The blackout occurred on July 13th, not the 7th in 1977. The damage was $300 million, not anywhere near a billion, much less billions. I was in the middle of it that night:
My story of that night - I was at my parents' home from college working at the Hunts Point Produce Market in the south Bronx at the time of the July, 1977 incident. My shift started at 4am, but being the dedicated employee I left my house at midnight to be there to support my employer as I knew others that depended on mass transit wouldn't make it to work. We didn't have power at home so no tv, and I can't recall listening to the radio on the drive in about 12 miles.
Being an immature, and impulsive 19 yo I didn't really think........I just wanted to be there. Obviously there was no artificial light, or traffic signals just the light from the many burning buildings, cars, and debris plies, that had been set aflame. As I neared the market, crossing the drawbridge at the Bronx River I had a helicopter w a giant spot light over head trailing me for bit, until he decided I wasn't a threat.
It turns out the market was closed, but they let me in for my own safety. A couple of us hung out in front of the warehouse, which was covered w steel roll up shutters. We all waited for it to get light out and went home w/out any problems.
Wiki- "The blackout occurred when the city was facing
a severe financial crisis and its residents were terrified by the
Son of Sam murders. The nation as a whole, especially New York City, was suffering from a protracted
economic downturn, and commentators have contrasted the event with the good-natured "
Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?" atmosphere of 1965. Some pointed to the financial crisis as a root cause of the disorder; others noted the hot July weather, as the East Coast was in the middle of a brutal
heat wave.
Still others pointed out that the 1977 blackout came after businesses had closed and their owners had gone home, while in 1965, the blackout occurred in the late afternoon/early evening and many merchants were still at their properties. However, the 1977 looters continued their illegal activities into the daylight hours of the next day.
[5]
Looting and
vandalism were widespread in New York City, hitting 31 neighborhoods. Possibly the hardest hit were
Crown Heights, where 75 stores on a five-block stretch were looted and damaged, and
Bushwick, where arson was rampant, with some 25 fires still burning the next morning. At one point, two blocks of
Broadway in Brooklyn, which separates Bushwick from
Bedford-Stuyvesant, were on fire. Thirty-five blocks of Broadway were destroyed: 134 stores looted, 45 of them also set ablaze.
Thieves stole 50 new
Pontiacs from a
Bronx car dealership. In Brooklyn, youths were seen backing up cars to stores, tying ropes around the stores' grates, and using their cars to pull the grates away, then looting the stores. There were 550 police officers injured in the mayhem, and 4,500 looters were arrested.
[5]
Mayor
Abe Beame spoke during the blackout about what citizens were up against during the blackout and what the costs would be.
We've seen our citizens subjected to violence, vandalism, theft, and discomfort. The Blackout has threatened our safety and has seriously impacted our economy. We've been needlessly subjected to a night of terror in many communities that have been wantonly looted and burned. The costs when finally tallied will be enormous.
[9]
During New York's 2003 blackout,
The New York Times ran a description of the blackout of 1977:
Because of the power failure, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports were closed down for about eight hours, automobile tunnels were closed because of lack of ventilation, and 4,000 people had to be evacuated from the subway system. ConEd called the shutdown an "act of God," enraging Mayor Beame, who charged that the utility was guilty of "gross negligence."
[10]
In all, 1,616 stores were damaged in looting and rioting. A total of 1,037 fires were responded to, including 14
multiple-alarm fires. In the largest
mass arrest in city history, 3,776 people were arrested. Many had to be stuffed into overcrowded cells, precinct basements and other makeshift holding pens. A congressional study estimated that the cost of damages amounted to a little over $300 million (roughly equivalent to $1.5 billion in December 2023).
[11]
In addition to the massive looting and violence that had accompanied it, there were four homicides. Three people died in the over a thousand fires set during the blackout, and in Brooklyn, a drugstore owner gunned down a man who was brandishing a crowbar at him while leading 30 youths past the store's security fence.
[2]"
