Flooded Battery Park (Credit: Michael Appleton for The New York Times)
With a collective sigh of relief, our neighborhood is safe. For the hours we lost in our homes, Battery Park City gained a few things in return. We’ve got our…
“Top 5 Things Battery Park Residents Learned from Hurricane Irene.”
(No. 5) So that’s what happens to Battery Park City in a Hurricane!
Battery Park City has only been existence shy of celebrating its dirty 30. We’ve lived through some pretty tremendously historical times. Yet, most of us before this weekend hardly knew of the dangers we faced should our lovely esplanade meet its nemesis Hurricane. How many of us knew what happened in 1821? Thank goodness for historical records and those crazy people that keep them!
(No. 4) Irene in Battery Park City will have more eyes than Lady Gaga at the VMA’s
Our neighborhood didn’t need to wear a meat dress, but we sure didn’t win the wet T-shirt contest either.
(No. 3) If the apocalypse ever dawns on Battery Park City — Hudson Produce will still stay open.
Cause someone’s gotta sell the RedBull, and someone’s gonna buy it for 3x the MSRP!
(No. 2) Rain, Sleet or Snow — when a dog’s gotta go, a dog’s gotta go.
Was this Zone A or Zone Pee? The pooper scoopers may have fled but that didn’t stop dogs from evacuating all over the evacuation zone.
(No. 1) Battery Park City has no parking problems when we all evacuate.
Like a scene out of a zombie movie, Sunday was every Battery Park City car owners dream. Too bad no one was here to experience it!
Evacuations were called amidst concerns of major storm surges that would cause massive flooding, forcing power outages in our area – on top of a lack of public transportation to our largely isolated neighborhood. However, all restrictions were lifted today at 3pm.
• Power and steam pipes have not been shut off as initially planned by Con Ed.
• Elevators at some buildings have been restored including the Liberty Buildings, 1 Rector Park; Gateway Plaza elevators still off.
• Residents of all buildings in Battery Park City should return to their homes.
• 6-8 Inches of flooding reported across areas of Battery Park City
•  West Side Highway and FDR is reopened.
• Brooklyn/Battery Tunnel is open for those who want to re-enter Battery Park from the Brooklyn/Queens area.
• MTA is still shut down according to Aaron Donovan Wont’ reallly be able to start the process until it is completely safe. Still outstanding concerns of flooding/sea water effecting underground tunnels. Too early to pronounce whether public transportation will be restored in time for Monday’s rush hour.
• Area is still very windy, but not unusually windy for Battery Park City, flooding not seen on both ends of South End Avenue and on areas closest to West Side Highway for those who want to return.
All Battery Park City residents should be evacuated, meeting the mandatory restrictions placed by the Mayor Bloomberg for today at 5pm.
Neighboring Hudson River cities including Hoboken and Jersey City have followed suit, having respective mandatory evacuations in place for those who reside in the low lying areas.
It was further revealed that mandatory evacuations for Zone A are due to utility ConEd’s decision to shut off underground power lines to protect from salt water flooding and utility companies cutting off steam lines to prevent explosions – on top of flooding concerns.
More information has been released citywide:
• NYC Tunnels: Will close on a case-by-case basis depending on flooding conditions. No plans to preemptively close any of the city’s tunnels.
• Port Authority: Has closed its five airports — John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, Stewart International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports — to all arriving passenger international and domestic flights. The five airports will remain open for departing flights pending further updates. The Port Authority is taking this measure to avoid stranding passengers at its airports when the region’s mass transit systems suspend service tomorrow due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene.
• Flights Canceled: More than nine thousand flights canceled. Closed to International Flights: The Port Authority will close John F. Kennedy International Airport to incoming international flights beginning at noon tomorrow
• Evacuation Centers and Emergency Shelters: Now open for those who need shelter
• Tolls Suspended: Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced he will suspend some fares and tolls to help ease the evacuation of low-lying areas
• Airline Cancellations: More than 9-thousand flights have been canceled at New York area airports
• Baseball: The Mets announced on Friday that their afternoon contests against the Braves on Saturday and Sunday have been rescheduled as a single-admission doubleheader to be played at 4:10 p.m. on Sept. 8
• Broadway Cancels: The show will not go on on Broadway. All 23 Broadway musical and plays have been canceled for the weekend.
• Public Transportation: The governor says New York City’s public transit has been halted
• New York City Mayor’s Office: All City beaches remain closed
• Hospital Patient Transfers: Health care facilities located in what is identified as Hurricane Evacuation Zone A are being required to transfer their patients to facilities located outside this zone. Beth Israel Petrie, Roosevelt and St. Luke’s are all beginning to receive transfer patients from NYU Friday afternoon.
• Bridges: Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said that a half dozen bridges — including the George Washington Bridge, the Robert F. Kennedy Triboro Bridge, the Throgs Neck Bridge and the Whitestone Bridge — would be closed if winds reached 60 mph for more than a short time
• New York City Evacuation Zones State Level Emergency Responders: Agencies and local governments around the state will meet today to plan coordinated response efforts, such as emergency operations support and field staff deployments to areas that are expected to be hit the hardest
• The Governor: Encouraged New Yorkers to check in with neighbors, especially the elderly or disabled, who might need assistance to ensure that their needs are met if emergency instructions are issued
• 26 Tower Cranes: Tower cranes located in the city (13 of those at the World Trade Center construction site) do not disassemble quickly and may not be able to be taken down in time for the storm. They are only built to withstand winds of 65 mph or less.
• Underground Bunker: The state’s Office of Emergency Management has increased staffing in its underground bunker
What Will Happen to Battery Park CIty in a Hurricane?
The Mayor has called for the first time ever, a MANDATORY evacuation for Battery Park City, which is one of the low lying areas in New York City. What does this mean for us? Why are these warnings so important?
• Battery Park City is not more than 5 feet above sea level. The full moon, high tide and hurricane can bring sea/storm surge up to 8 feet.
• Flooding is expected in our area and should the hurricane and water cause damage or major flooding — Emergency Services Vehicles would have trouble reaching our neighborhood.
• Trees and park area can be uprooted by the hurricane’s impact.
• World Trade Center construction also causes a challenge, as workers are securing cranes, equipment and construction elements that might be lifted by elevated winds.
• MTA plans a citywide shutdown of services by 12pm tomorrow Saturday, August 27th – paralyzing our ability to leave the neighborhood.
• Most stores and businesses in our area are also part of the mandatory evacuation order.
• According to the Mayor, taping windows is not necessary and futile to protect windows. Best safety protocol is mandatory evacuation of our neighborhood.
• All area events, including Governor’s Island and Major Sporting Events have been cancelled — nothing to stay for this weekend – bolsters reason to evacuate sooner than later.
• Those who are not evacuated by 5pm, Saturday August 27th will be subject to city fines.
MANDATORY EVACUATION INFORMATION FOR BATTERY PARK CITY
The Mayor has called a mandatory evacuation of Battery Park City:
1. Evacuation of the neighborhood is mandatory by Saturday, August 27th by 5PM.
2. MTA Public Transportation will be suspended by Saturday, August 27th by Noon.
According to NYC.Gov
Evacuation Centers
In the event of an evacuation order, the City strongly recommends evacuees stay with friends or family outside evacuation zone boundaries. However, for those who have no alternative shelter, the City has identified hurricane shelters throughout the five boroughs.
To ensure the most efficient use of resources and to make necessary parking available, the City will ask all evacuees seeking public shelter to report to an evacuation center. These centers are located in all boroughs, are easily reached via public transportation. Some centers provide parking facilities.
Each evacuation center is associated with several hurricane shelters in what is known as its “solar system.” There are currently 65 such systems in the City, each of which can accommodate an average of 10,000 people.
Evacuation centers help ensure the number of people in each is roughly the same, eliminating potential overcrowding or underuse of particular facilities. At the evacuation center, evacuees will be assigned to a particular evacuation shelter and be transported by bus or van.
To find out the location of your nearest evacuation center, use OEM’s Hurricane Evacuation Zone Finder to locate your evacuation zone, and the system will direct you to the proper facility. During an emergency, you can also obtain this information by calling 311.
Hurricane Shelters
Hurricane shelters provide basic needs for those with no other place to go. Shelters are selected based upon the safety of their location (outside of Category 4 hurricane inundation areas) and proximity to evacuation centers.
Certainly, service animals that assist people with disabilities are allowed in hurricane shelters. Ideally, you should arrange to shelter other pets at a kennel or with friends or relatives outside the evacuation area. Legal pets with proper identification will be admitted into shelters with their owners. Owners should bring cleaning and food supplies with them, as well as containers and leashes.
Learn more about emergency preparedness for pets
Officials will notify evacuees when and if it is safe to return to their homes. Since hurricanes are highly destructive, residents may not be able to return home for weeks.
Battery Park Synagogue has become locally famous for their children’s candlelight and flashlight procession for Neilah, the conclusion of Yom Kippur services Saturday night, September 18 at around 7:30 pm.
Battery Park Synagogue Neilah Shofar
As in past years, services are held in the 2nd floor ballrooms of the NY Marriott Downtown Hotel, 85 West Street. They will be held in a dimly lit sanctuary, during the closing service that ends with multiple individuals blowing shofars, as well as many dozens kids, standing on the podium at the front of the room, singing and swaying to usher in the end of Yom Kippur.
