At West End Avenue and West 59th Street, a water main broke, flooding the Amtrak tracks. The FDNY is pumping out the water and a number of other city agencies, including the Office of Emergency Management and Department of Environmental Protection are on the scene. According to other reports, a new building (an expansion of John Jay Collage) at the intersection is also flooded.
Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Office of Emergency Management have announced 10 winners in the contest to design temporary housing for the thousands of New Yorkers who might be displaced in the event of a catastrophe, like a direct hit from a Category 3 hurricane. The 117 submissions from 30 countries had to create quickly assembled housing for 38,000 families from Prospect Shore, a fictional neighborhood set along a mile of the New York City coastline.
Over 150 residents of an eleven-story building at Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg were evacuated yesterday after the Fire Department and Buildings Department found a number of violations. The building had been illegally converted to residences and a matzoh factory, complete with two silos of (highly combustible) grain in the basement. A neighboring building was cited as well, and the violations ranged from non-working standpipes (which firefighters use to deliver water to fires), illegal partitions, blocked exits, inoperable sprinkler systems and others, including the illegal grain silos for the unauthorized basement bakery.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is busy trying to rally support in Florida, one of many big states with primaries in the coming weeks. He didn't really focus on the Iowa caucus (where he placed fifth - after Ron Paul) or New Hampshire (so he claims; he managed to place 4th, ahead of Ron Paul) and flew out of the Granite State before the polls were closed.
Former mayor Rudy Giuliani is in Florida today, skipping the Iowa caucus that his team never counted on anyway. Still, his staffers are trying to remain relevant in Iowa by "contacting reporters, reminding them that even though the former New York mayor is lagging badly [in Iowa]...he will remain a player in the big states that hold their primaries in upcoming weeks."
Everyone is buzzing about the Brooklyn Bridge Park development today. The latest is that the project (which has been stalled time and time again) could begin next month as a wrecking ball tears down a piece of the area's history. The Daily News reports:
If approved today, the $18 million construction phase would include the demolition of the historic Purchase Building [pictured] and the removal of portions of five piers, officials said.Continue reading "Demolition to Begin Brooklyn Bridge Park Development"
Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: an injured firefighter on Myrtle Ave. in Queens, a robbery/mobilization on Broadway in Manhattan, and a suspicious death on Sheffield Ave. in Brooklyn. Five Hoboken police officers filed a federal lawsuit claiming discrimination by the town's police department. Their commander allegedly used the "N" word frequently and said "the white race was destined to rule and dominate others." You know you're screwed when you call your City Council representative...
Taxi workers held another strike starting at 5AM this morning over demands to remove the new GPS systems, for there to be a healthcare and retirement pension fund, and union recognition. However, it's unclear how many of the tens of thousands of taxi drivers actually struck.
Tenants of the office building at 370 Lexington Ave. and East 41st St. are alleging that while they were barred from the building for more than a month during clean-up and decontamination of the area following July's midtown steampipe explosion, their offices were looted of cash, cellphones, electronics, and other portable valuables. The New York Post talked to the president of a graphic-arts company located in the building, who found that approximately $45,000 in items had been stolen from the firm upon returning to its offices in August after six weeks. Stolen items included 12 laptops, every digital and video camera, iPods, memory sticks, as well as cash. He described the robbery as methodical. Other tenants at 370 Lexington complained of similar robberies.
Mayor Bloomberg announced that the city was prepared for the possible two-day taxi strike that some taxi driver groups have threatened for tomorrow morning, starting at 5AM. About 7,000 of the city's 44,000 taxi drivers (there are about 13,000 cabs in total) have reportedly promised to strike over new technology that the Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to install in all cabs. Some drivers' issues with the technology, which includes GPS tracking systems and credit card payment systems, are that (a) the GPS has no navigational capabilities and (b) when the technology breaks down, the taxi fare meter breaks down, too, costing them money. The city,though, views these measures as necessary customer service initiatives.
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance said that it definitely will strike on Wednesday and Thursday to protest the city's plans to put new technology, including GPS systems, in all taxi cabs. NYTWA spokeswoman Bhairavi Desai said, "Leave the car parked at home or at the garage. No yellow cabs for hire."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that President Bush had signed a "major disaster declaration" for Queens on August 8, the day the weather (including a tornado in Brooklyn and Staten Island) caused much of the city to come to a standstill. This means that Queens residents and business owners will be able to apply for disaster relief.
If you rely on taxis, you may want to adjust your transportation plans: The Taxi Workers Alliance says that drivers it represents will strike on September 5 and 6 to protest the Taxi and Limousine Commission's decision to add GPS systems to all yellow cabs. But then the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, another advocacy group, said that there would be no strike (with spokesman Fernando Mateo saying, "Read my lips: There will be no strike."). Our thoughts: Pray there's no unusual weather event and take mass transit or your bike.
Residents are trying to clean up after the mess of yesterday's EF2 tornado that touched down in Brooklyn. At least 40 homes, many in Bay Ridge and Sunset Park, and buildings were damaged. The tornado touched down first at 6:30AM, with winds of over 100 miles per hour, making it the first in the borough since 1889 (there was an F1 in Staten Island in 1995; a F2 in Queens in 1985). Interesting fact: While tornadoes are most likely to occur in the Midwest in spring, they can happen at any time of year and have touched down in all 50 states.
We're thinking that the newly renovated City Hall bullpen would be a great place for MTV Cribs to visit, even if Bloomberg staffers don't have posters of Scarface or The Godfather in their cubes. Because Panasonic has donated a 103" plasma HDTV to the bullpen!
More updates below, but here's a summary so far (8:20PM): A steam explosion occurred on East 41st and Lexington Avenue (41st between Lex and Third) just before 6PM - right during the evening rush hour. The NYPD does not think it was a terrorist attack. It appears that there is a hole about 25' in diameter with a red tow truck in the center. One person has died (possibly from cardiac arrest) and there are at least 15 people injured. It is a six-alarm situation for the FDNY, which includes 24 engines and 13 ladders.
The fuel tanker, the White Sea, that ran aground near the Ambrose Channel off Coney Island and Sandy Hook, NJ, yesterday morning, is still stuck in the waters. An attempt to dislodge the 800-foot ship carrying over half a million barrels of "low-sulfur fuel oil" failed last night, so the Coast Guard began plans to "lighten" (remove) 110,000 barrels of fuel after the ship couldn't be moved. Coast Guard officials are hopeful that it can be dislodged during tonight's high tide around 8PM.
It is hot. Although temperature is just over 90 degrees, it feels more like 100 with the humidity. And if you're on certain subway platforms, well, forget a mini-pack of tissues - you'll need a whole stack of paper towels or a big towel to wipe away the sweat while you wait for your train.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Central Park happened 71 years ago today. On July 9th, 1936 the thermometer maxed out at 106 degrees. That record is safe but it will be plenty hot today and tomorrow. There's a bit of uncertainty to today's high temperature. AccuWeather is calling for a max of 92 degrees, while the Weather Service and Weather Channel both say it'll be around 96 or 97. Gothamist is leaning toward believing AccuWeather on this one as the Weather Service has been slightly warm on their predictions the past few days. In either case it will still be plenty hot.
Possibly on a Brooklyn-bound F train: Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Mayor's "bullpen-style" offices need some new paint, a new carpet and a few other fixes, so Bloomberg and his staffers are temporarily relocating to work out of the Office of Emergency Management headquarters in Brooklyn on Cadman Plaza East. The Mayor explained, “Somebody’s going to kill themselves with all of the rips in the carpet." Nice to know that he's concerned with personal injury lawsuits against the city from its employees!
Con Ed is laying the blame on Mame Mother Nature for the two power outages this past week. The utility issued a statement saying that the 48-minute blackout on Wednesday - the one that hit the Upper East Side and South Bronx - was caused by a "strong lightning strike." This is what the Con Ed statement said:
Information obtained from real-time lightning tracking data show that detection instruments measured a lightning strike of 34,000 amperes in the vicinity of a substation in Queens at 3:42 p.m. on Wednesday, precisely at the time of the power loss. The lightning strike momentarily affected communication equipment that prompted circuit breakers on multiple transmission feeders to open, causing the service interruption.As for a Thursday power failure that affected Queens residents and business owners for two hours, Con Ed also blamed lightning. But that still makes politicians, especially ones from Queens who remember the lingering Queens blackout of last summer, nervous. Assemblyman Michael Gianaris said, "[Con Ed's] word over the last year has proven not to be worth very much. Their history is to obfuscate."
Well, there's nothing like having a barely-one-hour blackout on a sultry weekday to make you consider stocking up on flashlights, batteries, water, and maybe a Go Bag. Con Ed is still investigating the cause of yesterday's brief power failure to parts of the Bronx and Manhattan; Newsday reported "the blackout was caused when breakers opened at an Astoria substation and cut off power to stations servicing Yorkville and parts of the Bronx." It's unclear why the breakers were opened in the first place.
The Office of Emergency Management would like to remind you that for the next three days, New York City will be grosser than usual, with the heat index tipping 90 every day. But the professionals at OEM are on the case with such well-researched tips as,"Wear loose-fitting, light-colored clothing" and "Use an air conditioner if you have one." What would we do without our City government?
Over the past few days the storm off the coast has been the Fugazi of weather systems. It's been doing its own thing, shooting spokes of clouds and rain over New York and New England, completely independent of the world of weather circulating around it. Over the next day or two, however, it appears that the low will get ambushed and be incorporated into the mainstream atmospheric circulation.
Today, the fourth suspect in the alleged plot to blow up a jet fuel pipeline at JFK airport and the vicinity surrendered to authorities in Trinidad. Abdel Nur is being questioned and will appear in court in the next few days. Two other suspects, Abdul Kadir and Kareem Ibrahim, were arrested in Trinidad on Saturday, while Russell Defreitas, a former air cargo worker at JFK was arrested in Brooklyn.
We started the morning with some Giuliani-9/11 news, so here's some end-of-the-day Giuliani-9/11 musings. There's an awesome update to one of our favorite Rudy Giuliani stories - the story, or mystery, of why was the Office of Emergency Management's emergency center placed at 7 World Trade Center. Here's how it goes:
The Nor'easter that drenched - and flooded - the Northeast with inches of rain has headed out. Many homes in the area were flooded and pummeled by winds; the NY Times adds that though the storm is gone, rivers are "still rising, swollen by the runoff of record rains." Residents in some suburbs were evacuated and thousands of people are without power: NY Governor Spitzer noted the devastation, while acting NJ Governor Richard Codey said that NJ "continues to operate under a state of emergency." Damages are expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The New York Times is reporting that the city is on its toes for Nor'easter 2007, with Mayor Bloomberg saying we should hope for the best as far as storm havoc goes, but prepare for the worst.
The mayor said evacuations were unlikely, but in a cautionary move, city emergency planners have identified possible shelters in the highest-risk areas and have alerted hospitals and nursing homes there to be prepared to relocate patients and elderly residents in the event of severe flooding.Continue reading "Nor'easter of the 21st Century"
The OEM site also has a page of evacuation instructions that is intended for hurricanes, but we think it applies in this case. A Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder will tell you if your neighborhood is at risk from storm surge flooding or you can call 311 and ask (we tried calling and it works!). The city's Ready New York brochure is available for download in a .pdf format and in multiple language versions.
Update: Oreo, Dog Thrown Off Building, Was Euthanized
People Wait For Tomorrow's UWS Apple Store Opening
Emily and Sarah Kunstler, Filmmakers
Cheap Chicken Wing Deal Ruined by Gunslinging Teens
FIT Students Busted For Drug Dealing Get Probation
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