Star Wars Fans Direct Traffic With Lightsabers During New York Blackout

On Saturday night, a power failure in New York City left the West Side of Manhattan in the dark. Some of the city’s denizens became trapped in subway cars. Others had to navigate the roads of the city without the aid of streetlights or stoplights. Some good Samaritans took to the streets, using what light sources they could find to help direct traffic through the city. These included cell phones as well as lightsaber blades.

Some in the city, including The New York Times reporter Liam Stack, took photos of the Jedi in action. “Now that it’s getting dark the civilians directing traffic in Hell’s Kitchen are using whatever light they can get, including cellphones and… light sabers #NYCblackout,” Stack tweeted with a photo on Twitter.

The one in Stack’s photo wasn’t alone. Here some photos of these would-be Jedi taking on the Dark Side (literally).

Directing traffic is a difficult and necessary job during incidents like this one. “I know how tricky it is when it comes to that intersection and I just saw in my mind car accidents people getting hit, people screaming,” a woman told CNN, saying she learned the skill from her police officer father. “So I felt like I should have just tried.”

The power outage lasted for approximately three hours. Con Edison said that a mechanical problem — an explosion and fire, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo — at a substation was the cause of the blackout. The substation problem led to issues in six power sectors, leading to the power outage in portions of Manhattan.

The power came back on around 10 p.m. “Power has been restored after today’s #blackout, but New Yorkers should continue to exercise caution as everything returns to normal,” Cuomo tweeted. “When things are at their worst, New Yorkers are at their best, and they were at their best tonight.”

Parts of Midtown and Hell’s Kitchen were also affected by the blackout. The outage occurred on the 42nd anniversary of the 1977 blackout that left the city in darkness.

Some found themselves trapped in elevators waiting for the power to return. Broadway shows canceled their performances.

What do you think of these Star Wars fans pulling out their lightsabers to direct traffic during the blackout in New York City? Let us know what you think about it in the comments section.

Lightsabers return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the Skywalker Saga, opens in theaters on December 20th.

(Sources: CBS New York, The New York Times, CNN)