A power outage crippled the tourist-filled heart of Manhattan just as Saturday night Broadway shows were set to go on, sending theatregoers spilling into siren-filled streets, knocking out Times Square's towering electronic screens and bringing subway lines to a near halt.
Electricity was restored to customers and businesses in midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side by about midnight.
John McAvoy, the CEO of energy provider Con Edison, said a problem at a substation caused the power failure at 6.47pm, affecting 73,000 customers for more than three hours along a 30-block stretch from Times Square to 72nd Street and Broadway, and spreading to the Rockefeller Center.
Electricity was restored to customers and businesses in midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side by about midnight.
John McAvoy, the CEO of energy provider Con Edison, said a problem at a substation caused the power failure at 6.47pm, affecting 73,000 customers for more than three hours along a 30-block stretch from Times Square to 72nd Street and Broadway, and spreading to the Rockefeller Center.
