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Power slowly coming back in New York

NEW YORK (AP) - The lights started to flicker back on Friday after a massive power outage that shut down the nation's largest subway system, left millions in stifling heat and killed at least one person.

Despite the heat and transportation delays, calm prevailed across New York City, even as police and firefighters dealt with double the normal volume of calls and responded to some 800 elevator rescues and 60 serious fires, most started by candles.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the city's response and compared it with the looting and chaos of a blackout in 1977.

"New Yorkers showed that the city that burned in the 1970s when facing similar circumstances is now a very different place," Bloomberg said.

Power had been restored by Friday morning to sections of all five boroughs, Bloomberg said.

As of midmorning, 1.5 million of 3.5 million Consolidated Edison customers had power restored, spokesman Michael Clendenin said. Most of Staten Island and Westchester County had power back, but some customers who regained power lost it again, or were operating under reduced power, he said.

"I'm really happy to see the lights back on," said Chang Lim, manager of a midtown Manhattan deli who estimated that he had to throw out about $2,000 in yogurt, milk and ice cream products.

Bloomberg said he expected the rest of the city's power to be restored by the end of Friday. Con Ed spokesman Chris Olert stressed that there was no timetable for full power restoration.

Power was restored to the New York Stock Exchange around 6 a.m. Friday and it opened on time at 9:30 a.m., with Bloomberg ringing the opening bell. The Nasdaq stock market was also up and running, but trading was delayed on the American Stock Exchange because the trading floor wasn't air conditioned.

Bloomberg urged people to stay home from work, check on their elderly neighbors and drink lots of water to cope with the heat.

"There are worse things than taking a summer Friday off from work," the mayor said. Gov. George Pataki also encouraged hooky-playing by waiving admission fees Friday to many state parks.

The one death reported was a 40-year-old who suffered a heart attack during a fire, Bloomberg said.

There was no subway service for the morning rush, and only a few trains left Grand Central Station.

But officials said that commuter trains to New Jersey would be operating on normal schedule, some bridges and tunnels would handle traffic as usual and all three major airports would be open. Some buses were running and drivers weren't collecting fares. Limited ferry service was also expected.

Telephone service _ both land lines and cell phones _ remained spotty throughout the city.

Mark Marchand, a spokesman for Verizon, said many of the problematic phones were connected to privately run and powered networks _ for instance, an office building with dying emergency batteries.

Essential city personnel reported to work Friday morning, but others were asked to stay home.

"New Yorkers have a lot to be proud of this morning," the mayor said, adding that emergency personnel "worked incredibly hard to get us through the night safely."

Fearing that terrorists had struck the city for the second time in two years, New Yorkers were relieved when officials quickly ruled out a terrorist attack. The cause of the outage remained under investigation.

Thousands of additional police officers were deployed as the department activated post-Sept. 11 security plans, with helicopters, boats and heavily armed teams of special counterterror officers at city landmarks and other sensitive locations, police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Bloomberg said 10,000 police officers had worked the streets overnight _ about 3,000 extra _ and 3,000 firefighters were on hand.

About 20 people were arrested at a looting incident at a Brooklyn sneaker store shortly before midnight, Kelly said. And there were a handful of arrests following attempted burglaries at other stores.

But the generally mellow city stood in contrast with the rampant lawlessness that followed the 1977 blackout, when property damage estimates were as high as $150 million. Mayor Abe Beame described it as a "night of terror," and the power was out for 25 hours.

This time, the city adapted and overcame most of its problems after the power went out at 4:11 p.m., right before the evening rush hour.

People were stranded in elevators and stuck inside subway trains, and there were tales of extraordinary escapes, including straphangers who climbed to safety from a train stuck on the Manhattan Bridge.

The loss of power left many commuters and visitors sleeping on the sidewalks or wandering aimlessly all night _ even the hundreds who had reservations at the Marriott Marquis. The would-be guests' electronic room keys didn't work because the hotel lacked a generator.