Did You Hear The Mysterious Boom In Park Slope Last Night?

5th Avenue and 6th Street, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, around where last night's boom happened. Via Googlemaps.

Around 11:30 p.m. last night, Park Slope, Brooklyn denizens reported hearing a seismic boom, accompanied by a mysterious flash in the sky. A tipster told Gothamist that the incident happened around 5th Avenue and 6th Street in Brooklyn, and residents speculated that it sounded either like a building collapse, a car accident, or a manhole explosion. On Twitter, people a mile away, and even as far away as Clinton Hill said that they heard the noise too.

It's currently unclear what caused the sound, but no explosion-related injuries were reported in the area. Spokespeople for Con Edison and NYPD confirmed to Gothamist that they didn't have information about a possible explosion, as well as what might have caused it. FDNY's press department confirmed to Gothamist that while the Fire Department did respond to a call at 11:40 p.m. about an undetermined odor permeating the area, it wasn't related to any explosion. After determining that it wasn't fire-related, the Fire Department left the scene shortly after, at 11:53 p.m.

Some residents, as well as the Citizen app, are suggesting that the event could have been caused by a manhole explosion, a phenomenon that tends to see an uptick around this time of year. One resident noted that some people had been lighting firecrackers around the intersection shortly before the explosion, though it's unclear if it had a hand in causing it (Another tipster, citing their misspent youth, wrote in that it could have possibly been an M80 firecracker).

If you have more information about the mystery Park Slope boom, drop us a line.