Brief Power Outage in NYC Causes Elevator Entrapments

A brief power outage caused by a high-voltage piece of electrical equipment short circuiting at a Con Edison substation in Brooklyn, NY, shortly before midnight on December 14 caused “serious issues,” including entrapments, for elevator passengers citywide, CBS New York is among outlets to report. Con Edison President Matt Ketschke said up to 10 elevator rescues had to be performed, with elevators at Grand Central and Penn Station particularly affected. The New York City Fire Department released a security guard who was stuck in an elevator at a Brooklyn grocery store for approximately 1 h. Ketschke said such outages are “pretty infrequent events,” and that “we actually have one of the most reliable electrical systems in the U.S.”