The Great Blackout at the 2011 New York Auto Show

I'm starting to feel like a bit of a disaster.  Wherever I am, disaster strikes:  2003.....The great blackout in NYC (and I was living in Minneapolis at the time.), 2009......the Cobo Hall Fire at NAIAS and now, 2011.....the great blackout at the Jacob Javits Center.  Wherever I go, trouble follows.  Last night, around 7:50 PM. all of the lights dimmed in the middle of the New York Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center.  It became very dark, very quickly.  I love the resilience of New Yorkers because an event like this barely registers to them.  As someone who has officially spent more time in LA (11 years) versus NYC (9 years), I did look around to make sure this was just a faulty electrical moment instead of a true emergency.

I also love that Jalopnik and the NY Times Automotive Section were on to my tweets within seconds.  Are they trolling for auto show information by the moment?  Either way, I am impressed.  The consumers remained calm and the lights were back on within 8 minutes. The only thing that I questioned was the lack of response from show management.  We didn't hear a peep from them.  Surely there is a universal PA system to tell the public that everything is okay and that they are working on restoring power?  Does anyone have an emergency plan in place these days?  I know Cobo Hall didn't do a thing during the fire in 2009.  The other good news is that New York's famed "Gang Night" on Easter Sunday was the calmest in years, so maybe my luck is changing after all.

Lights back on and all is well at the 2011 New York Auto Show........

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