A large explosion was heard in lower Manhattan early Friday morning, near the Union Square area.
According to firefighter scanner activity, the explosion was caused by a manhole blast that several manholes on fire.
The explosion occurred just before 8am, at the intersection of Broadway and East 12th Street - near the landmark bookstore, The Strand.
So far there have been no reports of injuries. Officials have not said what caused the blast, but trucks for the city's gas provider, ConEdison, were on the scene.
The windows were blown out of The Strand bookstore and apartments above.
As you know, The Strand has incurred the fury of several board members.
was completely screwed out of a Mindy Khaling signing. Yours truly 
got stuck with a BLACK and WHITE photo op with Anna Kendrick. Most recently, basically everyone 
was screwed in some fashion by the William Daniels book signing. Well they were at it again the other day. The Strand hosted a performance and signing with one half of Hall and Oates, that being John Oates. They promised up and down there would be photos, but as soon as it began, I'm told people were screamed at to stop doing selfies!Have the
had enough? j/k of course, thankfully no one was injured there, despite the time of morning. In fact, this was mere feet from where several of us were waiting for Daniels!
