Tragedy in Park Slope after a power outage forced the Park Slope Food Coop to close for 17 hours.

At about 8:30 p.m. on Monday, the lights in the store started flickering. Then they went out, the result of a fire below street level caused by the excessive heat conditions, Consolidated Edison officials said. More than 100 people were in the store at the time, but no one could leave with their groceries because the cash registers and the phones were not working, either. "Abandoned shopping carts with food were all over the store," another coordinator at the store, Jessica Robinson, said.

Our hearts go out to everyone involved. We can't imagine how much worse rotting food smells when it's mixed in with the scent of smug self-regard.

Outages Hit Transit and A Food Co-Op [NYS]

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