New York City blackout of 1977

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TIME, July 25, 1977

The New York City Blackout of 1977 was a blackout that affected New York City on July 13–14, 1977.

Unlike other blackouts that affected the region, namely the Northeast Blackout of 1965 and the 2003 North America blackout, the 1977 blackout was localized to New York City alone and resulted in city-wide looting and other disorder, including arson.

Contents

1 Cause
2 Effects
3 Aftermath
4 Trivia
5 Cultural references
6 References

Cause

The events leading up to the blackout started at 8:37 p.m. with a lightning strike at Buchanan South, a substation on the Hudson River, tripping two circuit breakers in Westchester County. The Buchanan South substation converted high-voltage electricity from Indian Point to the low voltage kind for commercial use. Due to a loose locking nut and a planned upgrade that had not taken place, the breaker was not able to reclose and allow power to flow again.

Con Ed, the power provider for New York City and some of Westchester County, could not generate enough power within the city and the three power lines that supplemented the city's power were overtaxed. Just after 9:27 p.m., the biggest generator in New York City, Big Allis in Queens, shut down and with it, all of New York City. (Mahler 2005)

Effects

The blackout came at a low point in the city's history, with New York facing a severe financial crisis, and commentators contrasted the event with the good-natured Where were you when the lights went out? atmosphere of 1965. Some pointed to the financial crisis as a root cause of the disorder, others noted the hot July weather. Still others noted that the 1977 blackout came after businesses had closed and their owners went home while in 1965, the blackout occurred during the day and owners stayed to protect their property.

Looting and vandalism were wide spread, hitting thirty-one neighborhoods, including every poor neighborhood in the city. Among the hardest hit were Crown Heights, where seventy-five stores on a five-block stretch were looted and Bushwick, where arson was rampant with some 25 fires still burning the next morning. At one point two blocks of Broadway, the main drag, were on fire. In all, thirty five blocks of Broadway were destroyed: 134 stores looted, 45 of them torched.

In all, 1,616 stores were damaged in looting and rioting. 1,037 fires were responded to, including 14 multiple-alarm fires. In the largest mass arrest in city history, 3,776 people were arrested. Many had to be stuffed into overcrowded cells, precinct basements and other makeshift holding pens. A Congressional study estimated that the cost of damages amounted to a little over US$300 million.

Shea Stadium went dark at approximately 9:30 P.M., in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Lenny Randle at bat. The New York Mets were losing 2-1 against the Chicago Cubs. Jane Jarvis, Shea's Queen of Melody, played Jingle Bells and White Christmas. The game was completed on September 16, with the Cubs winning 5-2.

By 1:45 p.m. the next day, service was restored to half of Consolidated Edison's customers, mostly in Staten Island and Queens. It was not until 10:39 p.m. on July 14 that the entire city's power was back online.

Aftermath

New York City hip-hop historian and enthusiast Shawn G. Chittle (left) with the creator of the record scratch, DJ Grand Wizard Theodore (right) at a hip-hop club in New York City. The t-shirt Chittle is wearing was printed and sold on the streets in 1977 after the blackout. The city's hip-hop scene counts the blackout as the tipping point which hip-hop expanded beyond its South Bronx roots. <sup title=

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New York City hip-hop historian and enthusiast Shawn G. Chittle (left) with the creator of the record scratch, DJ Grand Wizard Theodore (right) at a hip-hop club in New York City. The t-shirt Chittle is wearing was printed and sold on the streets in 1977 after the blackout. The city's hip-hop scene counts the blackout as the tipping point which hip-hop expanded beyond its South Bronx roots. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Mayor Abe Beame accused Con Ed of "gross negligence" but would eventually feel the effect himself. He finished third in the Democratic primary to Ed Koch and Mario Cuomo. Koch would go on to win the mayoral election, due in part to the growing support for the death penalty following the looting.

The heat continued for days after the blackout, reaching 102°F on July 19 and 104°F the next day, the second hottest on record.

The blackout and looting allowed hundreds of street kids to "acquire" DJ equipment: records, microphones, turntables and mixers. Soon, nearly every corner and park had a kid mixing, scratching, rapping, and contributing to the scene. Had it not been for the blackout of 1977, rap music (the most successful element of hip hop culture) would have likely never expanded beyond its South Bronx roots. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Trivia

According to director Richard Donner, cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth mistakenly believed he had caused the blackout by plugging in a spotlight to a lamppost while filming the 1978 film .

It is widely rumored that the birth rate in New York City went up 35% nine months following the blackout in 1977 (suggesting that people had sexual intercourse during the blackout). But this has not been proven and remains an urban legend (even though it was featured on VH1's I Love the 70s episode for 1977).

Cultural references

In a what-if alternate history issue of Conan the Barbarian by Marvel Comics, the blackout is connected to a brief time travel visit of Conan to our times. Peter Parker also makes a cameo.

According to Men in Black (1997), the blackout was a practical joke by "The Great Attractor."

Raymond Stantz knocks out New York City's power while investigating a river of slime in Ghostbusters II (1989).

References

Goodman, James (2003) Blackout New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Mahler, Jonathan (2005) Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning New York: Farrar, Straus and Girous

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