One year ago today: Waiting for Hurricane Irene

While parts of the South brace for Hurricane Isaac... I'm reminded that it was one year ago today when New York started prepping for the arrival of Hurricane Irene...

And have you noticed how many East Village windows still have tape on them to protect from flying glass and stuff...? (Or maybe this pre-dates Irene... and to ward off UFOs...)

You may relive revisit all of our Irene posts here.

Flood watch in effect

On 10th Street and First Avenue... Hurricane Irene two weeks later. Go sanitation. Via Steven Hirsch.

Memorial for the downed willow tree at La Plaza Cultural

Ninth Street and Avenue C. Photo by Steven Matthews. Why this tree is significant here.

Hurricane Irene observations from afar, and closer to home

[Shawn Chittle]

Perspectives on the East Village/New York City via the national/international media leading up to Hurricane Irene:

The Los Angeles Times:

"Happy Hurricane Day," a burly, bearded man named Carlos said as he walked into Mona's, a longtime watering hole in New York's East Village, on Friday night and asked a barmaid to pour him a whiskey. "Nah, that's Sunday," came the barstool reply from a short, clean-shaven man who looked like the actor Fisher Stevens (and may in fact have been him).

A kind of stoic comedy, with a kick of gallows humor, permeated New York late Friday night as the city braced for what meteorologists predicted could be one of the worst natural disasters in its history. In preparation for Hurricane Irene, the state was already taking the unprecedented step of shutting down mass transit at noon Saturday, a move that equates roughly to Los Angeles banning cars on city streets during the weekday rush hour.

... The East Village, where Mona's is located, is one of New York's premiere nightlife districts. Well past midnight on almost any weekend night, bars are typically packed, the sounds of noisy inebriation — emanating from those who've traveled miles from homes in suburban New Jersey or blocks from dorm rooms at New York University — filling the streets.

The Guardian UK:

[EV Grieve reader Lauren]

You get used to odd sights in New York, especially in the East Village, a crowded artsy neighbourhood known for a bohemian mix of hipsters and gritty old-timers, which boasts a bar on virtually every corner.

But panic-buying supplies for a hurricane? That was still a novelty for even the most jaded Manhattan eye. Yet there they were: crowds of people lined up outside local supermarkets and thronging "deli" corner stores.

The queue outside the Trader Joe's supermarket on 14th Street stretched all the way down the block, filled with a cross section of East Village life from suited-up young office workers to people clad in gym gear to smartly dressed nighthawks.

Seeing the line it was easy to be briefly disappointed at a lack of fortitude in a city that celebrates a reputation for toughness and scepticism of danger. But, gratifyingly, the line for the cheap wine shop next door was even longer.

Upon hearing about the panic shopping, an EV Grieve reader, stuck out of town last weekend, observed via email: "Have we become a bunch of pussies?"

For some reason I tried to put it in some perspective. I explained that it was equal parts media hysteria and Mayor Bloomberg's grim soundbites that helped spark the frenzy. Or maybe we are a bunch of pussies.

Still, it was a dangerous storm that killed 40 people in 11 states ... with damages estimated anywhere from $3 to $13 billion depending on your news source.

Chris Smith at New York thinks Bloomberg got it right. "Given the facts and the odds as Irene churned up the East Coast, Bloomberg made the right calls, evacuating low-lying parts of the city and endorsing the transit shutdown. That the storm didn't hit as directly or devastatingly as it could have doesn't change the rightness of the mayor's actions."

Meanwhile, there has been plenty of discussion on the media's shrill tone in the days leading up to its arrival in the area. I found the coverage unnecessarily dire and (sorry) overblown. I went to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website for updates. They don't have sizzling graphics or branded personalities. Just facts.

Jeff Jarvis called the media coverage "storm porn." Countered David Ropeik, a consultant in risk communication, on MSNBC: "Yes, the information the media presented was wrapped up in breathless alarmism ... But ... under all the alarmism was really important information that helped people stay safe: storm track timing, tips for preparedness, evacuation routes. It was alarmist in voice, but an informative tool. And that probably helped more than it hurt."

(You can read more about the storm coverage at The Columbia Journalism Review, where I found the above passages.)

I waited a few days to post any of these various perspectives... let a little time pass. Maybe we'll feel a little differently about the media coverage and Bloomberg's actions now...

Downed-tree tour continues....

We'll continue our depressing downed-tree tour in Tompkins Square Park... After the storm passed, the most visible downed tree was in Tompkins Square Park inside the Ninth Street entrance...

[Dave on 7th]

... a scene that attracted onlookers throughout Sunday...

[blue glass]

Crews finished this work up yesterday...

...the loss of a tree aside ... the collateral damage seemed minimal...

Less shade now in Tompkins Square Park

As you know, Hurricane Irene took out many trees in the neighborhood this part weekend... we lost a handful in Tompkins Square Park too, including my favorite right in the middle of the Park (an area some people have dubbed Crusty Meadow) ...

I took these shots in the late spring... thinking it would make for a gag post, such as "tree-bending culprit captured on film!"

And after the storm ...

Yesterday, Bobby Williams noted the workers have removed the tree...

Which means more sun and space for sunbathing here in the quad...

Saifee Hardware isn't accepting any Irene-related returns or exchanges

A reader unhappily notes that Saifee Hardware on First Avenue at Seventh Street won't take back any Irene-related supplies — not even for store credit.

If you can make out the sign...

All emergency items purchased on Thursday, Friday & Saturday including:

Flashlights
Batteries
Candles
Tapes
Tarps
Strings/Twines

FINAL SALE
No exchanges and no returns

So I may hold off before trying to return the eggs and Fruity Pebbles to Key.

Tompkins Square Park chainsaw massacre

As these photos by Bobby Williams show, workers spent a good part of yesterday cleaning up the Irene-damaged trees in Tompkins Square Park...

Melanie notes at East Village Corner that five trees were lost during the storm.

Bob Arihood has some cleanup photos here.

We hope to have an update on the downed trees at La Plaza Cultural later today or tomorrow.

Irene-damaged Tompkins Square Park reopens; holiday tree barely survives

In advance of Hurricane Irene, officials closed Tompkins Square Park Saturday afternoon... The Park remained closed yesterday ... and we saw some of the damaged trees...

Around noon, the Park reopened... and we got a better look at the losses. What we didn't see before: That tree that sort of leaned in Crusty Meadow has fallen...

...and it nearly took out the Park's Holiday Tree...

Melanie notes at East Village Corner that five trees were lost during the storm.

Thank you

Well, it could have been a lot worse in the neighborhood. As it was, though... the storm was bad enough ... knocking down trees, flooding basements and stranding many people... thank you to everyone who shared photos, anecdotes and information about Hurricane Irene this weekend... thanks to the EVG regulars — Bobby Williams, blue glass, Crazy Eddie, Dave on 7th, John Marshall Mantel and Shawn Chittle — who sent along reports ... thanks to the businesses that stayed open this weekend to serve the neighborhood — it wasn't always easy... thanks to everyone for reading the site... thanks for sticking together ...

We welcome any storm-related stories that you'd like to share... we've heard quite a few already ... you may share some here or send along to grieve98@gmail.com

We wrap it up with a few photos from Gudrun Georges ...

All the Hurricane Irene-related posts can be accessed here.

Good night, Irene

Beautiful shots this evening looking west on Houston via our friend BaHa.

A post-Irene plague?

EV Grieve reader Steven spotted this at the Sixth Street ramp into the East River Park.

Another view of the tree damage in Tompkins Square Park; damage to the Hare Krishna tree?

Thanks to EV Grieve reader Anna for the following shots of the trees in the Park ... Per Anna:

"Two broken branches are suspended over the first right-hand path from the center Seventh Street entrance.

... "The Hare Krishna tree also has damage, at least the tip is completely
broken and a branch in the mid-section of this limb. I'm looking right
at the white patch of raw wood at the tip but it isn't coming through
the photos."

An East River Irene before and after

Leading up to the storm ... at Stuyvesant Cove Park ...

[Photo by Marianne O'Leary]

After!

[Photo by Lux Living]

Downed tree in Tompkins Square Park drawing curiosity seekers

Photo by blue glass.

Previously...

[Dave on 7th]

And a few more photos from EV Grieve reader Peter showing the downed trees...

Here comes the sun... sort of

We'll take it. Photo by Bobby Williams.

More storm damage

Here on East Ninth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D... photo via Mike House.

Downed tree takes bike along for the ride

Houston at Elizabeth via @DicksCottons

East River Park Irene damage

Photos from Crazy Eddie.