Good afternoon, all. Two posts today. I KNOW.
But I totally forgot about something- it's the tenth anniversary of the New York blackout, and man do I remember that.
I was working at a Broadway ad agency and up on the 36th floor of 1515 Broadway (the MTV building on Times Square) when the lights went the fuck OUT. After 9/11, we were all a little itchy in New York- needless to say, the lights going out and Times Square going dark, albeit in the afternoon, was a real moment of panic for all of us. Once we found out (and it was quick) that terrorism was not at play, we started cursing the energy grid and hoofed it down 36 flights, which is way better than hoofing UP 36 flights I suppose.
Down I went to Times Square and walked all the way home to Soho. In typical New York fashion, people were cracking jokes, helping each other, and getting through it. I remember David telling me he walked all the way down to Soho from his midtown office next to Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It was a super hot day too- and as I crossed Houston Street and was close to home, I have a wonderful memory of Le Pescadou, which used to be on Sixth Avenue and was a fabulous local hangout, giving out free cocktails because what else would you do in a blackout when everything would otherwise go bad and all of that ice would melt? Genius. I remember having a few Spalding Grays (the house drink) and enjoying the buzzy camaraderie of my fellow Manhattanites. Many came in for a cold beer after walking blocks from work. It was a great neighborhood moment- and though Soho is more designer theme park than artist enclave now, it's still very much a neighborhood and I feel lucky to have lived there until we left for Miami. So many fond memories there. That's one of them.
As night fell and the humidity rose, the party really began. The only food available was pizza (brick ovens, no electricity required) and the line at Ben's was around the block. We happily ate in the dark and I happily continued drinking, alone. David fell asleep as he does, leaving me to sit in the darkness, pace in the heat, and try to cool off with intermittent showers and glasses of wine. Little did I know that across town, there was a full on party going on in Tompkins Square Park- with dancing, revelry, and awesomeness. There were no real incidents, and little did we know that many years later, most of Manhattan would yet again go dark, this time due to a hurricane. It's a weird thing when Manhattan is free of light- there's still so much energy happening but it's contained- I feel like the blackout was more of a celebration of all of us coming together, while the hurricane blackout felt frantic, panicked, and sinister. There was not a lot of partying going on as people lost their homes, and some lost their lives. A blackout we can handle. (Just don't let it happen again). A catastrophic natural disaster? Terrible beyond words.
But back to the blackout. I remember that next morning so well- we woke up hot as hell, and sauntered our sweaty butts around downtown trying to cool off by eating popsicles paid for with limited funds (no ATMs) on shady stoops. After wandering for most of the day, we retreated to our (very) hot fifth floor walkup, and when all hope was lost, the power magically came on, and the a/c sputtered to life. And all was wonderful again. I'll never forget that feeling of going through yet another event with my beloved city- though you can't compare a blackout to 9/11 it was another bonding moment for me with this town I once again call home, and I'll never forget the wry resolve of all of us as we waited for the lights to come back on.
And though this city has become even harder to live in than 10 years ago (the provenance of the 1% for certain), I once again look forward to the lights coming on (new mayoral regime), but while we're still in the dark, I'll raise my glass to all my mad ones living here in New York- we go through shit together and we always come out shining. I feel blessed to be back here- ten years later I can look back with pride and fondness and know that this is once again my city, that we will always come together, and that nothing can take away our ability to get on with it. On this 10th anniversary of darkness, I put my lighter up to you, my love. My New York.
Cause that's what's up this I love New York in the light and dark kind of blackout anniversary in the 212. XO