Roving Photographer

ROSALIE HERNANDEZ “I’ll never forget it because I found out that New Yorkers can respond positively with each other when they are in crisis. They shared food, flashlights and especially cared for children, families and the elderly. In the darkness, they reached out.”

By Rev. Austin H. Armitstead

"What experiences will you remember of the

Blackout of August 2003?"

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DOMINICK DeSANTIS “My wife and I will never forget our concern about trying to cross Northern Boulevard, where traffic lights weren’t operating. We are over 90 years old and the police officer helped us on our way.”

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ALEX BABEKOV “New Yorkers came through brightly in the way they faced the blackout—police, fire, hospital workers, store keepers, bus drivers, volunteers and all those who helped in so many ways.”

GABRIEL KOUYOUMDJIAN “It was a most unusual day and I’ll never forget it. Since we weren’t working, I spent the day with my girlfriend. I was aware of everyone pitching in to help others . We heard of people walking hand in hand to get home in the darkness.”

MARIELLA PERIERA “Everyone is talking about the unforgettable day and night of August 21, 2003. Gabriel and I are very happy to be in Queens and to see how our city has people who make us all proud to live and work together.”

WENDY JACKSON “The hallways and stairways in our apartment building were pitch dark. I helped a neighbor who had a stroke, walk up four flights of stairs by the light of his wife’s flashlight. Then I went out hunting for a flashlight and batteries.”