Manhattan blackout of July 2019

The power outage commenced around 6:47 p.m. EDT, leaving 73,000 customers in Manhattan's West Side without power for about three hours. It affected six power sectors and encompassed an approximately 30-block area in Midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side, from Times Square to 72nd Street, and from Fifth Avenue to the Hudson River. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reported that the entire New York City Subway system was affected by the outage. The MTA closed four Manhattan subway stations: , , , and . All of the subway's numbered routes suffered extensive delays. Limited service was available on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (1, 2, and 3 trains) on Manhattan's west side, the IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4, 5, 6 trains) on Manhattan's east side, and the IRT Flushing Line (7 train) between Manhattan and Queens. Areas affected by the outage included Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and Broadway theatres. Performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center were also cancelled. However, some performers from the canceled shows entertained audiences on the sidewalks outside the theaters. The blackout also canceled a Jennifer Lopez concert at Madison Square Garden. Drivers were stuck in a traffic jam on the West Side Highway when the streetlights went out. ==Causes==

The outage was initially reported as being possibly due to a manhole explosion; the existence of the explosion was verified by New York State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. The New York City Fire Department, New York City Police Department, and NYC Emergency Management agency were dispatched to 65th Street and West End Avenue in response to the incident. In the early stages of the incident, Con Edison attributed the outage to a mechanical failure that it felt could be resolved relatively quickly, but did not give an estimate for when power would be restored. ==Restoration of service==

Around 10:00 p.m. EDT, July 13, 2019, power was partially restored to Times Square and Hell's Kitchen. By 10:30 p.m., five of the six electric networks were restored. By 2:00 a.m., subway lines through Midtown Manhattan, namely the IND Eighth Avenue Line (A, C, and E trains), IND Sixth Avenue Line (D, F, M trains), and IRT lines (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 trains), had resumed service in both directions. ==Aftermath==

No injuries or fatalities were reported during the outage. Governor Cuomo was critical of the power failure, calling it "unacceptable" due to the breadth of the outages, as well as in light of previous problems with power substations. He called for an investigation by New York's Department of Public Service to identify the cause of the outages, and "prevent an incident of this magnitude from happening again". However, Cuomo praised the response of the city's population, saying via Twitter, "When things are at their worst, New Yorkers are at their best, and they were at their best tonight." ==See also==