Another of New York City’s unchanged and ongoing plights continued. Lewis and I intended to take his mother for dinner and a show on Saturday evening. Leaving home in Astoria, I needed to join them in Manhattan. My local subway station—which was closed for six months (due to previous neglect, forcing riders to walk to the next available station)—reopened in October 2018… but was closed yet again, for the 13th time this year.
When the MTA closes a subway station or an entire portion of a line, they might only work on it for a few hours, but they shut it down for the whole weekend. Therefore, on a 90-degree July day, I walked 13 additional blocks to another subway line that could take me into the city. Down in the hot and filthy station, my sweat gathered for 10 minutes until a train arrived. It wasn’t the one I needed, but it was using that track due to “maintenance” on its usual route. Several more minutes until the next train arrived at 7:10pm. Then, it sat in the station.
The conductor announced that an electricity failure had just stopped all trains into the city. It caused a scene like this...
As an experienced New Yorker, I knew what I had to do! Immediately, I sprinted up the stairs, activating my Uber app on my cellphone. For $25, I summoned a car to drive me over the bridge into Manhattan. On my heels, a horde of other people poured onto the sidewalk, trying to hail taxis, summon ride-shares, or giving up and going home.
As my car progressed, I saw station after station emptying a multitude of people up on to the sidewalks! All around us, trains were halted on their elevated tracks.
Thousands of people had to get off trains, leave stations, and deal with being stranded or forgoing their Saturday night plans! It was surreal to see so many people having to navigate to their destinations, having been dumped randomly across Queens County! My driver said that Uber—sensing the increased demand—surged its prices. He regretted accepting my summons, because if he had waited, the same ride would now be double: $50! I told him that such a thought was disgusting. “It’s criminal that Uber is price-gouging people who are already suffering from a mishap. Surging is a rip-off. That’s where taxis are still better, because their metered prices remain steady.” He shut up and drove glumly.
Lewis phoned me to say that our intended restaurant called him to cancel our reservations: they were without power. Arriving in the city, the Upper East Side seemed normal, but after crossing Central Park, all the traffic lights were out. All over, people were emerging from subway stations, not knowing what to do. NYC had another regional blackout!
Apparently, Con Edison’s ineptitude and corrupt antiquatedness allowed a humungous power outage, which extended from Times Square 42nd Street all the way up to 76th Street! Therefore, our performance at Lincoln Center was cancelled. Tens of thousands of theatregoers were ejected from Broadway theatres, because 30 shows and musicals were cancelled. All the digital screens and lights of Times Square were dark. Columbus Circle, Hell’s Kitchen, Hudson Yards, the Theatre District, and the Upper West Side lost electricity: elevators, doctors, apartments, stores, supermarkets, traffic lights, trains, and financial offices at Rockefeller Center doing international deals. Easily, one million people were impacted.
Then, consider that 42nd Street is the hub of all NYC’s subways. With trains unable to move through, Con Ed’s power outage shut down all the trains in the entire city and most boroughs! Even subway lines that don’t use 42nd Street still share tracks/tunnels with those that do, so they were shut down also! (because the MTA is infamously/historically corrupt and uncaring, so they rarely improve infrastructure). At 9pm, the MTA revealed that their entire system was affected by Con Edison's outage. That impacted millions more.
Tourists were extremely frustrated and disappointed. Some were stuck on the subway for a half-hour! Oddly, high-priced Lincoln Center did not seem to have back-up generators, so we abandoned our plans. After 10 minutes, it was clear that the power was not returning (it wasn’t restored for 5 hours, until midnight!). Equally disappointing, during our evening, we didn’t see any policemen directing traffic. Instead, civilians volunteered to do the risky work.
Unable to take the subway—and seeing bus stops jammed with people—we walked north, towards Lewis’ apartment on the Upper West Side.
As an experienced New Yorker, I began calling restaurants in the area until I found one that had electricity; they held a table for us. Walking up Amsterdam Avenue, we passed clueless people sitting in darkened restaurants or standing right outside, not knowing what to do. Clearly, the restaurants weren’t serving customers, but those people just sat there, as if waiting for an angel to tell them where to go. The American government loves such people, because they don’t think “outside the box” and tolerate all the misfortunes that befall them.
In fact, from those darkened restaurants, if you looked up the street, you saw lights at 79th Street! While those people stood around, we walked 10 blocks and dined at Cesca.
The host uncaringly put us at a table in front of the “open kitchen”, which already seemed hot and a bit smokey from the meat being grilled. I nicely asked for a different table, because we were already hot from walking outside. Having spent the whole day in air-conditioning, he was probably tired from carrying menus, so he lied and said that there weren’t any. While going to wash my hands in the restroom, I saw several available tables—in a much cooler part of the restaurant! Catching the host as he walked by, I pointed to the table that I wanted and said, “We just walked 10 blocks in summer heat. You will not seat us—with my boyfriend’s mother—in that hot area. You said that there are no tables, but we will sit at that one, and you will take care of it. Now.” With the look in my eyes, he actually stuttered, and eventually followed us. Lewis’ mother was so thankful and, after that, we had an immensely good time.
Just as I calculated, within 15 minutes, the restaurant was full—over-full—as crowds of people wandered uptown for air-conditioned eateries. Had we lingered, like those people sitting in the dark, we would not have found a place. All the restaurants in the area were packed, as spillover from 40 blocks downtown desperately sought air-conditioning, food, and something to do (without their TV or WiFi). Even when the kitchen got overwhelmed and our courses were delayed, we didn’t mind. We chatted and were very happy. After dessert, we noticed that a bus stop was right outside, so Lewis’ mother took the bus home. He and I returned to my apartment, via a $42 Uber ride.
It’s shameful that Con Edison would never consider a refund for their lack of service, and my $67 transportation cost (in addition to my prepaid MTA subway pass). They naturally figure that people will tolerate their tri-annual failures, as a normal part of doing business in New York City. Lincoln Center did not offer to reschedule the show that we missed. Like Con Ed, they consider it another unavoidable failure that people should just accept. On the News, the Governor and Mayor (whose corruptly running to be the next corrupt President) blamed each other. Neither the politicians nor the Power Authority cared about the millions of people stranded without subways, those without power for their respirators or computers, the tourists, or the taxpayers. The only reason this power failure got more media coverage than the one 6 months ago (that huge 20-minute blue explosion),
is because tourists posted pictures online of a darkened Times Square! See the blue mushroom-explosion here:
https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2018/12/expolsions.html
Regarding a dark Times Square, maybe people finally noticed how ugly it is without the pretty lights that distract them from realizing that it's a dump.
*See what it looks like here: https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2015/11/dont-visit-times-square-nyc.html
For thousands of visitors returning home on Sunday, I’m not sure if they got refunds for their theatre tickets. I asked my friends in Boston, London, Taipei, and Copenhagen if such things occur in their modern cities. Each one told me that such things are unheard of! As it should be. Why should a first-world city like New York—practically the most significant city in the United States (and the wealthiest) have such a crappy power supply, public transportation system, and infrastructure?! It seems like the Soviet Union. Resembling the Soviets, NYC avoided explaining the true cause of the huge power failure… just as they did 6 months ago.
Why is that lack of accountability tolerated. Con Ed is the only utility I know of that actually charges customers $3 to make payments on the phone! They add surcharges and fees for so many things. Whenever they don’t make enough money to satisfy their greed, they add a “delivery surcharge” to everyone’s bill. So, when they fail so prominently (because they don’t upgrade the system and merely syphon the revenue), why is it tolerated? Like much of New York, my neighborhood is littered with unsightly construction areas, because Con Ed ripped up the street pavement… and left it that way. Those projects began two years ago! (after Con Ed’s outdated pipes caused the explosion/destruction of two apartment buildings). They have not finished, yet. Why is that tolerated, as our energy bills increase, each year?
Americans are too apathetic and pathetic. (and NYC’s dopey yet arrogant mayor wants to be president—only because he shows how easily he can be bribed).
In fact, from those darkened restaurants, if you looked up the street, you saw lights at 79th Street! While those people stood around, we walked 10 blocks and dined at Cesca.
The host uncaringly put us at a table in front of the “open kitchen”, which already seemed hot and a bit smokey from the meat being grilled. I nicely asked for a different table, because we were already hot from walking outside. Having spent the whole day in air-conditioning, he was probably tired from carrying menus, so he lied and said that there weren’t any. While going to wash my hands in the restroom, I saw several available tables—in a much cooler part of the restaurant! Catching the host as he walked by, I pointed to the table that I wanted and said, “We just walked 10 blocks in summer heat. You will not seat us—with my boyfriend’s mother—in that hot area. You said that there are no tables, but we will sit at that one, and you will take care of it. Now.” With the look in my eyes, he actually stuttered, and eventually followed us. Lewis’ mother was so thankful and, after that, we had an immensely good time.
Just as I calculated, within 15 minutes, the restaurant was full—over-full—as crowds of people wandered uptown for air-conditioned eateries. Had we lingered, like those people sitting in the dark, we would not have found a place. All the restaurants in the area were packed, as spillover from 40 blocks downtown desperately sought air-conditioning, food, and something to do (without their TV or WiFi). Even when the kitchen got overwhelmed and our courses were delayed, we didn’t mind. We chatted and were very happy. After dessert, we noticed that a bus stop was right outside, so Lewis’ mother took the bus home. He and I returned to my apartment, via a $42 Uber ride.
It’s shameful that Con Edison would never consider a refund for their lack of service, and my $67 transportation cost (in addition to my prepaid MTA subway pass). They naturally figure that people will tolerate their tri-annual failures, as a normal part of doing business in New York City. Lincoln Center did not offer to reschedule the show that we missed. Like Con Ed, they consider it another unavoidable failure that people should just accept. On the News, the Governor and Mayor (whose corruptly running to be the next corrupt President) blamed each other. Neither the politicians nor the Power Authority cared about the millions of people stranded without subways, those without power for their respirators or computers, the tourists, or the taxpayers. The only reason this power failure got more media coverage than the one 6 months ago (that huge 20-minute blue explosion),
is because tourists posted pictures online of a darkened Times Square! See the blue mushroom-explosion here:
https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2018/12/expolsions.html
Regarding a dark Times Square, maybe people finally noticed how ugly it is without the pretty lights that distract them from realizing that it's a dump.
*See what it looks like here: https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2015/11/dont-visit-times-square-nyc.html
For thousands of visitors returning home on Sunday, I’m not sure if they got refunds for their theatre tickets. I asked my friends in Boston, London, Taipei, and Copenhagen if such things occur in their modern cities. Each one told me that such things are unheard of! As it should be. Why should a first-world city like New York—practically the most significant city in the United States (and the wealthiest) have such a crappy power supply, public transportation system, and infrastructure?! It seems like the Soviet Union. Resembling the Soviets, NYC avoided explaining the true cause of the huge power failure… just as they did 6 months ago.
Why is that lack of accountability tolerated. Con Ed is the only utility I know of that actually charges customers $3 to make payments on the phone! They add surcharges and fees for so many things. Whenever they don’t make enough money to satisfy their greed, they add a “delivery surcharge” to everyone’s bill. So, when they fail so prominently (because they don’t upgrade the system and merely syphon the revenue), why is it tolerated? Like much of New York, my neighborhood is littered with unsightly construction areas, because Con Ed ripped up the street pavement… and left it that way. Those projects began two years ago! (after Con Ed’s outdated pipes caused the explosion/destruction of two apartment buildings). They have not finished, yet. Why is that tolerated, as our energy bills increase, each year?
Americans are too apathetic and pathetic. (and NYC’s dopey yet arrogant mayor wants to be president—only because he shows how easily he can be bribed).
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