US Central Park - New Yorkers enjoy the day after the blackouts relaxing in the park
TAPE: EF03/0735
IN_TIME: 21:53:49
DURATION: 1:40
SOURCES: APTN
RESTRICTIONS:
DATELINE: New York - 15 Aug 2003
SHOTLIST:
1. Wide shot, Sheep's Meadow, Central Park
2. Wide shot, Bethesda Fountain, Central Park
3. Dog taking a stroll in the fountain
4. Close-up, people eating ice cream cones
5. Youths playing football in Sheep's Meadow
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, New York City:
"New Yorker's should use their best judgement as to whether they go to work. As I said last night, there are worse things than taking a summer Friday off from work."
6. Couple playing volleyball in Sheep's Meadow
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Liza Soidan, New Yorker:
"I'm not really sure if I'm off, I kind of just took it. Yeah, I did the same thing, I took it off."
8. Pan left, mother with twin babies on blankets
9. Mother with baby on lap
10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jennifer Rosenblum, New Yorker:
"Airports, delays and there are still a lot of power outages, getting the kids food and all that stuff was just too much to go away right now. So here we are, this is vacation."
11. Various saxophonist in Central Park
12. Men walking in Central Park
13. Wide shot, Central Park with Plaza Hotel in background
14. Central Park carriage trotting through the park
15. Couple riding in horse carriage, SOUNDUP: "Blackout or not, New York is a great place to be...Central Park."
STORYLINE:
The day after, may not be so bad.
The day after the nation's largest power outage in history many Manhattanites took the day off from work, beating the heat with ice cream cones and tossing a football and headed for Central Park, the 834 acres of woods and meadows in the centre of the city.
And, after all, they were just following New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's orders.
New York's subway system remained paralyzed, as did its two major commuter railroads and Mayor Michael Bloomberg encouraged the locals to treat Friday as a 90-degree snow day - stay home from work and relax.
To reinforce their point, all state parks and beaches were open to the public for free.
Bloomberg said: "New Yorker's should use their best judgement as to whether they go to work. As I said last night, there are worse things than taking a summer Friday off from work."
He also praised New Yorkers for their calm response to the massive power failure and compared it against the looting and chaos of the last great blackout in 1977.
Indeed, in Central Park the scene was serene. Families found relief from the heat under a large tree in Sheep's Meadow, dogs played in Central Park's fountain and New York's troubles seemed far away.