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Posted: Wednesday, 27 June 2007 6:56PM
Metro-North Service Returns to Normal
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NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Metro-North is getting back on schedule after the power outages forced the trains to operate on a single track. The MTA tells us they have experienced a dip in power supply mostly to lines 4,5,6,E,V, D. WCBS is getting word that 4,5 trains are terminating at the 86th St. station and all other affected trains are running local. All power is back on after affecting 135,000 homes and businesses along New York City's east side from the South Bronx down. Stay with us as we get you the latest information on this situation.
Con Ed says a transformer fire or explosion at the Hells Gate and Bruckner Station may have caused the outge. Lincoln Hospital is operating on an emergency generator.
A brief power outage darkened a large swath of Manhattan and the Bronx this afternoon, knocking out traffic lights and cutting subway service.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was evacuated on one of the hottest days of the year.
Power was restored within about an hour. But that did not stop the city from experiencing some of the chaos it endured during blackouts last year and in 2003.
More than two-thousand visitors had to leave the Met Museum, some sitting on the outside steps in the sweltering heat. Traffic lights up and down the east side of Manhattan and the Bronx were out. The lights went out around Yankee Stadium, and subway and train service was snarled all around the area.
At a Gristede's Pharmacy on the Upper East Side, pharmacist Barry Newman says people came in off the street and bought flashlights, bottled water, candles and ice.
He said ``people stood outside their apartment buildings, looking nervous.
Consolidated Edison spokesman Chris Olert says the outage began at 3:42 p.m. and all power was restored by 4:30 p.m.
The cause was under investigation. Olert says lightning is a possibility.
Con Edison says the blackout affected more than 136,000 customers, or more than a half million people.
The Metro-North commuter railroad, which serves the northern suburbs, had to reduce the number of trains it was using, resulting in delays and crowded trains as the evening rush-hour approached.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg lost power at his private home and at the official mayoral residence that he uses for ceremonial events, both of which are on the Upper East Side.
The power outage was reminiscent of previous summer blackouts that struck New York City.
Last summer, about 174,000 people were affected by a blackout in Queens.
The Public Service Commission issued a blistering report this year, charging the local utility's performance was ``unacceptable and a gross disservice to its customers.''
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© MMVII WCBS 880, All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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