Black Zone (area without electrical power)

Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in the evening of October 29, 2012. The Con Ed power company experienced many problems and power went out over lower Manhattan for several days. Manhattan below 40th Street was dubbed the “black zone.”
 
Other nicknames for the “black zone” area include “dark zone” and “SoPo” (south of power).
     
 
TVNZ (New Zealand)
As it happened: Superstorm Sandy day two - Morning Update
Published: 5:56AM Wednesday October 31, 2012 Source: ONE News
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11.29am: US correspondent Jack Tame says he will be live on TV ONE News at MIDDAY. He tweets: “Entering the black zone of Manhattan once again… very weird.”
   
The Telegraph (UK)
How ‘Superstorm’ Sandy created a tale of two cities in New York
The boundary of the destruction caused by Sandy in New York City clearly divides Manhattan at 25th Street on the west side and at 38th Street on the east. Mark Hughes reports.
By Mark Hughes, New York8:33PM GMT 31 Oct 2012
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Almost nothing is open and, at night, this half of the city – currently dubbed the “black zone” - is plunged into darkness, with electricity yet to return. More than 200,000 downtown residents are without power, with the prospect of electricity returning until at least the weekend.
   
Politicker.com
Morning Read: ‘Makes Me Sick’
By Colin Campbell 11/01 9:29am
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“Outside of a 7/11 at 27th and 5th. One block from black zone. They set up power charging station for New Yorkers…” (Photo: City Council candidate Corey Johnson/Facebook)
 
The Wall Street Journal
November 1, 2012, 12:01 PM ET
Reporter’s Notebook: A Bike Ride Through NYC’s ‘Black Zone’
Dennis K. Berman, the editor of The Wall Street Journal’s Marketplace section, shares his reflections on his commute by bicycle through Lower Manhattan, which has been without electricity since Sandy blew through.
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A separate Con Ed cargo truck was stacked with bags of cubed ice, presumably to be distributed to Black Zone residents to keep food from rotting.