Taken from 38th Street and 20th Avenue (Photo: Jamie-Faye Bean)
Dec. 27, 2018 By Meghan Sackman
Authorities are investigating a transformer explosion at a Con Edison plant in Astoria that took place at around 9:15 p.m. on Thursday.
Residents in Queens and Long Island– and even as far away as New Jersey–saw a teal blue color light up the night sky due to an electrical surge at the plant, with many experiencing power outages as a result.
According to the NYPD, the explosion–and fire–has since been placed under control at the 20th Avenue Con Edison substation, and the 114th Precinct called on people to stay away from 20th Avenue and 31st Street.
There has been no reported damage to nearby homes, and no injuries have been reported.
The transformer explosion, which caused a transmission dip in the area, even forced LaGuardia Airport to temporarily shut down. Service on the 7 line also temporarily halted due to the explosion, which caused power to be cut between Main St and Mets-Willets Point.
The number of power outages continued to rise while authorities responded to the explosion, with New York Emergency Management asking residents to call 911 if they experience a full power outage.
New York officials including Mayor de Blasio and Astoria Council Member Costa Constantinides took to twitter to update citizens.
“There are no air quality concerns for Astoria following the ConEd transformer blast, according to several agencies at the scene,” wrote Constantinides.
By around 11:20 p.m., power lines serving the area were back in service, Con Edison said.
The cause of the transformer explosion, police said, was determined to be a non-suspicious equipment malfunction, police said.
SEE IT: closer footage of the transformer explosion in Queens. pic.twitter.com/mf8HUSeWCu
— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) December 28, 2018
Featured Events
11 Comments
The Amazonians signaled to their homeworld that they succeeded in getting permission to build HQ2 in LIC and that their plans to conquer earth is going well.
None of the news coverage – TV or radio – seems to include the fact that some cell tower(s) must have been knocked out by this incident. I rely on Verizon Wireless (ever since Verizon proper allowed the underground copper wiring for my true land line to deteriorate and did not offer FIOS on my block) and, since transformer fire, cell service has been almost non-existent for phone calls. This could be dangerous for me (and, presumably, for others in the same situation.) It is impossible for me to get Verizon Wireless’ attention or an answer to my query (which I managed to express in a “Chat” with customer service) as to what the company is doing about it. NYC’s 311 service (reached from my almost-never-used Spectrum cable phone line) was no help, either. My cell phone still seems to send and receive text messages, but text from Verizon Wireless all seem to be of the “do not reply” type.
I thought the Mets had won a game.
Glad I wasn’t the only one who thought it was an alien invasion.
I was never so scared in my life….alien ship above us or a nuclear bomb explosion!!!!
That explosion, and the “surge” that followed it, killed my poor old TV. Although I could get the cable box working again…with the help of Spectrum, over the phone, my TV wasn’t so lucky. I think Con Ed is responsible for paying for another TV for me, since that’s the last thing I can afford right now…and it’s their fault that this happened!
If it’s the last thing you can afford why do you have cable TV to begin with ?
Wow! I thought Dick Cheney had authorized 9/11 part 2.
Based on how big the issue is, I don’t see what sense it makes to bring aliens into it at all. It literally could have been worse, especially for those who depend on electricity to keep their medical devices working as a way to avoid death. I’m sorry to say this, but only the United States can exhibit itself as a cesspool of heathens for something like that, and if no one understands the reasoning behind the statement, it may be time to reconsider yourself.
Are you serious? How does someone thinking that it could possibly be aliens equate to them being a heathen? You are ridiculous, get over yourself.
Hospitals have extensive contigency plans in the event of a real electricity outage, weirdo.