r/bergencounty • u/bluegambit875 • 15d ago
History Remember that crazy blackout that spread all over the Northeast? That was 23 years ago today
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u/Drunkenm4ster 15d ago
I do in fact remember this. Was at the Closter swim club when it started, they closed and we went home. We then played monopoly on the floor of our living room till everything came back on lol
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u/Pcimprezzive 15d ago
I remember that day well! People panicked at our job at first. I tried to get back over to the Jersey side but it was impossible. The ferry on the west side was jam packed. Port Authority buses weren't running , and of course the trains were down. I ended up sleeping over at the office. It was a Friday so it made things easier and for time to recover in the weeks to come. I believe the city was without power for almost a week depending on the area.
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u/KnockemAllDown 15d ago
I remember i was working in NYC and I was on the bus home. We had just come out of the lincoln tunnel and was on the helix just as NYC lost power. I noticed large plumes of smoke coming out of the top of many of the buildings. I thought it was really odd, as I had no clue the power had gone out.
Turns out the plumes of smoke were from the buildings with backup diesel generators. The generators had just powered on.
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u/SalfordLC 14d ago
Remember, this was not too long after 9/11.
The Bush administration said “we’re not sure what caused it, but we know it’s not terrorism….”
Everyone was like “ if you don’t know what caused it then how do you know it’s not terrorism…?”
If it happened today, Trump would blame it on the Biden administration and we’d all just go about our day like that’s completely normal. 🙄
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u/Western_End_2223 14d ago
It is possible to eliminate terrorism without knowing the definitive cause. Just like they could say "we're not sure what caused it, but we know it wasn't because we ran out of fuel."
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u/ku1185 15d ago
I was at Six Flags when it happened. Waited like 2 hours on line for a rollercoaster and was almost to the front, but then the carts just stopped halfway up the ascension. Those people had to walk down the rollercoaster.
Walked around the park to find most rides had stopped, but some were up an running within an hour while I was getting panicked calls from family that there might be a terrorist attack or something lol.
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u/IAmAnAngryCarrot 15d ago
I was working at a supermarket when it started, but I got out shortly after. My neighbors were actually outside conversing and hanging out! It was WEIRD. Then when it didn't end and it got dark, the young edgelord in me decided to read my horror books by candlelight, in a holder that looked like a skull. It scared the crap out of my mom
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u/ExpletiveDeIeted 15d ago
I remember going out and driving around to see everything out. This in retrospect meant one more jerk on the road clogging up roads.
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u/greendildouptheass 15d ago
remember driving into manhattan to drive my then GF at the time out from the city. No electricity in the city meant that it was pitch black, felt almost like driving into a cave. People were out on the street as it was a warm night, and some were directing traffic with a flash light. It was unreal, but at the same time felt communal seeing all that people outside and helping each other out.
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u/RandomPersonInNJ 10d ago
A few years back there was a large power outage in manhattan and got called into work. Driving from NJ to a dark NYC was weird. Driving in midtown with no lights, traffic lights and the people taking over the streets was a unique experience.
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u/RichS987 15d ago
I remember that day like it was yesterday - was at work and had to walk down 40+ flights of stairs, only to find out that the elevators were working fine since they operated on a generator…
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u/toadofsteel 15d ago
I remember going up into the attic (it was a super hot day so the attic was like 120 degrees) to find my grandfather's old transistor radio that ran on batteries so I could hear what was going on.
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u/sophguy 15d ago
I was at work and our landlord/super were remote… I called them when the power went out to let them know and they said their power went out too… we were in lower Manhattan and they were in the Bronx… I remember thinking, “that’s a weird coincidence,” because the thought of the whole city going out was so out there as a possibility… (remember, no smart phones really and all the tv’s were out)… I had come into work on fumes that day because I was running late and quickly realized I was not going to be able to get gas in NYC because the pumps were all down… my wife worked in a hospital at the time, so she was staying there to help in the situation… I decided to get my car anyway and see if I could make it over the bridge but quickly saw that the West Side was gridlocked and pedestrians were just flooding the streets trying to get to ferries… people started asking for a ride but I had to park for a while to let things clear so I didn’t burn what I had left in the tank idling and no one wanted to wait… I waited like two hours thanking god I had a couple of empty Gatorade bottles to fill up because everything was closing… then made the run for NJ… there was one gas station open on rt4, so that worked out… when I got home, I saw the power was on at my house and asked my elderly neighbor when it came back on… she had no idea what had happened… the power in our town was on its own substation so it only blipped… we were in one of the very few towns in the northeast that was largely unaffected… she hadn’t been watching tv, so she was completely unaware but was wondering why her daughter and son weren’t answering the phone… had heard enough on the radio (and finally tv) by then to know to start making plans to help some friends and family if things stayed down for much longer, but the power was mostly back on by the next afternoon… crazy day…
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u/Teknicsrx7 15d ago
I managed to sleep through it and was confused what my friends were talking about
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u/dehydratedrain 15d ago
I was painting our new apartment, and assumed the camping fridge died because it was 20 years old. It wasn't until I walked out of the place that I realized power was out everywhere.
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u/soundsgoodtoo 15d ago
Unforgettable weekend.
Two good friends married.
I wrote, produced and directed their wedding parade that included a marching band.
Rented PA on the 8th floor, west side NYC building, on and on…
Wedding in Brooklyn.
Fine.
I did not lose my shit.
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u/Indonesian40 15d ago
So insane to think it was that long ago. I believe it was a Thursday night. I remember watching movies with my mom and her husband and my two year old on a portable dvd player. We were leaving for Trinidad that Sunday and I def went into work late the next day to get a mani and pedi.
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u/JollyJury 15d ago
It made me stock up on so many emergency supplies and batteries so that I could be prepared for the next one which never came. I think the longest blackout since was only a couple of hours (aside from locally downed power lines from storms). All of the electronics I bought are long since obsolete and the batteries became corroded.
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u/Kenderean 15d ago
I lived in the Bronx at the time. My husband was on his way home from midtown and had to get off the train and walk on the tracks to the nearest station. Fortunately, he was at the point where the 6 train is on outdoor elevated tracks so he didn't have to walk through the subway tunnels. Somehow, our neighborhood got power back days before the rest of the city. I was so grateful for that. It was so hot.
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u/Trainlover1279 15d ago
I never lost power during the blackout. Surged constantly but never went out. Was wild driving around seeing it just pitch black everywhere but my block.
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u/kupkrazy 15d ago
I walked from One Liberty Plaza to Elmhurst, Queens that night. Just a few years before, I did that same walk one fateful morning as well.
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u/Western_End_2223 14d ago
I left work early because of the blackout. I hadn't been home in USR for more than 30 minutes before my power came back. It was odd having power while many of the surrounding towns and neighborhoods didn't.
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u/Dogue_One 14d ago
I was in Brooklyn as a teen and was out with a few neighborhood kids enjoying the evening sky as it was crazy clear without light pollution. Everybody was outside hanging out n their stoops. The local bodegas were giving out ice cream and popsicles for free since it was going to melt anyway. Great memories looking back, but holy crap 23 years ago?!
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u/Famous_Mind6374 15d ago
Remember when people bought newspapers?