THE BLACKOUT. Seen from across the river in New Jersey, only the base of the World Trade Centers twin towers flickered with light. 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. The sweltering streets became a battleground where several people were mugging even the looters. A second lightning strike caused the loss of two 345 kV transmission lines, subsequent reclose of only one of the lines, and the loss of power from the nuclear plant at Indian Point. Already gripped by economic collapse and the Son of Sam terror, the city was plunged into total darkness.. eventAction: 'view' 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. eventAction: 'render' Even aspirants to the goodfella life avoided Dom. The lights went out, elevators stalled, and subways ground to a halt. 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. Most of the thefts occurred in Brooklyn Crown Heights, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant as raging crowds savaged stores. George "Human Fly" Willig climbing the South Tower of the World Trade Center. 2023 Cond Nast. Heres what we want to talk about. This Time magazine cover for the week of July 25, 1977, shows the chaos that erupted in the streets of New York during the blackout on July 13 to 14 in 1977. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. The police arrested over 3,700 people involved in looting and damaging properties. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of The sweltering streets became a battleground, where, per the Post, even the looters were being mugged.. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. "[7], In all, 1,616 stores were damaged in looting and rioting. Were hoping someone comes forward with information, said Detective Kevin McDonough of the Brooklyn South homicide squad. It was a long time ago. Anyone can read what you share. Blackout: Trailer. Looters grabbed whatever they could get their hands on, such as vehicles, furniture, food, clothes, and several other things. Massive hands. Switch to the light mode that's kinder on your eyes at day time. Looters young and old leave an A&P supermarket at Ogden Avenue and 166th Street in the Bronx through a broken window. But everybody loved him.. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ NEW YORK - On July 13, 1977, 45 years ago Wednesday, a major blackout hit New York City. Police detain suspected looters in the Bronx. The tunnel crossings were closed down. Power was slowly restored over the next day, with the entire city online by 10:39 p.m. In Brooklyn, youths were seen backing up cars to targeted stores, tying ropes around the stores grates, and using their cars to pull the grates away before looting the store. pg.acq.push(function() { 1977: Lightning strikes a Consolidated Edison substation along the Hudson River, tripping two circuit breakers and setting off a chain of events that results in a massive power failure. hitType: 'event', Despite these safeguards, there was a blackout in August 2003, although this was caused by a power system failure as far away as Eastlake, Ohio. July 14, 1977 dawned hot and humid in New York City. A small but growing number of Americans are moving to New England or the Appalachian Mountains, which are seen as safe havens from climate change. All rights reserved. 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. "I went right to the place where I bought my first set of DJ equipment, and I went and got me a mixer out of there. Hunters is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. 1977. They implemented significant changes, which are still in effect today, to guard against a similar occurrence. A blackout in 1977 left New York City without power for 25 hours. One TIME editor remarked that the tenor of the blackout had more in common with the 1964 Harlem race riots than with the 1965 blackout, which had been generally seen as an example of the citys resilience. He went down. The game was completed two months later on September 16, with the Cubs winning 52. About 4,000 people had to be evacuated from the subways. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The nation as a whole, especially New York City, was suffering from a protracted economic downturn, and commentators have contrasted the event with the good-natured "Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?" }); The Buchanan South substation converted the 345,000 volts of electricity originating from the 900MW Indian Point nuclear generating station to lower voltage for commercial use. As he reached out to people in Carroll Gardens, McDonough came up against the tight-lipped quality of a traditional Italian community. ga('ads.send', { A congressional study estimated that the cost of damages amounted to a little over $300 million (equivalent to $1.2 billion in 2017). The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 1314, 1977. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Q? He was quick to start swinging., He was a sweetheart but he wasnt afraid of anybody and that wasnt a good thing, said Mildred. 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. 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 . On July 13th 2. By 10:26p.m., operators started a restoration procedure. Cover Credit: SKYLINE BY ERIC MEOLA; LOOTERS BY ALON REININGER/CONTACT. },false) You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. 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). By the time the . However, the 1977 looters continued their illegal activities into the daylight hours of the next day, with police on alert. The city was eventually given over $11million by the Carter administration to pay for the damages of the blackout.[6]. Police investigated several people with whom he had ongoing disputes, but never identified any suspects. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Hunters Episode 8: David Weil revisits the New York City blackout of 1977 in a brilliant fictional take. Bookmark these sites (or download these apps) to stay on top of whats new to the market. Many had to be stuffed into overcrowded cells, precinct basements, and other makeshift holding pens. At one point, two blocks of Broadway, which separates Bushwick from Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, were on fire. Whole neighborhoods were engulfed in thick black smoke from buildings set ablaze by arsonists, and manic looting ensued. Unlike this weekends outagewhich has been confined to one section of Manhattan (albeit one of its most densely trafficked ones)that blackout plunged much of the city into darkness. Looting and arson broke out, over a thousand fires were reported, and more than 1,600 stores were damaged or ransacked. Beame accused Con Edison of "gross negligence" but would eventually feel the effect himself. T he blackout that hit New York on this day, July 13, in 1977 was to many a metaphor for the gloom that had already settled on the city.