NY.- A massive power outage has left around 70,000 people without light in much of downtown Manhattan for several hours in which a choir and the cast of Broadway musicals have entertained tourists with impromptu performances on the street.
The blackouts occurred around 7:00 pm (local time), at the same time that several shows had to be canceled, such as the Midtown Theater or the Lincoln Center Plaza. The electricity has been restored at around 23.45 (local time).
The subway stations have had to close and the traffic lights have stopped working, causing thousands of people to have to go outside. “I guess this is what they call a New York moment,” wrote a user of the social network Twitter with a video of a choir singing at sunset.
At Madison Square Garden, the blackout forced an abrupt end to a Jennifer Lopez concert. “Obviously I’m devastated and devastated,” said Lopez, a Bronx native, through Twitter. “I am very sorry that this happened in the middle of our moment, in our show,” he added.
All Broadway theaters have had to close due to the blackout, except the Winter Garden Theater, the Nederlander Theater and the Lyceum Theater, authorities have indicated.
A Twitter user named Anthony has posted a video of the cast of “Hamilton: An American Musical” singing from the windows of the theaters to the crowd. “It was incredible,” he added.
A massive power outage has left thousands of people in the Manhattan neighborhood without light after a transformer explosion that paralyzed the power supply to the subway, the stores and the Broadway theaters.
However, several hours later the utility company has begun to restore service. There have been no deaths or injuries due to the blackout that, according to the authorities, began around 7:00 pm (local time).
“We are moving forward in the process of restoring energy to all customers, hopefully, by midnight today,” said John McAvoy, executive director of public services company Con Edison. More than 70,000 homes and businesses lost power, authorities said.
New York has experienced large-scale blackouts in the past, such as the one that occurred during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 or the widespread blackout of 2003 throughout the northeastern United States that left most of the city without electricity for a day. (Europa Press)
