Photo © New York Times

New York City blackout of 1977

Description

The financial crisis, high crime rates, and damage from the blackouts led to a widespread belief that New York City was in irreversible decline and beyond redemption. By the end of the 1970s, nearly a million people had left, a population loss that would not be recouped for another twenty years. To Jonathan Mahler, the chronicler of The Bronx is Burning, "The clinical term for it, fiscal crisis, didn't approach the raw reality. Spiritual crisis was more like it."

Started, July 13, 1977

The New York City blackout of 1977 struck on July 13 of that year and lasted for 25 hours, during which black and Hispanic neighborhoods fell prey to destruction and looting.

Ended, July 14, 1977

Over 3,000 people were arrested, and the city's already crowded prisons were so overburdened that some suggested reopening the recently condemned Manhattan Detention Complex.

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1977 - A Food City supermarket

1977 - A police officer viewed the damage caused by looters

1977 - A protective gate in front of a store on Broadway lies twisted on the street after looting during the blackout

1977 - A view from above shows a fire raging in Brooklyn

1977 - An aerial view of a burning building

1977 - Buildings at Stone Street and Summers Ave. were in flames

1977 - Cops contain suspected looters at Grand Concourse and Fordham Road in the Bronx.

1977 - Manhattan skyline during the blackout

1977 - New Yorkers walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to get around

1977 - Even after the power comes on, a police officer still has to direct traffic

1977 - Firefighters in the Bronx battled flames

1977 - People pictured here hanging out on a police car’s hood.

1977 - People sleep on the floor at the information desk at Grand Central Terminal

1977 - People walk across the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan

1977 - People walked around 34th Street in New York during the power outage

1977 - Police controlled the crowd on a street in Harlem in the aftermath of the power outage

1977 - Power failure caused a blackout, leaving the Manhattan skyline in darkness

1977 - Solomon Altheim, owner of a shoe store at 104th Street and Third Avenue for over 16 years

1977 - Stranded people slept in the lobby at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel

1977 - Headline “The lights go back on”

1977 - Headline “BLACKOUT! Lightning Hits Con Ed System”

1977 - The Manhattan skyline reflects pockets of emergency-generated light

1977 - Working by candle light at the New York Times office

1977 - The Statue of Liberty, which received power from New Jersey

1977 - The streets of midtown Manhattan were practically devoid of people and taxis

1977 - A state of emergency declared

1977 - The subway platform at 50th Street under Rockefeller Center was completely deserted

1977 - This row of stores was robbed and burned during the blackout.

1977 - Blackout '77 - Once More, With Looting

1977 - With just a few lights on from backup generators

1977 - The twin towers of the World Trade Center

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