West 187th Street between Fort Washington Avenue and Cabrini Boulevard experienced a blackout Wednesday evening. Businesses along 187th Street, the neighborhood's main shopping district, lost electricity around 8:45 p.m. Prior to the blackout, residential buildings in the area had been experiencing brownouts and power surges. At 10 p.m., a faint burning odor was present in the air, suggesting a fire in an underground transformer--the kind of mishap that left Astoria, Queens in the dark for weeks a few years ago.
On Thursday morning, staff of Frank's Market were busy sorting through spoiled food and trying to get back to business. Con Edison trucks lined the street.
The blackout comes at the end of a week-long, late spring heat wave that left residents all over the city sweltering. It also comes as Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg debate the merits of closing the nuclear power plant at Indian Point, which supplies at least 25% of the City's electricity.
Hope there's a good back-up plan!
Blackouts are a good reminder just how wedded to electricity we are.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like a little more perspective on the nuclear situation, my book “Rad Decision: A Novel of Nuclear Power” happens to culminate in an accident very similar to the Japanese tragedy. (Same reactor type, same initial problem – a station blackout with scram.) I've worked in the US nuclear industry over twenty years, so this is an insider talking.
Rad Decision is currently available free online at http://RadDecision.blogspot.com . (No adverts, nobody makes money off this site.) Readers have found it both entertaining and an excellent look at atomic fun for the lay person. See the homepage for comments.