great story, here's another. my roommate was also on a bus, but he was around 66th street when the blackout hit. since the subways were out, he asked his driver to give him a lift to 108th. and since all the kids were dropped off safely, they had a big yellow school bus with no one in it. Lonnie then loaded up his bus with strangers who couldn't get uptown and started driving up Central Park West. my roommate would shout out a stop, then a few people would get off per stop. then more people would get on, it was great. my roommate got off at 108th, and Lonnie still had a busload of happy strangers. also, I thought it was cool that civilians were directing traffic. every intersection in all five boroughs out of commission, and people of the neighborhood would chip in to do their part. good stuff. after 9/11, I guess this was just another day in New York!
I know many people had it bad, but we had an amazing night due to the blackout. I had just gotten home from seeing Seabiscuit with some friends when the power went out, and only one of my roomies was home. As more began to trickle in, rumors were going around the neighborhood that this was widespread...at one point people were saying it was out all over the US, Canada, and that Britain and Paris were out as well. But gradually the rumors solidified into parts of Canada and the eastern US, so everyone calmed down. And everyone was out on their porches or walking around the neighborhood, chatting. It reminded me of that Simpsons where the tv gets cut, and Springfield is transformed into a Capra-esque happy town...people were happy and friendly. When we went to the store, the traffic was bad, but before the cops arrived private citizens were standing in intersections directing traffic, and everyone was co-operating...people from stores were going around handing out free bottles of water to people stuck in traffic or walking by, and stories came in of people biking/hiking out to the highways, which were crawling at best, to bring free coolers full of water bottles for stranded drivers. This positive feeling continued as the girls and I wandered down to some restaurants to see what if anything was still working, and the Thai place was going full bore, as they were all on gas. We got a bunch of Thai food, and came back and ate out back with the neighbors, and later they got a bonfire going ( they have a pit) and we sat around chatting, drinking, and eating until about 11 when we all decided to take our beers for a walk, and wandered around the neighborhood for a couple of hours by moonlight...that was the best. The 4th largest city in North America, and it was pitch black except for the moon, which was really amazingly bright when you remove electricity...but everyone was out wandering and socializing and people were sitting on their porches with candles...these two girls had pails of ice cream they had just bought that day, and as we went by they offered us some, so the 7 of us joined in, and stayed on their porch for a while...the whole thing reminded me a bit of a darker, quiter version of post championship celebrations; streets full of happy people all greeting each other as if they knew one another... It was one of the best nights I've had in a while...the same feeling I get during severe stoms; that of community and shared experience with a heightened apprecitation of your surroundings was evident everywhere, and it was special in this case because everyone was out feeling the same thing. We never saw one single problem, and everyone was friendly and happy. Then just after we got back the power came back on, and it was the perfect ending to a great night. I feel terrible for those who suffered, but for us it was amazing.
I don't like New York. I hate the entire Eastern Seaboard. I don't Hate it, but ... I hate it. If ya know what I mean. Actually, I don't know what I mean. I think it's the Yankee effect. You hate the Yanks cause they are the Yanks. Have I been to New York. No. Would I like to go? Yes. And a Hell Yes I would like to go. In fact, I would love to see a Knicks game at the Garden against any team, including the Clippers. Atleast I know the Clippers would have a chance to win. You're a great poster, I am glad you're power is back and all, and to everybody in the east, and Detroit, and Cleaveland, our friends in the North, glad their power is back so they can post. So it's all. good.
WooooooHooooooooooooooooo Its been a hot and frustrating day but now I am here and here's my story After my longest absence on this board, you probably noticed if you went to my soon to be dead hangout "arena forum" and noticed that I havent posted there in a while. Well I am back and on live again after one of the weirdest days of my life. I was back in New York, my old stomping grounds on Flatbush Ave and Linden visiting family. My 22nd Birthday was on the 13th and so they wanted me to spend it close to family. I was in Midtown visiting some friends that day and was on my way there. I hopped the Broadway Line. Soon into the ride, the whole damn Train went DARK! As naturally, everyone sat there expecting the lights to flicker on back to life and for some evac plan to take place to get us out of here like usual. But minutes passed and soon there was panic and chaos. I thought the MTA had some sort of evac plan for these types of occurances, especially after 9/11, so I sat there waitng for some announcement. Nothing. After a couple of minutes, me and some of the other commuters decided to try and bust open the old metal doors of the train, as it started to become stuffy and very HOT. The damn thing wouldnt budge one bit. Soon after, we heard voices in the tunnel along with lights. Help was on the way. Of all things I see coming to help us, A DAMN ABC 7 NEWCAM. My one shot at TV and I look a mess, hot sticky and sweaty. After what seemed like to be forever, the doors are finally opened and we commuters are let out of our hot stuffy TOMB. We climbed up an emergency hatch at 52nd St and 7th AVE. Once on the street, I begin to realize something is VERY WORNG. I remember something mentioned about a blackout from ABC 7 newsgirl Jenn Maxfeild, but I had no Idea what to expect. The last blackout was in 77' There is no way it could HAPPEN AGAIN. Not with all of today's technology. But once on the street, I see chaos. People in the streets where they shouldnt be, street lights OFF, ALL LIGHTS OFF, Traffic everywhere. And there's an unusal "buzz" in the air. So I decide to get on the cell and contact someone, ANYONE. The only person I can reach is my cousin in Weehawken. Service was very spotty, but I reached him on his cell. He tells me to head to the west side and catch the ferry over to Jersey. With me NOT being able to reach anyone, I decide to take him up on his offer. So I make the trek to the ferry terminal, only to reveal the BIGGEST LINE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN HISTORY. It literally spilled on to 38th St. It looked like a scene out of Mardi Gras, people everywhere. So I try to fight my way up the line for hours. By 7:30 I realize this is hopeless as people are jumping the white fences, doing anything to get ahead in the line, while I move no where. Tired, Frustrated, Hot I begin to realize that I'm not makin it out of the city tonight. I overhear that people are beginning to head to Penn Station where an inpromptu block party is going on. So I head there seeking to have a little fun out of all of this. Once at Penn, I see the place is kind of hectic as usual, but no block party!?! But then I catch a glimpse of the stairs at the front of the main post office, which has becom a GIANT URBAN campground! For a little while, the place is actually festive, like a carnival, with frustrated commuters taking out there frustrations on the BOTTLE. You know what that will lead to. It turns into a giant karoke session for a little while. But then everyone including myself gets tired and we all pass out on the steps. The next morining, I am awakened by a DAMN NBC 4 CAMERA'S LIGHT, which is in my face as it films the scene at the post office. The new day reveals that nothing has changed much. We recieve word that power service has been fully restored to Staten Island, but who the **** GIVES A CARE ABOUT STATEN ISLAND. But train servise is down and wont be up in time for the commute home. There is no word on the busses, and I dont hear the buss service is FREE until I reach home later. I just want to go home. So I just begin to wonder around, heading toward the Brooklyn Bridge where I can take the old wooden path atop the road deck across to Brooklyn. But as I am headed there I see a welcome sight. A FLAT BED TRUCK TURNED TAXI, LOADED WITH PEOPLE. I dont know if anyone saw this thing on the local tri-state news, but this became my ride home Every stop this driver made, he was showered with gifts. Adn as for the ride itself, fantastic, except for the occasional pot hole. But I have never longed for or enjoyed a cool breeze as I did this time. The streets this morning looked deserted, almost like a ghost town. The B.Q.E. and VAN WYCK WAS VIRTUALLY EMPTY. One guy next to me said, this would have been the best commute he ever had here, except he wasnt driving. He was on the flat bed like the rest of us. After nearly 24 hours of chaos and frustration, I finally made it A WELCOME home, to my Aunts place on Lefferts AVE, where the power has been restored. But now I have a new problem. How do I get home back to Houston? Word is all flights at LGA are cancelled, and service out of JFK is "iffy" due to power problems. And as for EWR, after taking a whole day to get to soem place comfortable, I am skeptical about traveling throught the city to get to Newark during a time like this. I dont want to be trapped in the city again. I just want to go home. How did anyone else in the TRI-STATE area or any other place effected by the blackout survuve? Let me know, I am eager to hear all of the stories. And KAM, dont hate; APPRECIATE the New York State of mind!
Just one more thing mishii, accross110thstreet, any other tri-state area based posters....... Did any one of you guys pass by the main post office aka urban campground. I just want to know if I might have run into any BBSers during all of this. Another thing I thought was really cool about this whole Blackout....... Did any NY BBSers pass by any local bars. I thought it was really cool how some bars stayed open through the night serving hot and thristy customers. The one's I went to had candle lights on the tables and around the bar to light up the place. Ahh..........How romantic! It would have been a perfect place ot propose to that special someone. That wast just so damn cool though. I also got a kick out of the Post's headline for this one "Disaster takes Apple's Juice" One more thing, Hey Smeg This would have been the perfect time to take the world tour through NY. Imagine all the fun you could have had. You could have joined us at the post office as we sang old Pearl Jam songs and slept on the streets. Imagine being at a candle lighten bar with that special someone........a young HOT blonde in her 20's who is a successful lawyer, rich and SINGLE! And imagine how much fun you missed out on the FLAT BED TRUCK RIDE. You really missed out this time. Oh well, I guess your gonna have to wait 20 years for the next episode of the good ole' NY blackout!
Just to give you a brief idea of what I did through the blackout here are some photos, curtesy of NY local media outlets. But I am not in these photos, I think. one of the train rescues, not sure what line AHH.......FREEDOM. Watch out for the live line. Civilians become traffic cops The line at the West side ferry I tried to take Time square as night is falling More Mardi Gras at Time Square The streets at night (Time Square) Where I had to sleep The steps aka...........somewhere to sleep. Still looking for a pic of the FLAT BED TRUCK I took home. It was on ABC 7, but NJ Burkett said it was home video. but here's an example of one
That blackout was just annoying! No water could flow so as a result the toilet couldn't be flushed for over 18 hours (you get the picture there) I just ended up stealing my nephew's Spongebob DVD, plugging the DVD player into the cigarette lighter in the van, and watching Spongebob for 3 hours before I went to sleep.
Yeah, that's what happend to us when Claudette hit and we had no power, except it was for like a week. It smelled like 10 things died in the bathroom when we finally got power back. BTW, good to see some of the NY BBS posters are ok and stuff.
My power in Queens came on about 5:30pm Friday. It took forever. Anyway, I'm just glad the Team USA Exhibition at MSG is moved to Sunday. I'll try to take pics.
I'm out in wetsern NY(Jamestown). I'm proud to report my power was only out for 5 hours. It did flicker off and on for like 5 minutes before it went out though.
After much reasearch, I've finally found it. This FLAT BED TRUCK looks exactly like the one that gave me a ride. I cant tell if I'm in the pic cuz he damn thing is so blurry. But this was my ride home.
Hey, everyone. I also live in NYC, and I'm just now finding my way back to power and back to the BBS. (Technically, my power was restored yesterday evening, but by then I was drunk and in other parts of the city. This morning I awoke in my bed to this wonderful sensation called air conditioning). Tigereye, that's an incredible story--you had to fight through far more trials and tribulations than me. I was also in the subway when the blackhout hit. But I got lucky----the 6 train had just pulled into the Bleeker street station. Literally seconds before or after and I would have been screwed. For a while I just milled around Washington Square Park, making friends with random strangers. As Across110 and others have pointed out, it was an incredible feeling of community and togetherness. Around 8:30, I realized that the power would not go on that night and I should think about walking home. Which was 90 blocks to the upper east side. Here's the great thing: I was coming from the gym---I had already ran several miles and lifted weights. Plus, I was carrying my 30 pound backpack that had my laptop, change of clothes, books, etc. In Union Square, I paused to watch an impromptu concert. The usual drum-based street performers were out, but this time they had an eager audience in the hundreds. People were shining flashlights and glow-sticks; it felt more like a rave than a blackout. Standing next to me was a blonde woman who was drop-dead gorgeous. Tall and slender with spectacular cheek bones and large blue eyes. I started chatting with her, and as luck would have it she lived near me. Her name was Susan. So we took off together, determined to treat this as a wacky adventure. We strolled through the city, marveled at the city's comraderie, soaked in the stars, and more or less exchanged life stories. When we got to our neighborhood, we stopped in a Spanish restaurant and shared a pitcher of sangria. This woman's incredible. I got out on many, many, dates----almost all of them bad. This sounds terrible, but normally I get bored of a girl pretty quickly and struggle with how to break things off. I rarely fall for a girl. This girl, though, Susan, she shook me off my game and rattled my senses. She used to be a ballet dancer, she's well-versed in the arts without being pretensious about it, she has a spirited sense of humor----in short, she's the coolest girl I've met in over a year. I would like to conclude by saying that I spent the night at her place, but, alas, maybe next time. We exchanged contact info and made plans to go out again. And I lugged my 30 pound backpack up thirty flights of stairs to my apartment. Sorry for the rambling post. One of those things you just have to share. It was a magical night, one I won't soon forget.
