Charles River Editors - The New York City Blackout of 1977: The History of the Power Failure that Led to Looting and Arson Across the Big Apple

By Charles River Editors

Charles River Editors provides superior editing and original writing services across the digital publishing industry, with the expertise to create digital content for publishers across a vast range of subject matter. In addition to providing original digital content for third party publishers, we also republish civilizations greatest literary works, bringing them to new generations of readers via ebooks.

Sign up here to receive updates about free books as we publish them , and visit Our Kindle Author Page to browse todays free promotions and our most recently published Kindle titles.

New Yorkers wearing shirts commemorating the blackout in 1977

The New York City Blackout of 1977

Perhaps the most significant effects of the blackout were those felt by public and private organizations with responsibility for the economic and social activities of New York City and its inhabitants. In many cases, these organizations were ill-prepared for the blackout and much of the chaos, economic loss and individual inconvenience resulted from this lack of preparedness. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions Impact Assessment of the 1977 New York Blackout Report

Throughout history, light has been associated with goodness and darkness has been a connotation for evil. This is no coincidence, given that many bad deeds that take place in the world under the cover of darkness. Its no surprise civilizations have always valued the ability to keep light present, even when the sun goes down and the world itself becomes dark. Beginning with the first discovery of fire, men and women have struggled with ways to tame it for their use so that they might have a sense of safety at night. Just as a roaring fire lit at the mouth of a cave would keep out four-legged predators, so it was widely believed that electric lights could discourage marauders of the two-legged kind.

But what happens when the awesome and occasionally awful power of nature snatches light away from those who depend on it to feel safe? This question was answered in a most dismaying way in July 1977 when New York City was plunged into darkness for over 24 hours following a thunderstorm. New Yorkers across the city quickly learned that without the light, they could fall prey to looting and violence of just about every kind imaginable. It did not help that this disaster occurred at a time when the city was under more stress than usual due to a poor economy and frequent reports of a new murder by a serial killer calling himself the Son of Sam.

On the other side, for some, the opportunity to take things without much danger of getting caught was about survival, a chance to stock up on items that they felt they needed but could not afford to buy. For others, the looting was a way to blow off steam and strike back at what they perceived to be an unjust system that kept them from having the things they wanted in life. There was even a third group comprised of people who told themselves that what they were doing was not really stealing since the stores were left unguarded and someone else would take the items if they did not.

Working near those bent on destruction during that terrible night were men and women trying to save and restore what was being lost. Police, firefighters and workers from Con Ed electric company toiled away to try to restore some semblance of order to the city, but unfortunately, by the time they accomplished their tasks, each group had lost more than it won. The police arrested thousands but knew that they missed thousands more. The firefighters put out many fires, but many more spread their destructive flames through homes and businesses of people just trying to make a living. And those men who worked through the night to restore power quickly found themselves accused of negligence for letting it go out in the first place. Overall, the blackout yielded many losers and few winners, for even those who got away with looting and arson would have to live with their own consciences. In the wake of the blackout, Mayor Abe Beame may have put it best when he complained, We've seen our citizens subjected to violence, vandalism, theft and discomfort. The Blackout has threatened our safety and has seriously impacted our economy. We've been needlessly subjected to a night of terror in many communities that have been wantonly looted and burned. The costs when finally tallied will be enormous.

The New York City Blackout of 1977: The History of the Power Failure that Led to Looting and Arson Across the Big Apple looks at one of the most controversial days in the citys history. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the blackout like never before, in no time at all.

On a muggy dog-day evening last week, a vagrant summer storm knocked out high-voltage power lines in the near New York suburbs-and within the hour returned 9 million people to the dark, heat and disquiet of a pre-electric age. for the 25 hours it lasted, it stopped commerce, stymied transportation, blackened the night, sheltered the lawless, turned high rises into prisons, made water a luxury and air conditioning a nostalgic memory. And it underscored once again the fragility of urban America in the last quarter of the twentieth century-a state of dependence so total that a burst of lightning could shut down the nations largest city as surely and nearly as completely as a neutron bomb. For a night and a day, nothing worked except telephones, transistor radios and a certain gritty New York resilience in the face of disaster. Subways ran dead. Elevators hung high in their shafts. Water pumps failed, and with them sinks, tubs and toilets. Streetlights and stoplights went out. Traffic thinned and slowed to a wary crawl. Refrigerators and air coolers quit. Commuter lines stalled. Stores, banks, businesses and stock exchanges closed. Theaters went dark. Office towers stood nearly empty. Airports shut down. Hospitals switched to backup generators when they worked-and flashlight medicine when they did not. Produce wilted and frozen food melted in stores. The stranded flaked out on hotel-lobby floors. The mayor held his first crisis councils by candlelight. Newsweek , Heart of Darkness, July 1977

Having suffered through a stiflingly hot summer in 1977, the residents of New York City may have initially taken comfort when a severe thunderstorm passed over the city on the night of July 13. However, at about 8:37 pm, a bolt of lightning hit two extra-high-voltage lines in Westchester County in New York State. Though in no way resembling the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple, Westchester County was nonetheless served by the same electricity carrier, Consolidated Edison, that served the City That Never Sleeps.

As the Chief System Operator with Consolidated Edison, or Con Ed, Charlie Durkin was among the first to understand what had happened. Around 6:00 I headed home. I got home early enough that I got in the pool with the kids. Somewhere around 8:00. it was clear that thunderstorms were going to move in, so we all got out. My daughter was brushing her teeth and looked out the bathroom window and said, What's wrong with the sky, Dad? It looks strange. And I said, Yeah, it's because of all the lightning; there's so much of it, it just stays lit. I got a call maybe a little bit after nine asking me to call the system operator. I called in. And finally said, There's no other choice. The only alternative was to disconnect customers. Now seriously concerned, Durkin warned those under him, You know, you're gonna lose the whole thing. Tell him this is a dire emergency, if he can give us anymore to give it to us.