Sunday we closed up shop early and headed home to brace ourselves for what the media promised would be one of the worst hurricanes in over a hundred years. We stockpiled supplies and hoped for the best.
Monday we got hit with a torrential downpour and super fast winds as we watched the news to follow for updates.
Around 9pm we saw flashes of light from the sky unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and everything went black.
Today we learned that the lights and blackout were the result of a massive explosion at a Con Edison powerplant just ten blocks from our HQ.
Fast forward to 6am on Tuesday morning after a sleepless night with no lights, water or heat.
Streets are abandoned.
Headed down towards Avenue A. The Outpost was safe but Tompkins square park had some heavy damage.
Union Square, normally home to farmers markets and tourists taking pictures is completely empty except for the hundreds of Con Ed trucks on site to repair the electricity.
No shows today.
A crowd inside a blacked out deli. Inside, workers are making coffee manually and helping people to get whatever supplies they need. Credit card machines are down but the staff is happy to accept IOU’s for anyone without cash. Customers are offering help to one another in any way possible. Say what you want about New Yorkers, but during times of crisis, we stick together.
Park Avenue with no streetlights. An eerie sight.
Finally at 36th street, electricity is back.
The only way we’re able gauge the power of the storm is through the destruction it left behind. Roads are littered with structures completely obliterated into piles of wood.
Everywhere you look huge trees, completely up-rooted and tossed by mother nature.
These newspaper boxes probably weigh anywhere from 30-80 pounds each. Insane to imagine these getting picked up and thrown into a corner.
This is the back entrance to the VA Hospital on 23rd street.
Right on 14th street at the FDR. Police told me this intersection was completely underwater and overflowed down the street into the Con Ed plant that caused the fire and blackout.
No filters. This is a realistic capture of what the sky looked like that day.
This is the powerplant that caused the blackout. Literally hundreds of hoses were coming out of every crevice to pump out water.
A parking garage.
A completely empty FDR Highway.
This isn’t a lake. Its a construction site.
Thank you to everyone for your patience and support during this time. Our most sincere wishes go out to those who lost family or loved ones during the hurricane. If you would like to donate $10 to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts you can text the word REDCROSS to 90999.
The Outpost is expected to re-open for business on Saturday November 3rd. In the mean time, our Online Store is still open 24 hours a day.
