14 years ago today, the Northeastern U.S. and Ontario lost power. What do you remember?

[Rell Lauren]

I was 15 at the time and it was Summer Break. I remember it being around 4 in the afternoon and playing Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic when the power just went out. I thought it was something wrong with the television until I went and saw the power was out in the entire apartment. I looked out the window and the power was out on the whole block. Later learned that the entire city had lost power.

What do you remember from that day?

Fun fact: I would later intern with the daughter of the guy who was ultimately responsible for overseeing the grid at FirstEnergy when it went down causing the blackout.

 

[flea]

It was a great day on the internet because we didn't have any fakkit New Yorkers posting that day

 

[Tim2520]

I was wit fam in Red Hook projects pre gentrification ,dudes with walking around with flashlights in one hand and with the hammer and the other. Luckily wasn't any real problems that night

 

[OJ Simpsom]

I was 19. It was like The Purge in Canada. Everyone was outside running around wild. Once night time hit shyt got real. We raided a bunch of local stores and got a lot of free shyt (clothes, food, etc). Had a bonfire in the back yard and stayed out mad late that night.

 

[315]

I had just bought Madden 04 and was mad as hell I couldn't play that shyt

 

[Apollo Kid]

Went to the store and got free beer because the power was out. BBQ'd with my homies in the evening

 

[Amestafuu (Emeritus)]

Not just the US that's shyt touched eastern Canada too. Don't asked me how. Apparently our power sources are intertwined.

Northeast blackout of 2003 - Wikipedia

The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Ontario on Thursday, August 14, 2003, just after 4:10 p.m.

I was in Toronto chilling not doing much

I happened to be off that day which saves me from the mass Exodus from the downtown core.

 

[Rack4K]

Was playing NBA Street Vol 2 before the power went out. Spent the rest of the day listening to Hot 97..that was the day Jay Z/Fat Joe was supposed to have that Rucker game but it was cancelled so they both called into Funk Flex to talk about it

 

[luciddreamer]

I was finally able to stargaze in the city,

 

[GetInTheTruck]

I left work early that day, right before everything went out. I was on the bus on my way to my barber, I noticed mad people were outside looking confused but I didn't think much of it. When I got to the shop I see people coming downstairs with halfway done haircuts I was like wtf is going on, and this dude told me everything went out. People were beefing with the shop like it was their fault

I was just glad I wasn't in the chair yet

Then I got home and I couldn't even take a shower cause the water wasn't working either

 

[Sterling Archer]

I was laid up somewhere in The Hills at my girl's parents place for the better part of the day not caring about that shytty ass region. Dead ass.

 

[Ron Fox]

listening on a battery powered radio to Fat Joe and Jay Z going back and forth about the rucker game on Funk Flexs show during the Blackout. And then Jay put Shaq on the phone.


Hot 97 will never have golden moments like that again.

 

[ORDER_66]

Yeah that day was rough. I was doing a security gig and we couldnt close our gates with the electric power cause of the stupid black out we was forced to stay overnight until we got a technician to close it down manually... shyt was rough... and errie. jamaica ave was entirely dark and you couldnt see shyt...

 

[Canada Goose]

I was like 12, stayed home the entire time, I regret it though, wish I would have went outside to enjoy the moment.

 

[Devil Plisken…CMS]

First thing on everyone's mind was Bin Laden...

Once that no longer seemed like a possibility I walked my ass from 18th st to Brownsville. I was one of the jackasses you might have seen running across the Brooklyn Bridge thinking that would be the day when it gives way with all those people on it