No, it’s some kidn of under the street transformer that probably blew the sewer covers off. So it was an electrical explosion under the street. But having been in lower Manhattan on 9/11, it felt a bit like deja vu all over again.
Basically an underground utility room. Often under the sidewalk. May contain electrical switchgear, transformers, etc., or alternatively similar gas supply fixtures, like a pressure regulator or even a meter supplying a big building.