NYC Power Outage Trapped Many in Elevators, Cause Revealed by Authorities

Many areas of New York City experienced a brief but significant power outage early on Friday due to an explosion that occurred overnight at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn, trapping dozens of people inside jammed elevators.

A temporary outage occurred on Thursday soon before midnight, affecting most of the city, according to officials. Con Ed reported that a short circuit occurred in a piece of equipment at the Con Edison Farragut substation on John and Gold streets in Dumbo, causing a power outage that affected the entire five boroughs.

Con Ed claimed that by three in the morning, all customers had their power back. However, the interruption resulted in several issues for New York City.

About ten elevator rescues were carried out throughout the city, according to the Office of Emergency Management. According to the FDNY, between Thursday night and Friday morning, the agency responded to 137 reports regarding blocked elevators, the majority of which included persons inside. According to the representative, fifteen calls regarding blocked elevators are typically received in three hours.

In nine city Housing Authority buildings, elevators failed, according to Zachary Iscol, the commissioner of emergency management.

According to the MTA, two passengers were stuck in elevators within its system, and 178 elevators or escalators were affected.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams also noticed the issue. He said, “I was finishing up a meeting and saw the lights flicker.”