The Latest: Hourslong power outage in New York City resolved

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — The Latest on a power outage in New York City (all times local):

5:50 a.m.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio left the presidential campaign trail in Iowa amid a massive power outage in Manhattan.

Press secretary Freddi Goldstein tweeted just before 10 p.m. Saturday that de Blasio was on his way back to New York City.

Con Edison officials say a substation caused the power failure that began at 6:47 p.m. and affected 73,000 customers for more than three hours in midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side.

De Blasio tweeted emergency management updates and lauded New Yorkers for responding to the blackout “with that trademark NYC grit and toughness.” He was in Waterloo, Iowa, at the time of the blackout, appearing alongside other presidential candidates at a “Passport to Victory” fundraiser.

He was scheduled to appear at the Progress Iowa Corn Feed on Sunday.

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5:25 a.m.

A massive power outage on a hot Saturday night packed the streets of Manhattan with people using cellphones as flashlights amid bumper-to-bumper traffic and a cacophony of sirens and honks.

Con Edison officials say a substation caused the power failure at 6:47 p.m., affecting 73,000 customers for more than three hours along a 30-block stretch from Times Square to 72nd Street and Broadway, and spreading to Rockefeller Center. An investigation will determine the exact cause of the blackout, which New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called “unacceptable.”

The energy utility said power was restored to customers and businesses in midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side was restored by about midnight.

The pre-sunset outage shut down restaurants and Broadway shows and had people scrambling outside in search of waning daylight.

The Associated Press

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