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American Morning

Putting NYC's Power Outage into Historical Perspective

Aired August 15, 2003 - 09:27   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Another guest right now to talk about a bit of history to today.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Usually a producer in our D.C. bureau, but certainly, you have your history here in New York City, and in fact, when the lights went out here, they called you up and said, get on up here to New York City, and tell us what you saw up here last night versus what you witnessed when the power outage took place back in 1977?

VITO MAGGIOLO, CNN PRODUCER: Well, I'm a Bronx boy. And in 1977, I was in the middle of South Bronx when the lights went out. It was chaotic. Within minutes of the lights going out, there was glass breaking, there were stores being torn apart. There are fires being set.

Last night, I spent several hours driving around the same streets that I watched this happen in 1977 and the streets were incredibly quiet. There were small groups with flashlights, all the stores were closed and quiet. The stark comparison, the stark contrast was extraordinary.

KAGAN: And what do you owe that to?

MAGGIOLO: I think there's a very different mood. I think in 1977, the city was broke. People were very -- there was a sense of desperation in the city. There was a lot of anger in the city. And the people reacted to that when the lights went out. I think there's a new mood in New York City right now. Certainly 9/11 has had its affect on people and how they react. So I see a very different New York City.

HEMMER: How much did that surprise you as you were making your way through the boroughs last evening?

MAGGIOLO: You know, I really was not surprised. I was -- I really wasn't expecting trouble, having seen the changes that have taken place in the city since 1977. And I was really pleased and gratified to see that. In fact, there wasn't -- it wasn't the kind of problems as before.

HEMMER: And there are some other factors involved there, too, not just 911, but employment figures here in New York City are much better than in that year of 1977. The economic picture has gotten better as well. Do you factor that into the equation you're trying to develop? MAGGIOLO: Most certainly. Remember, the headline in "The Daily News." I think it was 1975, I mean, New York City was broke then. Basic services were hardly there.

So, yes, there's a tremendous difference in the state of the city.

KAGAN: All right. Thank you, Vito Maggiolo, our producer from CNN, giving us some perspective between now and 1977.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 15, 2003 - 09:27   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Another guest right now to talk about a bit of history to today.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Usually a producer in our D.C. bureau, but certainly, you have your history here in New York City, and in fact, when the lights went out here, they called you up and said, get on up here to New York City, and tell us what you saw up here last night versus what you witnessed when the power outage took place back in 1977?

VITO MAGGIOLO, CNN PRODUCER: Well, I'm a Bronx boy. And in 1977, I was in the middle of South Bronx when the lights went out. It was chaotic. Within minutes of the lights going out, there was glass breaking, there were stores being torn apart. There are fires being set.

Last night, I spent several hours driving around the same streets that I watched this happen in 1977 and the streets were incredibly quiet. There were small groups with flashlights, all the stores were closed and quiet. The stark comparison, the stark contrast was extraordinary.

KAGAN: And what do you owe that to?

MAGGIOLO: I think there's a very different mood. I think in 1977, the city was broke. People were very -- there was a sense of desperation in the city. There was a lot of anger in the city. And the people reacted to that when the lights went out. I think there's a new mood in New York City right now. Certainly 9/11 has had its affect on people and how they react. So I see a very different New York City.

HEMMER: How much did that surprise you as you were making your way through the boroughs last evening?

MAGGIOLO: You know, I really was not surprised. I was -- I really wasn't expecting trouble, having seen the changes that have taken place in the city since 1977. And I was really pleased and gratified to see that. In fact, there wasn't -- it wasn't the kind of problems as before.

HEMMER: And there are some other factors involved there, too, not just 911, but employment figures here in New York City are much better than in that year of 1977. The economic picture has gotten better as well. Do you factor that into the equation you're trying to develop? MAGGIOLO: Most certainly. Remember, the headline in "The Daily News." I think it was 1975, I mean, New York City was broke then. Basic services were hardly there.

So, yes, there's a tremendous difference in the state of the city.

KAGAN: All right. Thank you, Vito Maggiolo, our producer from CNN, giving us some perspective between now and 1977.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com