• Walking down 2nd Avenue was surreal - people were walking all over the place, not knowing when the power would come back on. No one seemed to know anything and most mobile phones weren't working. Many who lived in the suburbs or outer boroughs were stranded because the trains weren't running.
• Because mobile phones didn't work, the usually deserted and unused pay phone was suddenly a hot commodity.  I remember waiting in a long line to make my call.
• After it got dark on the first night, I went out to get some beer at the local bodega with a friend.  There were candles all over and a man walked us to the back of the store with a flashlight to help us pick out our 6-packs of luke-warm beer. 
• Most cash registers didn't work, so there was basically no change - everything was paid with whole dollar bills.  I remember buying some food, water, and beer at a store in the dark and I asked the cashier, "how much?" He took a look at my stuff and responded, "eleven." In some ways, I guess it was a simpler time.
• After the first night past, everyone woke up and realized a few things: 1. The city was not destroyed by looters as some expected.  2. The electricity still wasn't on. 3. Last night was a fun party in the dark, but now we don't have much cash left and ATMs still aren't working.
• Mayor Bloomberg praised New Yorkers for not looting and destroying the city.  Sort of a low standard if you ask me, but I guess many long-time New Yorkers still had the blackout of 1977 fresh in their minds.
• Living on the 36th floor of a high-rise sucks when there is no electricity. This is partly because walking up 36 flights of stairs is not fun, but also because the water didn't work in any building over 6 stories.
• Everyone stunk like hell, but it didn't matter because almost everyone stunk like hell. Somehow body odor isn't that bad when everyone is contributing. 
• Battery powered radios suddenly became valuable.  Partially for entertainment, but mostly because they were one of the only ways to get information on what the hell was going on. 
• After using a friend's shower (he lived in a walk-up), I could really smell everybody who hadn't showered yet. 
• Eventually, we heard parts of Times Square had power, so we decided to walk over. We wanted electricity a good meal, but we also just wanted access to an ATM. As we got closer, I'll never forget the mixed feelings I had. On the one hand, I was ecstatic that we finally had access to electricity. On the other hand, I was disgusted that the lights of Times Square were shining brightly, while the rest of the city continued to go on without power. Later, I read that it was easier for them to first bring power back to this area for some reason, but it still didn't seem right to me

Source: Wikipedia, Eric Skiff