Bloomberg: "Worst Is Over" Except For Your Commute Tomorrow!

Mayor Bloomberg just made his latest update on the impact of the now-mostly departed Hurricane Irene, and he sounded satisfied with the city's response: "The worst is over and we will soon move to restore and return mode." However, he warned that MTA service will not be resuming today, and likely won't resume until late Monday at best. His message to commuters tomorrow: "It's gonna be tough."

Bloomberg defended the exhaustive preparation for the storm: "Bottom line is, I would make same decisions again without hesitation." Transit will not resume today, aviation traffic will resume Tuesday, and PATH service is point to point only. Bloomberg said that the city doesn't yet know the full extent of damage caused by the storm, but was very grateful that there have been no confirmation of deaths or injuries from Irene. "We did have substantial erosion on Staten Island and the Rockaways beaches," and Orchard Beach in the Bronx is underwater, the Mayor said. He warned residents, "nature is dangerous, pay attention."

People living in the low-lying areas (Zone A) will be able to go back to their homes around 3 p.m., which is when the evacuation order will be lifted. He said that there may have been water damage in the basement of many high rise buildings, and elevators are out in many others. NYCHA residents should plan to return at about 6 p.m. today to give staff time to prepare.

Bloomberg also discussed the water rescue of 61 adults and 3 babies trapped in 5 feet of water—he said emergency personnel were on scene within two minutes, and there were no serious injuries. The Mayor noted that "something like 650 trees" have been uprooted in the five boroughs, and more than 100 forestry crews are working to remove the downed limbs.

Bloomberg was also enthusiastic about how great the crime numbers were during the storm: crime overnight was well below normal, with 45 arrests compared to an average of 345 on a typical Saturday night in August.

Hizzoner ended the press conference by again addressing questions about whether the city Irene prep was overblown; he said that people who were asking that question should "look in the mirror and be glad they're alive today."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Yakas in News on August 28, 2011 2:05 PM

Comments [rss]

sharter

this storm was made up by the lazy union workers so they could get overtime.

patsw

The chaos from the commute on Monday cannot attributed to tropical storm Irene, it can be attributed to the over-reaction to it, and the disorganization in re-starting systems that are designed to be run 24x7

Obwon

I think we need legislative action. Elected officials should be prohibited from delivering emergency messages, this should be the work of their appointed emergency managers. Why? Well, look at it! Any storm, if hyped to the level of an impending biblical disaster, will provide an elected official with the opportunity to build on his recognition by staying on tv, radio and in print for as long as they can or would like to. Eventually even meteorologists will be influenced, to hype storms out of proportion, just so elected officials can take advantage of extended "face time" with the public. As storms, like this one, fail to produce the described product, faith in the disaster preparedness and emergency management systems will fail, leaving people at serious risk! Thus, it makes absolutely no sense to leave things as they are, in the hands of people who first and foremost are enamored and in need of self promotional opportunities, and who may therefore, seek ways to extend
their reason for appearance. Next time expect fewer people to heed these warnings.

Obwon

martis01

this is bullshit. why can't the mta get the main commuter lines up on limited service by monday morning? this is scandalous. there wasn't any tunnel flooding FFS!

Adam Moreira

Trees are down on some lines---and in the case of Metro-North, the Hudson River and Bronx River overflowed their banks, spewing water onto the tracks. In addition, west of the Hudson River on the Port Jervis Line, the track washed out in sections and must be replaced. There is also a mudslide in the Bronx that has resulted in a house being condemned as soil supporting it washed down onto the Hudson Line.

robingee

scandalous! My word!

William K. Scurry Jr.

A hurricane hitting New York City at full strength is a nearly unheard-of anomaly. Anyone screeching about such an occurrence is to be immediately written off as a alarmist.

hc792

The highest possible hurricane that could NYC would probably be a cat 3, which has wind speeds between 111-130 mph. Even a cat 2/high cat 1 would have been devastating. A hurricane does need to be at full strength to cause major damage.

PicoPhreako69

Agreed!
Just look at the maps, peeps - NYC isn't AS vulnerable to storm-surges as Nawlins, but it sure isn't Mile-High Denver, either. Me, I'm just glad the surges weren't worse than they turned out to be - just the thought of having to pump out most of the subway tunnels with water up near the ceilings.... eeeeek.

As it is, though, I'd guess everything won't be up and running back anywhere near "normal" till Tuesday afternoon at the earliest. Good thing I don't mind walking.

Jester504

As a former New Orleanian... Need I say more?

The_Green_Devil

So nobody died, no trains loaded with passengers were trapped underground because water shorted out the power, and all people can do is bitch? I suppose it would have been better to have let bad shit happen- then the same people would be bitching and saying "It was a hurricane, why didn't they shut things down?"

Obwon

I guess the reply to that would be "why have weather services at all"?
The idea of shutting the subways down, was contingent on the storm surge, not the 10" of rain, which the subway pumps could handle.
If the weather services can tell you that you're not going to get the big storm surge, then you need to scale back your shut down plans, eh?
What was with the car services being allowed on the streets while the much heavier buses were stopped? And why the need to use apologetic slogans like "better safe than sorry"? That, in itself says that the aftermath didn't confirm the reactions, just as the weather services said!
Obwon

Mary O'Shaughnessy

I spent 16 hours yesterday answering phone calls from upset people asking where they should go to get away from the rising water in their homes, or asking for help in getting damaged trees away from their roofs or power lines. Anyone who thinks this was "not a big deal" must live in a high-floor apartment on high ground in some neighborhood in Manhattan or Brooklyn.

FU Boy

Or a block away from an evacuation zone in Astoria. *Shrug*.

robingee

Some folks are never happy, Devil. Never.

Mordicai

I can't believe these elected official prepared for a natural disaster, seriously, what are we even paying them for!

airtech1

Could Bloomberg run again, he's got his campaign slogan: "I was America's mayor during Hurricane Irene."

Obwon

He could use a noun a verb and Irene! Hahaha!

irbrose

As a person who lived through more than a few storms I think he made the best decision to keep the people safe. I've seen wimpy storms turn into a major hurricane in a heart beat. Glad everyone is safe!

optionshift

You're entitled to your opinion on the mayor's handling even though it differs from mine.

But since you're a survivor of more than a few, can you honestly provide an example of the sudden transformation of a minor storm into a hurricane without warning? (Yes, we know they can gain and lose wind speed and change categorization, but transformation into "major hurricane in a heartbeat". It's sounds like you're still in chicken little mode.