September has been pretty dry—up until now. Thanks to Tropical Rainstorm Nicole, torrential rain is headed our way. Last night, the National Weather Service warned there was "the chance for strong to severe rain and wind late this evening through early Friday"—translation: there may be flooding—and now there's a "High Wind Warning" in effect until tomorrow morning at 6 a.m.—translation: watch out from stuff flying off roofs or scaffolding and if you're a property owner/manager, tie stuff down! more ›

Here are photos and video of flooding that submerged parts of Fourth Avenue at Carroll Street in Brooklyn this morning. There's considerable disagreement in the comments section of Brownstoner as to what caused this mess, but apparently this happens every couple of years in this little part of Gowanus. Is this Marty Markowitz's Katrina? more ›

A 12-inch water main near the intersection of 140th Avenue and 159th Street in Springfield Gardens, Queens broke before 5 a.m. this morning, leaving many street flooded and some residents with six feet of water in their homes. Residents, including one from a home where a cesspool/sewage line broke, are being evacuated or told to move their cars. One resident lamented to WABC 7, "My whole room is totally underwater, I loss everything. What I have on my back is all I have left." The main is reportedly from 1969. more ›

If you're walking home through the West Village tonight, you may be wishing you'd brought your galoshes, or waders, or a rowboat. A major water main break on West 10th St. has flooded the area surrounding it. Reader Erik Dane ( of The Foggy Monocle) sent us this on-the-spot photo of West 4th completely underwater. He reports that cops and firemen are swarming the area to get the situation under control. more ›

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Irene Boland, the co-author of Wind the World Over, works in the sustainability office of the EPA. Her office covers Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) helps people pursue green living through their built environment. You can find out more about her office at the EPA on their website. Irene resides in Brooklyn, "under the BQE." How did you and your co-author, Vanessa Kellogg come up with the... more ›

In The Brothers Size, three shirtless black men struggle for scraps of peace and prosperity under the blazing sun of some unnamed, dirt poor southern town. Ogun and Oshoosi Size are two recently reunited brothers – the older, more responsible Ogun has taken Oshoosi in after he’s released from prison. Oshoosi makes a halfhearted go at rehabilitation working at Ogun’s auto-body shop, at least until the appearance of his old jailbird buddy Elegba, who surfaces... more ›

A few readers let us know that they smelled the sickly sweet smell of a maple syrup-like substance last evening. Now, this brings back a flood of memories from 2005, when a maple syrup smell blanketed much of Manhattan. The smell, which has made return visits in early December 2005 aJanuary 2006, March 2006 and November 2006, leading us to believe this is a cold weather phenomena. One reader noted that it was detected around... more ›

Developer Charles J. Urstadt, the man behind the creation of Battery Park City in the 1970s, is eager to duplicate the feat further north up the Hudson by creating an additional 40 to 50 acres of Manhattan real estate. How? Well, by depositing fill dredged from Lower New York Bay. more ›

This afternoon's rain will continue into the evening, as some areas are being warned about the storms. New Jersey is supposed to have heavy thunderstorms, a tornado warning was issued, then canceled, for Nassau County, and an urban flood warning was issued for Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens until 7PM! more ›

New York University is urging students who are feeling overwhelmed to contact the school's mental health facilities, a few days after one of its incoming freshman killed himself by jumping from the 15th-floor roof of his Union Square dorm on East 14th St. Eighteen-year-old "Trey" Allan Oakley Hunter III leapt to his death minutes after texting a goodbye message to his parents and brother. In an email sent out to students, university president John Sexton described how young people far from home and confronted with an alien environment that can seem overwhelming often make irreversible and tragic decisions. more ›

There was a bit in the MTA's August 8 Storm Report which mentioned that the MTA was working on some street furniture designs to "raise vent heights to prevent water inflow." As part of the recommendation to "Implement corrective action plan for top flood-prone locations," the MTA, with the Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Protection, is developing short- and long-term solutions at the most flooding-vulnerable locations.

Perhaps a more promising and intriguing solution to the sidewalk grating and station entrance water inflow problem is already being pursued in conjunction with NYCDOT. In fact, in the last week the MTA, NYCT, and NYCDOT have co-sponsored a design charette with top urban designers to develop solutions to the problem. The three conceptual designs they came up with will hopefully lead to a more refined alternative that will address both pedestrian impact and neighborhood aesthetics.

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• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: An unstable building in Murray Hill; a "serious trauma" not far from Shea Stadium in Queens; a bank robbery at Avenue A and 4th Street; and at 777 6th Ave there was a barricaded EDP (emotionally disturbed person).
• Remember those chemicals found at the United Nations? It turns out that they were probably just cleaning supplies. Hopefully these aren't the same tests the organization uses for biological weapons.
• If you're shopping for your prostitutes on Craigslist, be careful. The fuzz might be setting you up for a sting as they're busting more and more people (John's and pros) who use the service.
• A tipster tells Streetsblog that Bill Clinton agrees that "cycling is good citizenship," but we're betting that Bubba was getting into his towncar/SUV as he was agreeing.
• There are at least 5 nostalgic ConEd customers who are angry with the utility today. ConEd won permission from the state yesterday to stop delivering direct current (DC) power. Looks like Nikola Tesla wins this one.
• Queens residents who were affected by storms on August 8th are getting their own FEMA flood relief center today. Hopefully the Flushing location will do a better job than some of FEMA's other work.
• What's going to happen with Brooke Astor's Briarcliff Manor retreat. The bucolic property called Holly Hill is 65 acres and has a 9,000 square foot house. Her son Anthony D. Marshall will likely inherit the house, but people are unsure what he'll do with it.
• If Mike Bloomberg became President, could he still be a majority owner of Bloomberg LP? Some experts say no due to the conflicts that Bloomberg News would cause. Mayor Bloomberg currently owns 68% of Bloomberg LP and has denied his interest in the White House several times.

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. more ›

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. more ›

While this morning's commute seems better, most mass transit riders are still confused, frustrated and even betrayed by the subway system and other rail service coming to a stand still during the Wednesday morning rush hour. The MTA admitted that the service was not acceptable on many accounts, from the flooding to the fact that the MTA's website was overwhelmed. Then there's also the fact that the MTA was urging people not to take the subways and opt for a bus instead, only for buses to be (A) few and far between and (B) crowded as anything. more ›

Karen Carpenter would not have liked today. Already an inch of rain has fallen in Central Park and another inch is likely before early afternoon. An urban flood advisory is in effect for the city and counties immediately to the east and west. more ›

As recently discussed here and there, a group of scientists have tried to predict how more frequent flooding--induced by global climate change--could affect New York City. more ›

Rising sea levels caused by global warming are projected to increase the frequency and severity of damaging storm surges and flooding. Under the higher-emissions scenario what is now considered a once-in-a-century coastal flood in New York City is projected to occur at least twice as often by mid-century, and 10 times as often—once per decade on average—by late-century. With lower emissions, today’s 100-year flood is projected to occur once every 22 years on average by late-century.The report also details the impact of higher emissions on human health, fisheries, agriculture, forests, and more. more ›

This season Shakespeare in the Park started off with Romeo and Juliet, a play that surprisingly hasn't seen the outdoor Delacorte Theatre since 1968, when Martin Sheen played Romeo to Susan McArthur's Juliet. On July 8th the run will end, and A Midsummer Night's Dream will finish up the season. With notoriously long ticket lines to gain the free pass to a show, many miss out on these performances due to lack of time alone. So how is this season (under Michael Greif's direction) going so far? The reviews are mixed. more ›

It only took three days into the hurricane season for New York to be affected by a tropical storm this year. The remnants of tropical storm Barry arrived yesterday afternoon and has dropped at least three inches of rain on Central Park since then. Barry's rainfall was warmly received in parts of Florida and Georgia, which have been suffering under a rainfall deficit this spring. more ›

Another wet April day. Friday is off to a rainy start. So much so that the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for the city and much of northeastern and central New Jersey. The warning is in effect until 11:00 a.m. as a large area of moderate to heavy rainfall passes over already saturated ground. Taking a cue from Jesse Jackson the Weather Service reminds us "when encountering flooded roads make the wise choice… turn around… don't drown." If the warning's not enough a flood watch, a flood statement and a special weather statement have also been issued. more ›

The New York City Open Accessible Space Information System Cooperative, aka NYC OASIS, has updated its map to include the latest property data, as well as coastal storm impact zones (above). This map joins climate change rallies and drenching Nor'easters as an indication of where city can get really soggy. The city also has a Hurricane Zone Finder. more ›

Yesterday's storm brought flooding, closed roadways, delayed mass transit, difficult drives, soaked clothing, upended umbrellas and 7.46 inches of rain to Central Park. There were winds of 48 MPH at Kennedy Airport, as hundreds of flights in the area airports were canceled. And some environmentalists noted the irony of Saturday's Sea of People demonstration while the mayor was issuing emergency flood warnings for downtown Manhattan. more ›

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. more ›

THEATER: You’ve got just three more weekends to experience one of the wildest and most entertaining late-night theater extravaganzas to hit New York this century. The Curse of the Mystic Renaldo The defies description – what begins as a fake silent movie (ostensibly unearthed during the construction of 3 Legged Dog’s sleek new theater center) quickly dashes off in countless delirious directions at once: There’s live rock, hilarious vaudevillian slapstick, both high and low art, free popcorn, free regular and light beer, side-splitting ribaldry and, above all, the virtuoso performance of Aldo Perez, the show’s charismatic creator. (Not to take anything away from his equally brilliant co-stars Jenny Lee Mitchell and Richard Ginocchio.) See it now so you’ll have time to catch it again before it closes. - John Del Signore more ›

This Saturday a sea of people wearing all blue will flood the streets of lower Manhattan. This will happen because Sea of People have organized a rally partly in the form of human installation. Thousands of participants dressed in blue will stretch through the streets and become a visual for the projected 10-foot waterlines that may redefine lower Manhattan under the ten-foot sea level rise scenario. more ›

As we mentioned yesterday, it's wet today. more ›