Vincent E. Pacheco Blog: What was it like to witness the Northeast Blackout of 2003?

Monday, May 30, 2016

What was it like to witness the Northeast Blackout of 2003?

I was living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the time. I was in my apartment, working from home that day. It was a hot day.

My computer shut-off. Thinking it just crashed, I tried to restart it, but soon realized that nothing in the unit had power. I crawled out on the fire escape over Orchard St. to survey the scene. People were starting to emerge from their buildings into the streets, and traffic was getting backed up on Delancey Street.

The following few hours were surreal. This was less than 2 years after 9/11. There was a nervous air about the city. Speculation was rampant in the first few hours, and there was no reliable news.

Within the hour, Delancey had filled with people walking towards the Williamsburg Bridge. The sidewalks were filled to capacity and the bridge pedestrian path was also packed. This led the NYPD to shut down the North side of Delancey, as well as the North, Manhattan-bound, lane of the bridge. These were opened to pedestrian traffic, and were quickly filled.

By early evening, the mood had relaxed a bit and the atmosphere shifted from nervous to more chill. NYC has a way of making the best of these kind of events. A few friends stopped by my apartment and saw me on the fire escape. We walked over the Williamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn.

Walking across the bridge in the North car lane was memorable. It's a perspective you never get when you're in a car. People were hanging out mid-bridge on outcroppings and stairways. Since the police were occupied, many people were enjoying a beer (stores, lacking refrigeration, were eager to unload their remaining cold beverages), and a party-like atmosphere was breaking out.

J/M/Z subway trains were stuck mid-bridge, and lines people were being led out of the ends of trains, and walking along the elevated tracks, all the way to the Marcy Ave station.

That night, I returned to the Lower East Side. Ludlow street was packed with young people and it was a communal, party atmosphere. People were drinking in the streets, bands were performing with acoustic instruments, a drum circle formed on Rivington Street.

Bonfires were set in the middle of some streets. This quickly brought out the police, who shut the party down, fearing riots or looting. People were told to return to their homes.

Power slowly returned to the city. Many areas had power restored the next morning, but the Lower East Side was dark for 24 hours or more.

Here are a few photos I snapped that day.

Crowds heading down Delancey towards the Williamsburg Bridge.

The packed pedestrian/bike path on the Manhattan side of the bridge.

This guy had climbed down a maintenance staircase on the side of the bridge. On a normal day, this would shut down traffic for hours and bring out helicopters and counter-terrorism officers.