An explosion near Ravenswood, the power plant just across the East River from Roosevelt Island, caused a chain reaction. Momentary power outages radiated as far as Westchester and the Upper West Side in Manhattan.
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Roosevelt Island Daily thanks our friend Sylvan Klein for an early alert.
First reports landed on Twitter shortly after the 8:30 blast on Sunday evening.
Commenters took Esposito to task for calling it a mushroom cloud, but echoes of brief power outages sounded from Bushwick in Brooklyn to Westchester. Everywhere in-between, including Roosevelt Island, got a hit.
“I had flickered lights, and my landline died while I was on it,” reported a Rivercross resident. “My cell and landline service were ‘interrupted’ for about 3-4 minutes, and frankly, I was quite upset.”
She chided her building as well as RIOC for not offering any information, but they weren’t alone.
An explosion near Ravenswood — what was it?
Con Edison said “a brief transmission disturbance.” But, they added, “no customers have lost service as a result of the event.”
That was little comfort for around 300 riders FDNY evacuated from 4 Trains stalled in the Bronx.
An hour after the explosion near Ravenswood, the MTA announced “extremely” limited service on numbered lines. They recommended buses, and that didn’t clear up until midnight.
Although those in the know became those who weren’t clear, the cause was an transformer fire following a manhole cover blow up in the street outside the power plant.
What caused the fire and smoke? Who knows, but the city was clueless.
Late in the evening, a more level headed Governor Kathy Hochul got involved.
“We are in talks with ConEd to determine whether the root cause is related to a power disruption earlier in the evening,” Hochul told AP News.
If Con Edison provides a clear answer, we will get it out to you. But don’t stay up late waiting.
More News from the Roosevelt Island Daily
- 700,000-home housing gap mapped by neighborhoodNYC’s path forward: meeting the 700,000 home housing challenge offers a roadmap for closing the city’s housing gap, with neighborhood-level solutions and coordinated action.
- Building Queens conference on Long Island City developmentLong Island City’s rapid development is driving discussions at the Building Queens conference, where stakeholders will address construction, housing, and the changing skyline.
- NYC Small Business Grant Program Invests $8.4 Million in Local Community OrganizationsNYC launches an $8.4 million small business grant program supporting community-based organizations to empower local entrepreneurs and boost neighborhood commercial corridors.
- Hate-crime charges after Central Synagogue Shabbat disruptionA man was charged with hate crimes after disrupting a Shabbat service at Central Synagogue in Midtown Manhattan. The incident raised concerns about worshipper safety and led to increased police patrols and community care.
- Forest Hills E train threat and Jackson Heights station stabbingTwo recent assaults on Queens subway lines have led to ongoing transit investigations, prompting increased safety measures and community response across key commuting routes.
Still Searching: Transparency Delayed at RIOC
New York’s Freedom of Information Law rests on a basic principle: government records belong to the public unless an agency can identify a lawful reason to withhold them. For Roosevelt Island residents, that right matters because RIOC controls public land, infrastructure, transportation, contracts and development without functioning as a locally elected government.
1 COMMENTS