Friday, December 5, 2014

What was that?



We went to bed early… and woke up to a whole lot of emails/tweets about an explosion/boom last night after 11 that most everyone from Avenue D to Third Avenue seemed to hear… at this point, we haven't heard any plausible explanations.

And we have power. And not the first time there have been unexplained booms/explosions/jet landings.

Updated 10:04 a.m.

An EVG Facebook friend points us to this Newsweek article ... which notes: "Protesters on Twitter claimed police deployed LRAD 'sound cannons' to control crowds" during last night's Eric Garner rallies.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heard it here too @ 11th and First. Scary.

Trixie said...

It didn't sound like a ConEd type noise.I think it was an M-80 or something. Sounded like it was on Avenue A near e 12th Street. Funny thing, as loud as it was, it didn't set off any car alarms.

A little while ago I said...

We heard it too and wondered if it was the start of the revolution and that we were missing it.

We don't have tv so we wouldn't have been able to see it if it were televised anyway.

I thought it might have been fireworks but if people from Avenue D to Third Ave heard it, they weren't no fireworks.

We're on Allen and Stanton and we heard it plenty.

JM said...

Does anybody know anything for sure?

Anonymous said...

I heard this too. Scared the shit out of my cat.

Anonymous said...

Lady Gaga

Anonymous said...

Funny, I did hear it but I guess I've gotten so accustomed to unexplained noises and such in the city--those booms seem to happen pretty regularly, no?--that I just promptly forgot about it and went on with my evening.

jose garcia said...

we heard two of them earlier i thin it was saturday night. it was late-ish. around 11. very loud. sounded like perhaps m-80 or something. it made all the car alarms go off on 3rd street between c and d. xo, jg

Anonymous said...

I was walking down 1st at 11th when it went off. Very loud. The sound came from the direction of Ave A. Didn't sound like a transformer or an M80. Sounded exactly like a cannon. As a kid I went to the Naval Academy monument climb every year and every 15 minutes they'd shoot a damned cannon off to mark time. Made everybody jump. Same exact hollow boom.

moe said...

Heard it and figured it to be an M-80 probably lit by protestor crowd.

Back pre-Giuliani the nights were often punctuated by the occasional firework explosion, even away from the July4 epicenter. Of course that was also pre-9/11, when the sound of a distant explosion didn't give any pause considering what it might be.

Anonymous said...

it was LOUD, and set off a lot of car alarms around D and 8th....

Anonymous said...

I'm on saint marks and A and heard it very clearly

Anonymous said...

It was a firework.

Anonymous said...

Woke me out of dead sleep at 9 and C

DrBOP said...

Mega-gentrification Sonic Boom?




And part of captcha = evgee :+)

Anonymous said...

Sorry guys, my plum pudding blew up in the pressure cooker.

Anonymous said...

It was accompanied by a bright flash of light. I happened to be facing the window and saw the flash then less than a second later, the very loud boom. 9th and B.

Anonymous said...

Heard it on 9th between 1st & 2nd. Heard sirens shortly after, on and off for about 15 minutes.

Anonymous said...

Did hear that, I'm wondering why what sounded like 3 helicopters hovering overhead at 3 am, lost an needed hour of sleep.

10:41 a.m. said...

It was the hashtags of Peter Pan Live and the protests simultaneously being tweeted, which resulted in a grand explosion. It's like when matter and anti-matter collide -- they annihilate each other and result in a burst of pure energy.

Anonymous said...

Don't call the police precinct for an answer! The NYPD has a strict policy of not answering the phone at precincts and providing helpful info to citizens.

Anonymous said...

I was working and saw about 10 cop carsvans fly down 14th and turn north on Ave C at around 2am.....

Anonymous said...

Everytime I call the 9th pct, I always get an answer.

Laura Goggin Photography said...

Heard it from 1st & 5th just before 11:30. Thought it came from the SW.

Anonymous said...

I'm on 12th between A and B and to me sounded like a very loud gunshot. Everyone was looking out there windows. Didn't see a flash and did not sound like a firework. How come we are not provided with answers about this or why isn't it in the news? It's the third time I've heard it.

Anonymous said...

Also people heard off as far as Stanton street??? Also 3rd avenue??? That's crazy!!!!

Anonymous said...

Heard all the way in the UST (Upper Stye Town). Intriguing perhaps, but alas, no shits to give right now.

Makeout said...

Haha 10:41 A.M.! Physics boys!

Dan D. said...

I heard it too, it sounded a bit different to me than the fireworks I hear in the summertime.

re: "Protesters on Twitter claimed police deployed LRAD 'sound cannons' to control crowds"

Despite the name, LRADs don't go "BOOM", they go "TWEETWEETWEETWEET". Video here

Anonymous said...

The cop-copters flying overhead were obnoxiously noisy and, as always, a ma$$ive wa$te of taxpayer$ money.
If I were mayor, the first thing I'd do is get rid of them.

Bill the libertarian anarchist

Anonymous said...

I saw a bright flash and a very very loud boom. If it was a firework, it was a fucking huge one! It definitely came from East of Ave A and south of 13th street.

That being said, saw a few ConED trucks parked on Ave A this morning.. I have to guess it was a transformer somewhere...but like everyone is saying, no one seems to have lost power...

Any updates Grieve??

Anonymous said...

Some of those annoying helicopters are cops yes, but most of the choppers I saw earlier were media, even worse, as the cops have at least a putative reason for creating the terrible noise disturbance to everyone, where as the media are just getting rich selling advertising, and keeping millions awake in the process.
Not to mention every once in a while one of those whirlybirds hits the deck, and that would be quite the bloodbath in a place like Manhattan. I don't appreciate being put at risk, even a small one, so they can get their picture.

Anonymous said...

I heard it, and I'm below Delancey. Both dogs flipped out. Drunken girlfriend slept right through it, though.

LPIFLY said...

about helicopters...
yes there were media helicopters, but the local news is over at 11:30pm and doesn't start until 4:30am. Those 'copters were EXTREMELY LOW flying NYPD helicopters. Like the kind we used to get around here with late night murder suspect chases.
I really think this is a new tactic to piss off everyone to go against the protests.

Anonymous said...

I heard it on 7th + 2nd. It was unusual enough to make me stop and listen for a minute or two, wondering. There were lot of sirens right after, which then faded out. The loud helicopters were flying low overhead for hours, including at 2 and 3AM. Aside from being an unnecessary annoyance to residents, it's also an unnecessary danger to us.

Anonymous said...

If this is con Ed and they are getting away with putting us at risk living near the east village plant someone needs to stand up.