Fuse blows in Brooklyn courthouse, emptying the halls of justice

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A power outage in a Brooklyn courthouse left a handful of people briefly trapped in an elevator Tuesday and halted hundreds of cases.

Officials blamed the outage on a “huge fuse” that blew about 9:15 a.m. and left the antiquated Criminal Court building on 120 Schermerhorn St. in the dark.

Numerous people were momentarily trapped in elevators but no injuries were reported, officials said.

Arraignments were continuing with the help of emergency generators, but nearly all of the day's other scheduled cases had to be adjourned, courts spokesman David Bookstaver said.

“The replacement fuse necessary to restore power... has been located” and work will start in the afternoon, according to a midday email from Chief Clerk Justin Barry.

The 10-story building opened in 1932 and has undergone only minor renovations since then.

"What do you expect?" veteran lawyer Barry Agulnick said as he waited outside on a sidewalk crowded with scores of lawyers, defendants and court workers.

"This building was old when I was young."

David Burgos, 28, who was there to resolve a marijuana possession charge, was among the annoyed masses.

"It's frustrating," Burgos said. "I wanted to get it over with but now I'll have to come back another day."

Daily News


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