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Go Bags And Zones: Bloomberg Updates City On FRANKENSTORM Preparations
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 26, 2012
Modified Oct 26, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 26, 2012
Modified Oct 26, 2012
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[UPDATE BELOW] Mayor Bloomberg will be speaking imminently about the city's preparations for Frankenstorm, the hybrid hurricane/winter storm that is due to hit the city in the next few days. It's like 2011 all over again! Watch it live below. It's just too bad El Bloombito already summed up everything he's going to say in one short and sweet tweet: "Por favor to not eato el junk food or drinko el soda. El stormo es coming y los fatties esta muy dificil to que evacuaté!"
Update: Mayor Bloomberg gave his update on what the city has been doing to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, which he noted was expected to make landfall in NYC sometime Monday. And he admitted that it's still too soon to know just how bad this storm may be: "We have no idea whether its gonna be the same as Irene."
Nevertheless, it sure as heck reminded us a lot of those Hurricane Irene press conferences of yore, what with the references to Go Bags and Zones. While there are no mandatory evacuations yet, Bloomberg stressed that there were approximately 375K people living in the most vulnerable area of the city, Zone A—this includes Brooklyn's Coney Island and Manhattan Beach, Far Rockaway and Broad Channel in Queens, South Beach, Midland Beach, and other low-lying areas on Staten Island, and Manhattan's Battery Park City.
"There's no evacuation order now, but if that changes, we'll make an announcment giving further details. This is done for your safety," he said, adding that the next update will likely occur late Saturday afternoon. "Whenever or whatever or wherever this storm comes ashore, our city is very likely to feel its effects in the form of high tide, high wind, and heavy rainful lasting for several days."
The Buildings Department has ordered a halt to all exterior construction work by 5 p.m. today, until further notice. Bloomberg warned residents to stay out of city parks starting Sunday. He added that they haven't made a decision about whether schools will be open Monday.
As for whether the city is jumping the gun, Bloomberg rolled his eyes: "I dont wish that the storm is bad. I wish that it is not bad. That may be a corollary effect that people think you're crying wolf. But we dont do this lightly. We're trying to be balanced, and not too early, worrying people. But common sense says you should take precautions...if we have to make a mistake, we'd rather make a mistake in being cautious."
Tagged
bloomberg
frankenstorm
hurricane sandy
mayor bloomberg
MTA
storm
weather
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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