Hurricane #Irene in Brooklyn Heights Open Thread

By on August 26, 2011 1:05 pm in Weather

Leave your comments here regarding Hurricane Irene including any damage, hazards, closings or other relevant information you may have. Link to any photos, video you may have (if URL is long please use bit.ly or other shortening service).

For example, if you’re trying to find a flashlight and batteries Bruno’s on Court Street appears to be the only ones we’ve seen smart enough to stock up.

How are you preparing? Where do you think the wind and rain will pose the biggest threat? Do you remember the last big NYC hurricanes?

Brooklyn Heights this afternoon, waiting for Irene. Photo by M. Hermann/BHB

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  • David on Middagh

    AEB, that weather.com link is reassuring. (But it predicts wind at 48 mph — forty to sixty, actually — which is still mean, mean weather, especially with all the water.)

  • Monty

    I’ve got flashlights, fuel, a well-stocked granary and shotguns. After the hurricane, I will be the new leader.

  • MOT

    Alanna,
    I was in Sahadis this morning around 11 AM and they said they plan on staying open ’til about 5 PM. It was very quiet in there (shocking!) and they had loads of food and supplies.
    There was a line out the door at Key Foods down the block.

  • AEB

    Yes, David, but not Endtimes weather, as so many seem to be predicting–and the reports also indicates diminishing wind velocities with only 2 inches of rain.

    I’m normally the most pessimistic of people–but media-induced hysteria, which spreads FAST, drives me nuts!

  • WillowtownCop

    I overheard two clerks discussing a woman buying 48 D batteries at the Duane Reade on Court Street yesterday when she must have known there was a shortage in the neighborhood. There was a man who wanted the clerks to limit how many she could buy. I see their point that they aren’t in a position to make that call, but to anyone who’s hoarding supplies and the expense of others, you’re a jerk and I hope you and you alone loose power long enough to have to use all of your batteries.

  • bklynH

    funny how people are so quick to say it ” wont be that bad”… it’s offical according to channel 4 eastern brooklyn (us) are in the eye of the storm. no it wont be horrible, but it certaintly wont be a light drizzle..

  • David on Middagh

    AEB, I mainly agree with you. But given the very real chance of coastal flooding and local power outages, a little hysteria can get people in the right mood to take off, or hunker down, depending on their elevation.

    And given the maybe five-percent chance of a direct hit on NYC, wouldn’t you be glad to know that all your neighbors had laid in supplies?

  • weegee

    Greetings from the one of the hysteria-inducing headquarters. Daily News, of course, is in the middle of the Zone A in lower Manhattan. Nice view of the Heights, so wave to me from your windows! Not too much activity on the subways at Borough Hall close to the noon hour; only mandatory-personnel saps like me out and about, and a couple Go-bag’d people.

  • Peter

    0% chance of hurricane winds according to this….

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26295161/ns/weather/?GT1=43001

    20% chance of winds over 58 miles per hour, but you would think it’s 100% if you watch the news on tv….

    Haven’t we had tropical storms before??

  • Villager

    That’s just stupid to buy 48 D batteries.
    48 D bra, well, that would be different. :)

  • Mickey

    I stocked up on canned goods, bread, batteries, & bottled water. My neighbor bought a handgun. If a Katrina-like disaster hits the Heights, guess which one of us is going hungry.

  • Just A Neighbor

    90% of all hurricane related deaths occur AFTER the storm passes! Downed power lines, falling trees, sink holes, etc…be careful walking around when it’s all said and done, people.

  • hoppy

    Why do people continue to believe that putting tape on windows will prevent them from shattering?

  • David on Middagh

    @Mickey: Not the man with the gun!

  • god

    what is the point of a handgun?

  • Gerry

    We wish y’all in the Heights well through Hurricane Irene we packed up our SUV last Thursday filled it with tons of stuff to get out of town up here to Westport, CT. and here all of the restaurants and stores are open as usual and this morning I went to swim at the YMCA it is raining hard and the winds out in the Long Island Sound look fierce.

    We will be back on Sunday good luck to our freinds on Montague Street and at the Heights Casino, etc.

  • god

    Hook and Ladder 110 is outside the window.. Something going on on Hicks st. 4:37 am.

  • weegee

    Fire was in the basement of 142 Hicks St., and was placed under-control quickly.

  • x

    are there taxi’s available this morning so I can get back to BH from work?

  • Villager

    y’know, you can’t just go out and legally buy a handgun in NYC.
    It takes about 6 months and lots of paperwork.
    Maybe you should give your address to Willowtowncop.
    I’ve no problem with people owning guns, but when people go outside the law to obtain them, it just gives the gun control crowd more “ammunition.”

  • David on Middagh

    Packer Prism, may I make a suggestion? The photo set should be edited. Pick the best shot of each scene.

    I hope I’m not overstepping aesthetic bounds, but many of the pics are shot at an angle, when a straight-on view (if obtainable) would lend more punch.

  • WillowtownCop

    Villager – I suspect lies to make some unknown political point. The gun stores weren’t even open yesterday.

  • Cindy

    Was there any damage to the Park Slope area from Hurricane Irene?

  • Villager

    If true, it would not have been acquired in a conventional gun shop.

    My point, for clarification, is that a responsible gun owner would have the proper license/permits and take the necessary safety precautions. An irresponsible gun owner, probably wouldn’t even know what constitutes safety, and in the event that they use it, would be less likely to take into consideration the fact that they are responsible for every missed shot that goes unimpeded through your gypsum board walls as they empty a clip, missing wildly because they haven’t taken the time to get training. Or, they don’t secure the gun properly, it gets stolen and then it’s on the street.

    Let’s hope your neighbor never has reason to use it, because knowing that he has it and has already proven himself to be irresponsible must weigh heavily on your conscience.

  • Peter

    Hope all this media-induced hysteria doesn’t cause people to ignore warnings in the future if/when a real hurricane comes our way….

    The real question now is how quickly the subways will be up and running…. ?

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Villager, what makes you think “responsible” means having to go through a draconian ridiculous process for obtaining a permit? One can safely keep and know how to use an unlicensed firearm.

    Oh a tidbit of heights history: Remember Video International on Montague… they used to sell handguns out of the back room!

  • Villager

    Because “irresponsible” means intentionally skirting the law for your own selfish purposes.
    Someone who runs out at the last minute and acquires a firearm for a hypothetical Katrina scenario is not thinking rationally and I’m not going to trust them to not panic and act carelessly.
    I don’t necessarily like the permit process, but you’re not going to get one if you can’t get it together enough to pass. By going through the permit and licensing process you are assuming ALL RESPONSIBILITY for the weapon. With an unlicensed firearm, if it’s stolen (for example), do you think it’s going to be reported as such? Whereas if it’s licensed and stolen, you report it, or you are still responsible for it if it’s used in a crime.
    I think that pretty plainly marks the difference between responsible and irresponsible.

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