New York City Braces for Hurricane Sandy - Franken Storm, Record Rainfall

In case any of you are wondering how Hurricane Sandy is currently affecting New York City, I'll provide you with a report. The shut down of the entire city began on Sunday afternoon. Parks and the subway train system were shut down yesterday at 7 p.m. and the buses at 9 p.m. The tunnels and bridges are scheduled to be closed at 2 p.m. Schools have been canceled through Tuesday and the stock market may also be closed although trading will commence electronically.

Right now winds are picking up. You can only tell that there is a storm downtown near the water, Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry terminal area which is on the southern tip of Manhattan. There are some photos of conditions there which are unusual but still not dangerous. The eye of the storm is supposed to pass well south of the area although the impact here is supposed to somewhat significant. Fallen trees and utility poles will probably present the largest problem, which could take out electricity lines.

The last storm we had affected mostly the outermost portions of Long Island (which is out towards the Atlantic Ocean) known as "Suffolk County". Nassau County is next followed by Queens and Brooklyn, which are New York City Boroughs and very close to the mainland. Midtown and Uptown Manhattan have rarely been affected, which is where I am. I'll let you know what conditions are like as I've got a nice view of Central Park from my window. Right now it's raining, some normal wind gusts that have caused minor branch breaking here. Here are some photos of interest:

 

LOL... so far it has been remarkable to look at but nothing even close to as fearsome as our weatherpersons would have you believe. This is the worst of the storm in midtown / uptown. As of right now (7pm), you'd never even know there is a storm outside. The worst is supposed to happen tonight. It is amazing that the city was shut down on Sunday. People in Canada are probably laughing as they experience much worse than this. But we are the most litigious city in the world and falling branches and everything else would result in New York City being sued. As a result we've got an army of police out, the national guard, etc.

For the most part the damage is done to the outer boroughs, Connecticut and New Jersey where there are many trees and utility poles will fall and cause outages, block streets, damage a few cars, etc. It is nothing like the hellfire and damnation that is the apocalypse that weatherpersons have been proclaiming it is (and why you need to stay tuned in.)

Here is a video if you're curious. Winds are picking up outside... we'll see what this evening brings.

http://youtu.be/tSilkOqK12g

 

In midtown and uptown it's as if nothing is happening. For the most part the buildings at the bottom of Manhattan and the side near the water shield us completely. On the lower east side, huge amounts of water have made its way into the street. I'm sure many parked cars will be shorted/rusted out. On 14th Street, the entire front of a building (residential) collapsed and broke off the building. From what I saw today in the video, it's the worst I've seen here but it's so freaky that it's quieter than it ever is outside my building (due to the lack of any automobiles.)

 

Situation is out of control in New York City. Massive flooding in the subway system will shut down mass transit underground for at least a day and possibly 3-4 more days. Buses will operate with limited lines and riding is free. (Anyone who takes the bus will likely have an interminable wait to get anywhere.) My Internet service is out (using the mobile phone) but the area above W.42nd Street is relatively unaffected, trees down here and there, but no major damage at all. Apparently we are at least 20-30 feet above lower Manhattan, which is a further reason why we are unaffected.

On the bright side, I'm fine as is my family, many of which don't have power on Long Island and in New Jersey. It will take several days at minimum to sort everything out. Thank you everyone for your concern.

As of right now politicians are elbowing for federal funding. Both governors report speaking to President Obama. Christie says that the damage is unthinkable in New Jersey and Cuomo says that New York must now rebuild to prepare for frequent disasters of this nature. For those of you who don't know, just before the storm the transit system in New York was seeking large fare hikes and faced significant backlash from taxpayers. This is going to be an interesting situation for a long time.

 

My apologies for not being around the past few days much. In addition to part of my family losing power, I also lost a young cousin to breast cancer. Tough week all around and even more challenging when you've got a house of mourning that is accepting guests hoping to pay their respects and STILL not have power as of this late date!

Yes, this is outrageous. A great deal of money was spent to rescue those who refused to evacuate, even when it became apparent that the storm was going to be much worse than just another minor issue that would blow over. In Manhattan, I had my doubts and for the most part, you couldn't even tell there was much of a storm midtown and uptown. But the lower lying areas and especially Long Island, Staten Island and the Jersey coast - they all knew what was coming. And then you've got the question as to who is a victim and how insurance rates will go up for all because some are promising to rewrite the rules of who will be compensated.

There is an election taking place tomorrow. If things could not be more disorganized, the pinnacle of stupidity and greed just occurred -- free gas being distributed to those who knew to come to certain gas stations, first come first served. I have no idea what mindless individual thought that, after days of rationing and long lines with police protection, wantonly giving out 10 gallons of free gas without any organization would be a good idea. There are many conspiracies that the democrats decided to shower some love on "the people" but it's all speculation and could just be utter foolishness.

And then there was the New York City Marathon. I have a tremendous amount of sympathy for all those people who trained for many months, spent a great deal of money to come to New York only to find out there will be no race. But under the circumstances, it was incredibly foolish for the City not to have just called it off on Wednesday, when it was quite clear that police protection and resources were scarce and desperately needed elsewhere. Hard to believe but the generators for the race apparently sat idle in Central Park during the most pressing times.

My heart and prayers are with those who didn't have very much and lost most of what they had. My cousins are still without power today and it will probably be weeks longer for many others in the outer regions (they live only a 20 minute drive away from Manhattan.) Best to all.