| New York City Blackout Of 1977 |
Article Index for New York |
Limousines in New York |
Website Links For New York |
Information AboutNew York City Blackout Of 1977 |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT NEW YORK CITY BLACKOUT OF 1977 | |
| 1977 in the united states | |
| blackouts | |
| 1977 | |
| history of new york city | |
| blackout of 1977 | |
| urban decay | |
|
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 . 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 Breaker s 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. , 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 at 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. 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 (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.]] 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: Record s, Microphone s, Turntable s and Mixer s. 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. TRIVIA
CULTURAL REFERENCES
REFERENCES
|
|
|