Authorities say a widespread power shortage in Manhattan has left businesses without electricity, elevators stuck and subway cars stalled.
Power reportedly went out early Saturday evening at much of Rockefeller Center and reached the Upper West Side. NBC Universal editor Lydia Robertson tweeted, “Blackout at Rockefeller Center, NBC! We are running on generators!”
A diner on Broadway at West 69th Street lost its lights, as did other surrounding businesses.
The AMC Lincoln Square 13 movie theater on the Upper West Side had its entire Cineplex evacuated.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority tweeted that there were outages at various underground stations. The MTA is working with Con Edison to determine the cause.
Con Edison did not immediately respond to phone messages from The Associated Press, though they tweeted that 42,000 customers in the Westside of Manhattan are currently without power.
According to the New York City Fire Department, currently addressing a large volume of calls, the loss of power is from 5th Avenue to the Hudson River, and from the West 40s to 72nd Street. They said that the outage was initiated by a transformer fire that started at West 64th Street and West End Avenue.
Many theater productions, such as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Frozen, Moulin Rouge and The Lion King, have been canceled due to the power outage and others are delayed. Broadway World is giving regular updates on the programming schedule.
Several cast members from canceled Broadway musical Hadestown put on an impromptu performance in the street outside the theater for disappointed audience members.
Those attending a Jennifer Lopez concert at Madison Square Garden tweeted that the blackout had occurred inside the arena and it was being evacuated amid safety concerns.
With the power out in Times Square, people took pictures of empty billboards.
New York City Governor Andrew Cuomo has directed a state agency to conduct an investigation into the blackout, saying in a statement that although no injuries have been reported “the fact that it happened at all is unacceptable.” The Department of Public Services will investigate the blackout. According to officials at Con Edison, it should be resolved by midnight.
During the outage, which comes on the anniversary of the 1977 New York City outage that left most of the city without power, local residents and businesses took to social media to share their concern and update the situation.
Blackout at Rockefeller Center, NBC! We are running on generators! pic.twitter.com/GDBqBqxwmP
— Lydia Robertson (@LydiaBBH) July 13, 2019
So this is happening. (Upper West Side, Manhattan) Major Blackout in Midtown – reported on @CitizenApp_NYC https://t.co/GuLXYxr6ys
— Arik Hesseldahl (@ahess247) July 13, 2019
We’re getting reports of power outages in station complexes throughout Manhattan. We’re working to identify causes and keep trains moving. More information to come.
— NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) July 13, 2019
No one allowed in any theatres affected by #nycblackout #njmornings ?@News12NJ? #blackout #nyc pic.twitter.com/nFqtv6qAj7
— Carissa Lawson (@CarissaLawson) July 13, 2019
Very dark here at 30 Rock, but we’re safe. #poweroutage #blackout #poweroutagenyc #blackoutnyc pic.twitter.com/fnTjAeYfLh
— Erica Grow (@Erica4NY) July 13, 2019
.@ConEdison responding to power outages on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. NYPD and @FDNY are continuing to respond to calls in the area, thank you for your patience. Follow @conedison for more information. pic.twitter.com/qI1wRlaM9v
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 13, 2019
We are working to restore power to 42,000 customers primarily in the Westside of Manhattan. We will provide updates as we receive them. Thank you.
— Con Edison (@ConEdison) July 14, 2019
#blackout in Madison square garden pic.twitter.com/JI8Eb5vvUt
— Daniella Belotti? (@Dannicb123) July 14, 2019
@JLo concert at MSG being evacuated bc of power outages pic.twitter.com/dZDqIHDYIn
— Sam Vinograd (@sam_vinograd) July 14, 2019
Power outage in Times Square. No billboards! Wow #nycpoweroutage #Broadway #NYC pic.twitter.com/EuXcL00MJ0
— John Cronin (@HollywoodCronin) July 13, 2019
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.