New Yorkers couldn't walk a step without having a leaf, plastic bag or other sundry bit of city detritus hurtle towards them yesterday! It really was insanely windy. Central Park had measured winds of 46 MPH, and the winds were 48 MPH at LaGuardia Airport, causing delays there as well as JFK Airport. Almost two thousand residents in the Bronx and Westchester were without power, and the winds fanned flames of a Bronx blaze. The fire turned into a five-alarmer and destroyed four homes. And LIRR service was also affected: A tree fell on LIRR tracks in Queens and later a signal system was lost power.
Then there's the matter of Saturday's wind-caused scaffolding collapse at Prince and Lafayette Streets. Ground Report spoke to a resident who said the scaffolding had no purpose and was only there for the landlord to collect $20,000 a month in advertising money for the outdoor ad wrapped on it. It's sad how unsurprising that is.
Photograph of scaffolding collapse outside 270 Lafayette Street by Verbose Coma
