The teachers from Lutheran Preschool of the Church of the Resurrection in Garden City, who were enjoying their summer vacation together, had finished their lunch at Lord & Taylor and were enjoying some shopping when all of the lights went out suddenly at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6. Small emergency lights went on indicating exit points and aiding in visibility to a degree, and, the teachers reported, the entire staff of the department store "appeared almost instantly on the scene" with flashlights. The employees also escorted shoppers, none of whom were in the elevators or on the escalator at the time, to the employee staircase where they proceeded to carry down strollers and baby bags as mothers carried their children.

Power went out throughout Franklin Avenue, from Old Country Road to Sixth Street, wiping out lights, air-conditioning units, and refrigerators in homes and apartments along Stewart Avenue, Seventh Street, and behind the west and east sides of Franklin Avenue. With thermometers reading above 100 degrees at times during the afternoon around the Island, people living in areas affected by the power outages were certainly suffering. Particularly impacted physically by the heat are the elderly, children, and those with health conditions. Garden City residents had quite a bit of company in the dark, as reportedly 57,609 people lost power on Monday and 35,076 people were without power on Tuesday. Reports over the radio indicated record power usage over the entire Fourth of July weekend and LIPA spokespeople were scrambling to explain the limited power supply and ask municipalities and businesses to close on Tuesday to conserve power.

In Kings County and Westchester ConEd did not do much better in supplying sufficient power to meet the demands, which has prompted Mayor Giuliani to threaten a lawsuit. Three people reportedly died in the NY metropolitan area because of the heat and area hospitals reported increases in heat related complications treated in their emergency rooms. LIPA's requests to local government to shut down early Tuesday were met by almost all municipalities. Garden City's Village Hall closed, of course even if they hadn't planned to in compliance with LIPA's request, they would have had to because of the power outage. The Garden City Police Department certainly could not close and Lt. Jackson reported to Garden City Life indicating that not only were there a number of calls to answer, but the officers had to continue to work in the office on a backup generator through the heat.

Calls answered by the Garden City Police Department included 999, 975, 1075, and 1000 Franklin Avenue, as well as 67 Hilton Avenue, where employees were working when the power went out. Many offices were planning to close early and employees were exiting when the electricity went off, leaving a number of people in several buildings trapped in elevators. Lt. Jackson noted that the officers worked diligently to aid in rescuing anxiety ridden office workers trapped in close quarters in the dark, triggering claustrophobic attacks in a number of people. The GCPD officers were patient and compassionate as they eased a number of terrfied people, living one of their worst fears, out of the crowded and dead elevators. Several office workers commented at the time that without the steady support and aid of the GCPD things could have been much more unpleasant.

Traffic lights went out throughout the business district of Garden City, leaving GCPD officers directing traffic and everyone trying to work together to coordinate the ever heavy traffic. Lt. Jackson also noted that there were a few sparks and smoke emissions from power sources in the Village, but there were no serious problems reported and no one was injured. The GCPD found itself fortunately unlike numerous police departments across the NY metro area which were flooded with phone calls about the power outages, leaving them forced to have radio and television stations make public announcements requesting people to only call in case of an emergency. Apparently, as thousands of people sweated in the dark and attempted to get through to LIPA, an almost impossibility on Monday or Tuesday, they grew increasingly frustrated and sick in the heat, unfortunately driving them to tie up police department staff in addressing a problem over which they had no control.

Power was restored almost entirely to Garden City by 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday. As offices closed and temperatures cooled somewhat in the evening, the demand for power decreased and LIPA was able to return electricity to many areas. The question being asked by Long Islanders everywhere is what is LIPA going to do to create a power supply that can meet the increasing demands of an overpopulated island and keep businesses up and running and residents safe from extreme heat?