Local MSM KaBlew It (or) If something blows up in B'Klyn and it isn't reported does it make difference?

How appropriate that NYC's shortest days of the calendar year have resembled high noon at the Arctic Circle. Not even the brightness found in the eyes of Veep-to-be Biden's new puppy could have cleared up the overcast skies that keep many non-breeders like me'sef in doors for the last 24hrs.

Was I alone the only citizen in early hiber-nation? Perhaps not. Maybe that's why all of a sudden something can blow up in NYC limits and (almost) nobody seems to care (almost).

Maybe the local MSM was still marveling at the fact that Caroline Kennedy, who has a history of not answering reporters' questions, doesn't actually give very deep answers when she does (gasp!) Maybe that's why they didn't report that a Brooklyn street corner basically exploded. Fortunately Robin Lester's Clinton Hill Blog and readers did.

Last night (after I finally stopped playing FB Dominos and went out) I snapped this pics of the aftermath on Washington and Lafayette Avenues:



Most of those slabs of concrete were scattered like puzzle pieces. Imagine the force
it takes to do that and what it would mean to be standing there when it happened.

It looks like the aftermath of a Max Sennett scene that would have ended up with
Buster Keaton reaching escape velocity in route to the Moon.

Well it's no ponzi scheme, but unlike ponzi this is very relevant to me as I frequently walk on sidewalks and don't wish to be blown up like an Iraqi translator.

Seriously folks, I know it was late at night and my pics are not suck free (did I mention FB Dominoes are really addictive as well as time consuming?) but if anyone was standing on that corner, when that explosion came through with enough force to toss sidewalk slabs like lunch trays. It would've been the kind of sad tragedy we all hate to hear about.

To help you get a sense of where this intersection lays, check these pictures I took on the same corner during the Marathon (in Nov). In both pics I stood basically where the explosion happened.

The first is looking north on Washington Av:

The second is looking west on Lafayette Av.

This is a well traveled street with a subway station, bus stop nearby and a popular and frequently used neighborhood playground at the corner as well.

The explosion seems to have been caused by Con Ed equipment going supernova just feet below our feet. Hmm Con Ed equipment exploding, how bad can that be? Oh. Oh. Oh. Ohh yeah.. Well.. it's not like the winter weather increases the risk of malfunctions right? ohh. Oh.Eww and as we all know we can't count on Con Ed to be forthright in these accidents.

The Clinton Hill blog (at the time of this posting) is the only place I've found any reporting on it all, I frequent that area and was on my cell when the big boom bang happened, several commenters on the Clinton Hill blog reported hearing it as well. Based on comments the explosion was audible in a radius throughout Clinton Hill and parts of Fort Greene. (on the gmap below people who heard it are marked by the red icon) which I made for your viewing pleasure and because I have cabin fever. (Holy Jeebus when will the sun god return) If not for CHB's reporting we'd all still be wondering what happened or worse not knowing at all.

Bottom line we know NYC is excitingly random enough, we don't need to add "Sudden Explosive Death" to the list of unexpected slices of Big Apple life. Much as I hate the soap boxy but we can't accept this, we all pay for this service let's spread the story voice our frustration and work at getting this fixed. nuff SED.


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