A “series” of manhole explosions added a little excitement to some otherwise quiet and freezing Saturday afternoon shopping trips. The explosions occurred at the corner of Prince Street and Mercer Street at around 2 p.m. and set a handful of cars ablaze. An employee at the nearby Angelique Express said he heard “a big boom” followed by “a couple booms” and the sight of “a crush of people running from the intersection.” There were no injuries, but Fanelli lost power and had to be evacuated due to elevated carbon monoxide levels. Tim Duff, the owner of one of the cars, told the New York Times that he had been inside the Apple Store and found himself “more baffled than anything” when he walked outside to see smoke pouring out from underneath his vehicle. “I was all psyched I had found a great parking spot,” he explained. The cause of the incident is not currently known, but Con Edison is looking into the issue, and the FDNY promised that “there’s going to be an investigation,” because nobody should ever have to be afraid to go to the Apple Store.
