Power Outage Hits Top Floors of U.N.
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
UNITED NATIONS – Fulfilling a famous prediction by American Ambassador John Bolton that nothing would be amiss if the top 10 floors of the United Nations disappeared, a power outage yesterday at the top floors prompted an evacuation of all workers in the main building but had little effect on the workings of the world body in its busiest week in the year.
Staffers were told to leave the Secretariat building at 2:15 p.m., while in-house and Con Edison technicians tried to restore electric power to the building, which is expected to be fully operational by today.
A 4,000-amp fuse on the 28th floor blew up two hours earlier. Although they could not determine the exact cause, spokesmen said that it seemed to be “technical,” adding there were “no indications of threat against the building.” The United Nations has asked for a $1.2 billion loan from America to refurbish the mid-century building, but the switch room that blew up yesterday was said to be 10 years old.
Work at other parts of the U.N. campus, mostly the General Assembly where the 60th session began over the weekend, continued unabated. A luncheon with top foreign ministers, including Secretary of State Rice, was moved from Secretary-General Annan’s offices on the 38th floor to the General Assembly building.
