Six hours earlier I was immersed in my own perspiration. The smell and heat of the DeKalb Avenue train station on the Brooklyn/Queens border left much to be desired, but I kept my focus and concentrated at the task at hand. Commuters had been trapped in subway cars for over an hour. When the lights went out I didn't hesitate. I knew that, in some capacity, I would be needed at the the Middle Village Volunteer Ambulance Corps (MVVAC).
On my way to headquarters, I thought of a range of possible scenarios. Of course, the first: Was this a terrorist attack? Would there be riots? How long would we be without power? Arriving, gear in hand, I saw that MVVAC was already busy with local calls, but our second crew was summoned to the DeKalb/Wyckoff Avenue train station, where hundreds of passengers were stuck.
"They f------ hit us again," Joe Magnus said. Magnus, 68, is one of the founding members of MVVAC. A Czechoslovakian immigrant, he frequently flies off the handle, but his spurts of anger are humorous because of his heavy accent. Despite his concern of another terrorist attack, this is what he lives for (even though he is in desperate need of a knee operation). He is ready to serve and help those in need in any way.
Walking onto the tracks off the "L" train platform, we could see flashes of light about 30 yards away. Auxiliary lights had come on in the subway, but offered only faint illumination. FDNY EMT's on the scene had the situation under control; our job was just to get everyone out safely.
An elderly woman, Janella, who suffers from asthma, had become to weak to walk, but she made an effort because of her reluctance to be carried out on a stretcher. She held onto my shoulders as I lifted her up and led her out of the subway car. Behind me I could hear jeers from passengers. They were complaining of heat exhaustion and frustrated because EMTs didn't get to the scene quickly enough.
The tunnel was now swarming with rescue workers and well lit, thanks to several dozen high-powered flashlights. The walk to the platform seemed longer this time, with Janella clutching my shoulders, and the worst part was I didn't know what I was stepping on. It's a subway tunnel, so you can just imagine.
Several trips later, our crew loaded up our ambulance and took the passengers to Wyckoff hospital, just four blocks away. (The last I checked, they all had been treated and released.) At headquarters, our runs were non-stop. We checked with our regulars, those that needed oxygen or who might need to be transferred to a hospital.
By nightfall I was spent and ready to go home and shower. At about 9 p.m. I went home with the promise that I would be back, and as I walked through my front door, I got the call from Kristin. I told her that I'd come get her, but I needed gas and I wondered if the bridges were even open to Manhattan-bound traffic.
At 10:30 I drove to Freeport, where, a report on the radio said, gas stations were open because the village operates on its own electricity. It was a relief, because my car was virtually on empty. I started heading to Manhattan, but the bridges were still closed. My only hope was the Midtown Tunnel.
I was in awe of the eerily dark city skyline. I had never seen the city this way, but with the moon shining so brightly, flickering from one building to another, it was an extraordinary sight. In 1977, the last time New York had a blackout of this magnitude, I wasn't alive. This was just another New York experience. As I drove along Third Avenue, I saw people sitting on curbs, some sleeping, others pacing, looking for answers.
Kristin got in the car wearing a look of exhaustion and fear. She had been through a grueling and tumultuous day. As we drove home, she could finally joke about it all, but it was a memorable day for all of us.
I looked back at all the events of the day and knew I would never forget this. The passengers on the subway car, the look of people aimlessly roaming the streets of Manhattan -- and yet another test New Yorkers passed without hesitation. There have been times in the past two years when I've wavered on whether or not I have grown apart from the city. But seeing everyone coming together the way they did, watching people helping other people, renewed my love affair with New York. I'm glad that if this had to happen, it happened here, where I was, in the greatest city on Earth.
