WE WANT YOUR STORM PHOTOS: photos@newrochelletalk.com
We have 131 174 202 254 280 287 350 photos so far in the slideshow. Please keep them coming. Thanks JD, HS, EW, RK, JOT, KD.
The City of New Rochelle is in the center of the “extreme threat” zone for Hurricane Irene according to the most recent data from the National Hurricane Center. Governor Cuomo has declared a State of Emergency in New York in preparation for potential impact of Hurricane Irene sometime Sunday.
Residents should plan for high winds, severe flooding, extended power outages and limited availability to gasoline and cash. Plan accordingly. Click “read more” to get a complete list of alerts from City of New Rochelle, Con Edison, Westchester County, MTA/Metro-North, State of New York, U.S. Government/FEMA & National Hurricane Center. You may want to print a copy of this document as it contains a comprehensive list of all relevant emergency information at the local, county, state and federal level.
With earthquakes, tornado warnings, floods, and hurricanes, the only thing missing this week in New Rochelle is a plague of locusts descending on the Queen City. What are you doing to get ready for Hurricane Irene? Send pix to photos@newrochelletalk.com before, during and after the storm! We will be updating the slideshow on this page throughout the weekend with your photos.
LIVEBLOGGING IRENE: Rather than post many articles on Hurricane Irene over the weekend and leave it to readers to sort them out, we are going to continuously update this featured articles which will remain in place until after the threat has passed. Click Updates to read the most recent news updates from Talk of the Sound. Follow us on Twitter.
Click Alerts to read the most recent Emergency Alerts from government agencies and public service providers.
Talk of the Sound Updates
Sunday 9:41 PM Calling it. Irene officially over. Going to get some much needed sleep. We got some great photos. Thanks! I know some of you are sending more as soon as you can connect your cameras to your computers. Keep ’em coming. Let’s see if we can get to 500.
Sunday 6:15 PM Winds have picked up significantly over the past 2 hours, much higher than overnight, trees down all over New Rochelle, power lines taken down by trees. Eastern wind direction is pulling a large amount of water off the coast, creating super low tides even after low tide. Dudley’s re-opens. NRFD, NRPD and Con Ed responding to calls all over New Rochelle.
Sunday 4:30 PM Obama to address the nation on aftermath of Hurricane Irene (currently a Tropical Storm impacting New England.
Sunday 2:00 PM Looking for a good tree removal company that can come remove the tree on my house before Halloween. Let me know!
Sunday 12:30 PM Back from expedition down North Avenue past NRHS, through downtown, over to Hudson Park, over to On The Waterfront parking deck, to Sutton Manor, back to North, over to Rochelle Park, then over to Pinebrook, around ALMS, down Quaker Ridge Road, up to Lovell near Ursuline, over to Disbrow Lane/Circle, down Webster then home. The “winner” so far, in terms of damage, is the house on Disbrow where a tree hit the house, breaking a window in a bedroom where, according to a neighbor, a girl was sleeping. While driving around, got a robo-call from the Mayor to stay indoors, that garbage pick up would be the same, parking meters would be back in force on Monday.
Sunday 9:45 AM Tornado watch for New Rochelle lifted. Heading out to survey the scene and bring back photos.
Sunday 8:45 AM Irene downgraded to Tropical Storm as eye passes just west of New Rochelle. More reports coming in from overnight, Pinebrook has jumped its banks, many roads closed i places — Webster, Lincoln, etc.
Sunday 1:59 AM Looks like its my turn. Big tree just fell on my house at 34 Aberfoyle Road. A big thud, right in the middle of the house above the dining room. House shook but tree fell from giving away in saturated soil, fell slowly, house appears to be watertight. Going to bed, will have to deal with the tree on the roof later. Got a feeling that tree is going to be there for a while.
Sunday 1:57 AM Getting reports that a tree fell into a garage at 76 Disbrow Lane, into a house at 80 Disbrow Lane, wires down at Drake Avenue and John Street. Large tree took out power in neighborhood around 120 Storer.
Sunday 1:49 AM Just got back from driving around for the last couple of hours. Stopped in at ALMS to check on the Red Cross Shelter. 18 people checked in as of 10:00 PM. Mayor Bramson and Police Commissioner Carroll had stopped by earlier according the volunteers. Stopped in at Habitat office on Main Street. No one there yet but I expect they will get calls for help come sunrise. Two large limbs down on Center Avenue near Blessed Sacrament, one completely blocking the road. NRFD called about that one.
Saturday 8:45 PM Jim Killorin just put out an announcement that the office of Habitat for Humanity of Westchester located at 524 Main Street, New Rochelle, NY will remain open during the story for those looking for water, food, cots and communication. You can call Jim Killoran at 914 403 4821.
Saturday 7:45 PM Just got back from driving around New Rochelle – Davenport Neck, Hudson Park, Downtown New Rochelle. Confirmed that NRPD drove around the neighborhoods on Davenport Neck and used the PA System on a patrol car to announce a mandatory evacuation for all residents in the evacuation zone. Going to add some more photos to the slideshow, lots of taped up windows in downtown. About 10 cars parked at Hudson Park watching the wind, rain and waves. The American Flag near the Tiki Bar has been shredded by the wind already, hanging to the flag pole by a thread. Wondering why no one bothered to remove the flag.
Saturday 6:15 PM Westchester County announces large portions of the Bronx River, Hutchinson River and Saw Mill Parkways are closed.
Saturday 5:00 PM Unconfirmed reports that New Rochelle Police are informing some residents in low-lying areas along Davenport Neck of mandatory evacuations as of 6 PM today.
Saturday 1:20 PM Red Cross Shelter at Albert Leonard Middle School still without cots; two families stop in to inquire about the facilities but leave, say they may come back.
Saturday 1:30 PM City of New Rochelle Declares State of Emergency
Saturday 12:14 PM NFL Postpones Jets. v. Giants Game to Monday night.
Saturday 12:00 PM Metro-North & Amtrak Trains shut down.
Friday 5:25 PM President Declares Emergency For New York
Friday 1:00 PM Mayor Bloomberg Announces MTA services will stop at noon on Saturday, parts of Garden State Parkway closed in New Jersey.
Friday 11:15 AM: Shoppers at Stop & Shop at New Roc City battle to grab milk as shipment arrives at store.
Friday 5:00 AM 400 people line up outside Home Depot in New Rochelle to purchased generators; a shipment of 100 is sold out within minutes of the story opening.
Thursday 10:02 PM Stop & Shop on Palmer Avenue cleaned out of bottled water.
Thursday 7:21 PM Giants v. Jets Game moved to 2 PM Saturday.
Government/Public Service Alerts
City of New Rochelle Alerts
Con Edison Alerts
State of New York Alerts
Westchester County Alerts
U.S. Government/FEMA & National Hurricane Center Alerts
MTA/Metro-North Alerts
Red Cross Alerts
Final Update from the City of New Rochelle concerning Hurricane Irene
There are just over 1,000 households in New Rochelle without electricity, and more than 50,000 throughout Westchester. Notify Con Ed of any outages directly by calling 1-800-75-CONED.
While the State of Emergency has been lifted in New Rochelle, it remains in effect in neighboring municipalities. Please exercise caution while traveling and as always avoid downed wires and flooded roadways.
Con Edison crews are in the field, assigning first priority to public safety and road clearance. Some customers may have their power restored quickly, but for others, it could take a few days, so please plan accordingly.
Dry ice for the Sound Shore area is available at the Village of Mamaroneck train station at 1 Station Plaza, until 7:00 pm today.
Please put out storm debris with yard waste on designated collection days and observe collection guidelines, especially for branches and limbs. The leaf blower ban has been lifted until Monday, September 5th.
Finally, make sure that you are signed up to receive important information during future emergencies by text, phone or email. From the City website at www.newrochelleny.com, click on the “Connect-CTY – Sign Up Now” icon in the lower right, then follow instructions to create and manage your account.
Emergency update from the City of New Rochelle for August 28th
High winds are expected to continue throughout the day. Residents are urged to remain at home or in shelter and to avoid any unnecessary travel.
Con Ed estimates that about 750 customers in New Rochelle have lost power. To report a power outage, call 1-800-75CONED and stay clear of downed power lines.
To report a downed tree, call 740-6118.
For other matters concerning Hurricane Irene, call 654-2300 or 2-1-1.
Leaf blower restrictions will be suspended at least through Wednesday.
The normal garbage collection schedule will be in effect this week. Storm debris will be collected in conjunction with the normal yard waste pick-up. Please follow collection guidelines, including bundling branches.
Lastly, parking meter enforcement will resume on Monday.
Recovery information will follow in the days ahead.
A State of Emergency is now in effect for the City of New Rochelle
Tropical force winds are expected to hit at 8:00pm tonight and continue through tomorrow afternoon. During the storm, Police and Fire services will respond as conditions allow only to calls concerning threats to life and safety, not property damage, such as flooded basements.
To report power outages, please call 1-800-75CONED.
To report downed trees, please call 654-6118.
For emergencies, please call 9-1-1. And for non-emergency issues related to the storm, please call 654-2300 or 2-1-1.
Secure your outdoor furniture and other outdoor items.
An emergency shelter is now open at Albert Leonard Middle School. If you need to leave your home, be sure to do so before the storm begins.
You can find more information at www.newrochelleny.com, Cablevision Channel 75 and FIOS Channel 28.
Residents urged to prepare for potential flooding, high winds.
The City of New Rochelle is actively preparing for Hurricane Irene, which is predicted to affect our area early Sunday morning. While the direct path and intensity of the storm is yet to be determined, heavy rains and high tides may result in significant flooding and high winds could knock out electricity.
Residents are urged to prepare now. In advance of and during the storm, the City will issue regular updates through the following communications channels:
Website: The City of New Rochelle website will have the latest News Flash and Emergency Alerts which will also be posted on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Bulletin: NRTV Cable Channel 75 and FIOS Channel 28
Connect-CTY Emergency calls will be made as necessary
News Releases to local news outlets
Residents can subscribe to receive these emergency alerts directly
through the City’s website.PREPAREDNESS
As with any disaster or emergency, residents are encouraged to Get a Kit and Make a Plan. Make a kit – specifically, a go-bag for use in an evacuation and a household disaster kit to enable a family to survive at home for several days without electricity. Have a plan – A family emergency plan should include deciding where to go in the event you have to leave your home. Don’t forget to make plans for your pets as well. A complete list of action steps can be found on the City of New Rochelle website, the Westchester County web site, and the U.S. government web site.
To prepare specifically for a tropical storm or hurricane:
- Frequently listen to your radio, television or NOAA Weather Radio for official bulletins on the progress of the storm.
- Fuel and service family vehicles. Service stations may be unable to pump fuel because of flooding or loss of electrical service.
- Moor small craft or move to safe shelter.
- Check on supplies. Make sure you have flashlights and batteries on hand, as well as at least a three-day supply of water and non-perishable foods, as well as first aid and medications
- Consider the special needs of young children, disabled or elderly family members
- Secure or bring inside lawn furniture and other loose, lightweight objects, such as garbage cans and garden tools that could become a projectile in high winds.
- Homeowners with active building permits should make sure all materials secured or stored indoors. Roofing projects should secure all loose materials and scaffolding should be lowered or removed.
- Soil erosion control measures should also be maintained.
- Have on hand an extra supply of cash.
- Print out a list of important phone numbers and insure the safety of important documents.
As Hurricane Irene approaches New York, Con Edison is closely monitoring its progress and is preparing for the possibility of extensive outages to electric, gas and steam customers.
The company is taking all the necessary steps to prepare for the potential impacts of this storm. The storm’s high winds have the potential to topple trees and power lines throughout the company’s service area.
Customers can report power interruptions or service problems as well as view service restoration information online at www.conEd.com and on their cell phones and PDAs. They may also call Con Edison at 1-800-75-CONED (1-800-752-6633). When reporting an outage, customers should have their Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether their neighbors also have lost power.
Click here to learn more on how to report an outage.
In the event of major flooding, the company said that it would have to wait for waters to recede before workers could even enter some facilities to begin assessing damage to equipment.
The company is advising its customers to pay close attention to evacuation orders from city and municipal officials. Con Edison will continue to provide updates through the media as the storm moves closer. In addition, important information will also be posted on the company’s Web site, www.conEd.com. The company is in constant communication with the New York City Office of Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services and company personnel are working closely with city and municipal emergency officials.
In the event that the hurricane impacts our area, Con Edison offers the following safety tips:
- If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by snow, tree limbs, leaves or water.
- Report all downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately. If a power line falls on your car while you’re in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
- If your power goes out, turn off all lights and appliances to prevent overloaded circuits when power is restored.
- Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery-operated radios are in working order. Also, make sure you have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on power outages can be heard on most local radio and television stations.
- Avoid opening your freezer to see if food is still frozen. Every time you open the door, room-temperature air enters and speeds the thawing process. Most fully loaded freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 36 to 48 hours; half-full freezers will keep food frozen for approximately 24 hours.
Westchester County Hurricane Evacuation Zones
With Hurricane Irene moving up the east coast, County Executive Robert P. Astorino has directed county departments to prepare for the storm that could impact Westchester late Saturday and all-day Sunday.
After visiting the county’s Emergency Operations Center, which was partially activated Thursday, Astorino said, “All relevant county departments are putting together response plans in the event this storm impacts us. We hope we will not be severely affected by Irene, but we need to prepare for the worst.”
County departments involved include: Emergency Services, Public Safety, Communications, Health, Public Works, Transportation, Information Technology, Senior Programs, Environmental Facilities Social Services and Parks and Recreation.
Residents are reminded that now is the time to take their own steps to prepare for the possible impact of the storm. A full list of what to do can be found at the Westchester County web site.
Highlights of that include:
- Make a kit – specifically, a go-bag for use in an evacuation and a household disaster kit to enable a family to survive at home for several days without electricity.
- Check on supplies – Make sure you have flashlights and batteries on hand, as well as at least a three-day supply of water and non-perishable foods.
- Have a plan – A family emergency plan should include deciding where to go in the event you have to leave your home. Check in with family members that have special needs. Don’t forget to make plans as well as your pets.
- Print out a list of important phone numbers.
- If you lose power, call Con Edison or NYS Electric and Gas directly. Call (800) 75-CONED; Call NYSEG electricity power outage: (800) 572-1131; NYSEG gas power outage: (800) 572-1121.
- Stay informed – Keep up-to-date on the progress of any storm and the protective actions being recommended by government agencies in response
.
- Read up on what you should do to be prepared. In non emergencies, you may call 2-1-1
.
- Inspect and secure your outside property.
Residents looking for further information should call 2-1-1. In the event of an emergency and only an emergency call 9-1-1. You may also follow us on Twitter.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today declared a state of emergency in New York in preparation for the potential impact of Hurricane Irene, which may hit New York State this coming weekend. A state of emergency enables New York to use state resources to assist local governments more effectively and quickly, allows the state to activate the national “Emergency Management Assistance Compact” to bring in resources from out of the state, and enables New York to access key federal resources earlier in anticipation of an emergency. The Governor is continuing to coordinate the statewide preparation for the storm and has ordered the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Albany to operate twenty-four hours a day. At the Governor’s direction, state agencies and local governments are planning cooperative response efforts. Governor Cuomo and his administration have been in contact with local officials, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and county executives, to coordinate preparation. The state government is communicating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service to discuss the potential tracks of the storm.
“In this emergency I am activating all levels of state government to prepare for any situation that may be caused by Hurricane Irene,” Governor Cuomo said. “We are communicating with our federal and local partners to track the storm and to plan a coordinated response, and we will deploy resources as needed to the areas expected to be hit the hardest. I urge New Yorkers to personally prepare for hurricane conditions and to cooperate with emergency officials if needed. By working together, we will all be able to face this storm in a calm and organized manner.”
Governor Cuomo is overseeing state mobilization in preparation for the potential storm, including:
- The state’s senior emergency management staff will be assigned to the storm’s anticipated centers downstate and on Long Island to strengthen coordination.
- The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is coordinating with the National Weather Service to track the storm. OEM’s Emergency Operations Center is activated and OEM has deployed command vehicles to Nassau and Suffolk counties. OEM will make additional deployments of personnel and resources as needed. OEM is also coordinating with emergency teams across the state to activate local emergency plans.
- The Division of State Police is preparing to stage resources, including aviation, marine, dive, and communications units.
- The Division of Military and Naval Affairs is developing a plan to put hundreds of troops on State Active Duty to deal with storm-related response. These troops would be available to work with state and city agencies as required.
- The state Department of Health is coordinating with the NYC Department of Health to plan for potential evacuations or sheltering of hospitals in certain flood zones.
- The Public Service Commission (PSC) is preparing for potential outages, coordinating with power plants and transmission line operators, and setting up extra staff for the weekend. The Governor’s office and the PSC also spoke directly with CEOs of the six major electric utilities – Con Edison, National Grid, Orange & Rockland, Central Hudson, NYSEG, and RG&E – to discuss collaboration on potential power restoration efforts. The PSC’s consumer services office will have extra weekend staff to deal with outage complaints and to provide the public with information.
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) are both confirming extra staffing and conducting internal operations to prepare for potential impacts. LIPA is closely coordinating with National Grid to ensure it is fully prepared on Long Island. - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has cancelled all weekend track work and is directing personnel to be on standby for emergency repairs. The MTA will have Subway Emergency Dispatch Vehicles, subway track maintenance personnel, and extra bus tow trucks standing by. The MTA’s subway division and bridges and tunnels division will have emergency generators on standby for potential power failures. The MTA is also inspecting critical subway, track, and tunnel pumps to ensure they are working properly.
- The Department of Transportation has begun preventive maintenance and debris removal and is distributing flood control equipment. Equipment in active work zones is being secured, additional erosion protection is being addressed as necessary, barges are secured, and plans for post-storm clean-up are being developed.
- The Thruway Authority is checking all vehicles and readying equipment. The Authority is outfitting trucks to clear debris and will begin patrols on Saturday. The Authority will have extra staff available to deal with potential impacts of the storm. The Tappan Zee Bridge will be closed to truck, trailer, and mobile home traffic if winds reach 45 mph and this traffic will be diverted to other outlets.
- The Bridge Authority is conducting constant monitoring of wind conditions at its six bridges. Wind advisories for motorists will be issued as necessary. Particularly vulnerable are empty box trucks and trailers, which should avoid all bridges during a high wind storm. The Authority has extra staff to monitor wind conditions and to respond to emergency situations. Trucks and large, light vehicles will be discouraged from crossing bridges if wind speeds increase.
- The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is identifying erosion hot spots and potential damage impact areas, monitoring reservoir levels, planning deployment of staff on Monday to assess storm damage, and enhancing their permitting capabilities to speed any necessary storm damage repairs. DEC is in contact with local governments regarding management of storm debris and will monitor wastewater and sewage treatment plant operations. DEC is canceling reservations at all DEC campgrounds in the Catskill Preserve (North-South Lake, Bear Spring Mountain, Beaverkill, Devil’s Tombstone, Kenneth L. Wilson, Little Pond, Mongaup Pond, and Woodland Valley). DEC will close and evacuate these Campgrounds as well as Catskill Preserve Day Use facilities by noon on Saturday.
The Department of Corrections has facilities that fall within the hurricane’s projected path in New York City. There are no correctional facilities located in Nassau or Suffolk counties. All of the correctional facilities are equipped with proper generators, water storage tanks, and sufficient supplies of food to last for ten days. - The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has canceled all Friday, Saturday, and Sunday camping reservations at all state parks in the Long Island, Palisades and Taconic regions. A complete evacuation of anyone remaining in the campgrounds will occur at noon on Saturday. Parks will be closed if wind speeds reach 45 mph, or as weather conditions require.
In addition, over the coming days the state is deploying the following agencies down to local county and city emergency management offices:
- NYC: Office of Emergency Management; Office of Fire Prevention & Control; Department of Health; Division of State Police; Port Authority of New York & New Jersey; Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Department of Transportation; Department of Environmental Conservation; American Red Cross.
- Nassau County: Office of Emergency Management; Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Department of Transportation; Long Island Rail Road; Division of State Police; Division of Military and Naval Affairs, if activated; Office of Fire Prevention & Control; Department of Health; Department of Environmental Conservation; American Red Cross; Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
Suffolk County: Office of Emergency Management; Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Department of Transportation; Long Island Rail Road; Division of State Police; Division of Military and Naval Affairs, if activated; Office of Fire Prevention & Control; Department of Health; Department of Environmental Conservation; American Red Cross. - Westchester County: Metro-North Railroad; Office of Fire Prevention & Control; Department of Transportation; Division of State Police; Thruway Authority; Department of Environmental Conservation; Office of Emergency Management; Department of Health; American Red Cross.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has deployed the Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) A to Albany to be staged in the FEMA Joint Field Office and IMAT B to New Jersey to assist with planning and preparedness efforts. The actual strength of the hurricane will depend on its course up the east coast of the United States. Parts of the state that are adjacent to coastal waters, such as Long Island and New York City, are considered most at risk. Inland locations can also be affected by heavy rainfall and strong winds, which can cause flooding and power outages. Governor Cuomo urges New Yorkers to take stock of their emergency supplies, such as water, non-perishable food, radios, batteries, supplies for any pets, and first aid kits. The Governor also encourages 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.
U.S. Government Alert/FEMA & Hurricane Center
President Declares Emergency For New York
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal aid has been made available to New York to supplement the state and local response efforts in the area due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene beginning on August 25, 2011, and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Nassau, and Suffolk.
Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.
Philip E. Parr has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
Follow FEMA online at blog.fema.gov, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, andwww.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.
The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
It’s still uncertain where Hurricane Irene will make the most impact along the East Coast – but one thing is certain – all those along the East Coast should take steps to get prepared.
Whether you live in a coastal area in South Carolina, an apartment in New York City, or a farm in Maine that’s away from the coast, it’s worth getting your family and home prepared. Whether Irene is a major hurricane or tropical storm when it comes to your area, it will bring significant rainfall and potentially damaging winds, increasing the risk of flooding and potential power outages.
As we at FEMA continue to work with our federal, state and local partners all along the east coast, we’re taking proactive actions to support our partners in the potentially affected areas:
- Incident Management Assistance Teams are either on location or en route today to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The primary mission of an IMAT is three-fold: rapidly deploy to an incident or potentially threatened venue, identify ways federal assistance could be used to best support the response and recovery efforts, should it become available, and work with partners across jurisdictions to support the affected State or territory.
State Liaison Officers are currently located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Liaison officers are moving today for New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland. These officials work with state officials to help coordinate federal support, if needed.- We’ve set up incident support bases and staging areas in several locations along the east coast that are pre-staging commodities commercial-size generators and communication equipment. These enhance our ability to quickly move needed supplies throughout the those states that may affected by the storm, should they be needed and requested.
- And as we often say on our blog, we’re part of a larger team of voluntary- and faith-based organizations, other federal/state/local agencies, first responders, community groups, and members of the public that help the nation prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies.
What we’re doing is only a small part of the preparations being made at the national, state and local levels – it’s vital that individuals all along the East Coast to build their family emergency kit and make sure they have a family communication plan.
MTA/Metro-North Alert/FEMA & Hurricane Center
The MTA is actively preparing for the impact of Hurricane Irene, coordinating with the Governor’s Office, Mayor’s Office and regional OEMs consistent with our Hurricane Plan. We are making arrangements to bring in extra personnel over the weekend, preparing our facilities and infrastructure by clearing drains, securing work sites against possible high winds, checking and fueling equipment, stocking supplies, and establishing plans to move equipment and supplies away from low-lying areas as needed. Because of the severity of the wind and rain associated with a hurricane, there may be partial or full shut down of our services to ensure the safety of our customers and employees. We are also prepared to implement evacuation plans if the Mayor and Governor decide that is necessary. We urge our customers to check mta.info frequently and to consider the impacts of this storm when making travel plans through the weekend.
Red Cross Westchester County Chapter
Westchester County Chapter
The Red Cross has set up an evacuation shelter at the Albert Leonard Middle School at 25 Gerada Lane in New Rochelle, NY.
New York, NY – August 27, 2011 Hurricane Irene is starting to affect our region, with the strongest winds and flooding rain projected to begin in the next few hours and to last through sometime on Sunday. The Red Cross urges Tri-State area residents to take the necessary precautions as the storm approaches to help ensure their own safety and the safety of their loved ones.
BE PREPARED
·Learn more about how to stay safe during and after the storm by reviewing our Hurricane Safety Tips.
Because of the risk of power outages later this evening, we urge you to review our Power Outage Safety Tips.
As always, we advise everyone to Be Red Cross Ready with 3 Simple Steps:
1. Get a Emergency Supplies Kit with the essentials you’ll need to weather an emergency,
2. Make a Plan with the members of your household and
3. Be Informed about the emergency disaster response in your area.
SAFE AND WELL
The Red Cross Safe and Well website helps people let friends and family know where they are as Hurricane Irene moves up the coast. It can bring your loved ones peace of mind. You can go to the Safe and Well site and register yourself by clicking here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Hurricane operations like this one are now taking place along the entire eastern seaboard from North Carolina to New England. On average, the Red Cross spends about $450 million on disaster relief every year. If someone would like to support Red Cross disaster efforts, they can make a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting www.nyredcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS, texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation, or sending contributions to their local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn about the Red Cross’s response to the storm and how to find a shelter near you.
For more information, please visit www.nyredcross.org or join our blog at http://blog.redcross.org.
Irene
not sure why anyone would complain about the structure of the report and certainly not the content. At a time like this blame is unnecessary, unwarranted and plain stupid. Storms are dynamic and we dodged a bullet. Good job bob cox.
Good jobs also by Lou Trangucci and Jared Rice who I know for a fact actively traveled their districts to assess damage and offer assistance. Not surprised; Jare’s Community Acton progress has won high praise from people like Jim Killoran as well as the many church and civic leaders in his neighborhood and elsewhere. I had the pleasure of working with them on a clean-up last week and this is what communities should be all about.
No serious reader of this blog or for that matter, citizen of the City need to question the honesty, strength and dedication of Lou Trangucci. He was on Pelham Road near Weyman talking to the fire department on flooding, stranded vehicles and blown transmitters.
I heard on several occasions that these men; although of different parties, work well together and given the fact they are both decent and talented guys, not surprised. They have my support for what it is worth.
These men are essentially positive and that does not mean push-overs. They are invested in New Rochelle and show it. The blog master of TOTS is much the same. I have issues with a number of matters, but that is totally irrelevant. What is relevant is that he cares for this city and the very fact I am writing this testifies to that. He easily would have been justified in banning me for life. He did not and better, did not make agreeing with him a term and condition of being invited back to TOTS. So I can mention I support Noam Bramson and will continue to do so and its fine with him. It should be a call for all other supporters that surely read TOTS but are frankly too timid or apathetic to comment.
Cox does not bite! His correspondents are mostly supporters but mostly, they are fine. Like all of us sometimes they accused without evidence, but if you feel that way, simply refute what they are saying. You wlll be given a chance to get your views out. As a Bramson supporter, it saddens me that so few are strong enough to voice their views. As a matter of fact, as a long time resident of “down south” in New Rochelle, it offends me that the people in my area and in the west and east sides care more about New Rochelle than you do and likely have in many cases borne more of an economic burden over the past few years.
Bob Cox, you ought to recheck that tree to make sure some knucklehead up your way didn’t saw it through during the storm.
For all readers, Cox was out in the storm and afterwards offering comprehensive and multi-dimensional coverage. What in the name of God is wrong with how it is presented? This storm had enormous potential for harm and, for some reason followed a lesser mathematical option by quickly veering north once it made landfall in the Coney Island area. We are lucky.
Bob, from a political “freenemy”, outstanding work and as a member of the community living off the water, I very much appreciate it.
Thanks!
I have to admit I was a bit nervous driving around during the overnight, worried about a branch falling down on my car. While on Center Avenue at about 1:30 AM by Blessed Sacrament, a very large tree limb fell about 100 feet behind me and then another limb fell about 100 feet of me. I said to myself “well…time to go home”. I made it home safely with no trees falling on my car. I was typing an update about limbs down on Center Avenue when, precisely at 2 AM, I heard a loud “thump” on my roof. Without missing a beat I added “and a tree had fallen on a house on Aberfoyle”. Heh!
I was far more nervous when the winds kicked up Sunday afternoon. That seemed far worse than what happened earlier in the day and, based on calls to NRPD and NRFD on the scanner, there was far more damage “after” the storm.
The net result of New Rochelle was Irene was not remotely as bad as recent nor’easters or the wind storm we had in March 2010 when another tree fell in my backyard and just missed my house by 2 feet (that tree fell MUCH harder, shaking the entire house. To a certain extent I have to wonder whether the March 2010 storm which took down so many trees “pruned” New Rochelle of many weak or sick trees making things safer this time around.
Wind Storm 2010 Photos and Video
http://www.newrochelletalk.com/node/1658
Need a Tree Man
Call Ramiro’s Tree Service. Local company does a good job.
914 380 3181 or cell 914 760 7415.
Tell him Joe in Wykagyl sent you.
Update The Page..This isn’t Thursday!
Irene did not have any sustained winds of hurricane force as it headed into Virginia Beach an hour ago.
Technically, she’s a tropical storm and most forecasters at NHC predict she will not regroup overnight on the way into the NYC area.
We will have damaging flooding and gusty winds, but as a news story “Hurricane Irene” is a bust.
When do we stop the hysteria and hype over this tropical storm?
WeatherPorn and Hysteria = ‘page clicks’ and ratings and that’s about it.
Is Mayor Bramson Helping Bob Cox to Get More “page clicks”?
So I guess you would include the mayors declaration of a state of emergency this afternoon as part of Bob’s plan to increase page clicks. Since you are so clairvoyant what would you suggest? Let’s wait till the last minute to decide what to do. Now THAT’S a genius at work. As for the rest of the people in the high risk areas, I’m sure they appreciate the advanced warning even if the storm doesn’t land as a cat 2 or three.
Relax
My point is, it’s not the same news story as Thursday a.m. when it was a cat3, and people were freaking.
This is the big time NewRo media site, correct? Update the story then, that’s all.
We are not facing the same state of conditions today as have been published on this page for three days. Media and our politicians live for this stuff.
(“We need them so much to help us figure out what to do how to think”, what are we a bunch of morons?)
If people living near water or other high risk areas still need to figure out what to do this late in the game, they ought to surrender their brains to medical science, and call it a day.
As far as Mayor Bramson goes, he wouldn’t know a state of emergency if it hit him the face, but he did take the call from Nita, and did what she said to do, so I’ll give him that much.
He follows directions.
The ghost of Ray Naggin lives.
push “refresh”
The story has been updated repeatedly since it was posted — updates from me, from various announcements, from official alerts and photos.
Not sure where you are getting your news but the storm is still listed as Cat 1 and forecast to hit New York as a Cat 1. I do not think anyone was forecasting the storm was going to hit our area as a Cat 3 but maybe you have special super secret sources that only you know about!
In any case, the story IS being updated and will continue to be updated throughout the weekend. Hurricane Irene is the featured story for New Rochelle and has been for a couple days. Is there some other story out there right now? I am not aware of one.
As for consolidating all of the information in one post, which seems to be what is making you cranky, this is SOP for sites like Talk of the Sound. It is easier for readers if we consolidate all information about the subject in one place at a time when there is additional news and information on a near constant basis. We always do this; the last time was in March when Jose Martinez was arrested. I have continued to improve the post by adding things like “anchors” within the post so that folks can click links to move around to different sections.
BTW, you are apparently in a very small minority because this story has been read more than 4,000 times and the slideshow photos have been viewed over 3,500 times.
If this is all to much information for you try turning off your TV, shutting down your computer and reading a book.
Refresh this
The hype over Hurricane Irene is overblown
The demise of Irene has already begun. There is no visible eye. The storm intensity is down to 99 mph. This would be a low-end category 2 or a strong category 1 storm, while 72 hours ago some predicted a catastrophic category 4 storm.
Your banner “Extreme Threat” for example.
Change it. It’s B.S.
The reduction in storm intensity likely confirms that this storm is not going to be as monstrous as it has been publicly forecast to be.
Air Force Reserve aircraft have found that Irene’s eyewall has collapsed, and the central pressure has risen — rising pressure means a weakening storm.
It will be windy and flooding will happen.
Extreme? No.
However, north of Delaware most hurricane force winds will very likely be gusts, not sustained winds.
That’s the update you should have instead of warnings, paragraph after paragraph, as if we were facing a category 5 massive “Extreme” threat, as your overblown, eye catching “clicks” banner reads.
It’s always about the “reads” and the “clicks” with you, anyway. It’s the first thing you stomp around about.
That’s how you set your advertising price, and those numbers are precious.
We get it.
“extreme” refers to the likelihood of taking a hit…
It is does not refer to the level of the hurricane. We are even MORE likely to be hit by Hurricane Irene than Thursday because the storm is much closer and most of the tracks are projecting a direct hit on our area.
I am not interested in the slightest in your opinion of how I write headlines or which stories I choose to cover. Go start your own web site and you can write whichever stories you want, however you want. Who knows, do a good job and I might even link your site and give you some traffic!
Boopsie
Awww…. a lil’ bit touchy with “Irene” nerves, or something?
If you weren’t interested in my opinion in the slightest, you wouldn’t respond.
Anyway, it’ll be downgraded to TStorm tonight.
(And when you show us your Meteorological Degree, we’ll listen to what “track” you think will likely strike us, BTW.)
Hey wait, here’s one more “click” right?
Hey Bob
I hope you and The whole “rat pack”gets swept away like Dorothy in the Hurricane…
Rat it was a tornado
Rat it was a tornado, you must be the scarecrow that needs a brain
question for Inman
Inman do you eat food you dont like on a daily basis?
The reason I ask this question is I find it so odd that you visit this page on a daily basis and even multiple times on a given day. if you have a distaste for this site, why the hell do you keep coming back? Hence the question do you eat food you dont like on a daily basis? I have always been intrigued with human behavior.
Cat got your tongue Inman?
Cat got your tongue Inman?
Bob,
Why bother wasting words
Bob,
Why bother wasting words on Inman? Perhaps he can call all the media outlets in this area and give them minute by minute updates like he does for you. I am sure the national networks could use someone with foresight.
never a waste…
It is never a waste to reply to a commenter.
This is the internet. There are always poor, unfortunate souls who, unable to find validation and meaning in their own life, try to draw attention to themselves by insulting, baiting and taunting people on the Internet. Inman is just demonstrating that they are a troll; a person determined to make any discussion about him or herself. It takes little effort on my part of egg them on and encourage them to spend more and more time on my web site.
In this case, unable to find a way to get people to listen to what they have to say in real life, they attempt to co-opt a successful venue like Talk of the Sound for their own purpose. In this case, this rather bizarre obsession with “hype” over Hurricane Irene. Not concerned with what is actually happening in New Rochelle before, during, and (presumably) after the storm, Inman and Inman alone arrives to explain to all of us mortals that media coverage of Hurricane Irene is some of sort of hoax or conspiracy.
“It’s been downgraded!”
“It will be downgraded!”
“it is not a Category 3 Hurricane!”
“Is is not ‘extreme’!”
This is a person having a battle with themselves on a topic of no interest to anyone other than themselves. Bored, apparently, Inman comes to Talk of the Sound to find some meaning and purpose. If only Inman can make readers of Talk of the Sound really, really, angry by being a “Hurricane Denier” then he can smugly enjoy the triumph of having outwitted all those dummies on Talk of the Sound.
If that what keeps Inman off the streets and sitting on the couch all day then I am more than happy to engage and allow Inman to feel a sense of satisfaction for once in his or her life.
Cool.
BigDaddy TOTS just gave
Cool.
BigDaddy TOTS just gave me a lecture on life, and the validation thereof.
And all this time I thought it was just kind of a shitty web-site run by a guy with an ax to grind with the New Ro BOE.
Live and learn.
Actually…
This is the most widely read and powerful media outlet in the City of New Rochelle and while the animating event, the point where I had enough of the corruption and self-dealing in New Rochelle, had to do with the way the district treated my son that was about 4-5 years ago. This web site long ago moved well beyond covering the misconduct by school officials in that case.
We recently reached 800,000 unique visitors as we approach our 3rd Anniversary next week. We get well over 100,000 page views a month with well over 2,000,000 page views served. This site drives the news cycle in New Rochelle and has routinely broken stories that have been picked up and amplified by traditional media outlets at a regional, national and even international level.
So, this is not a “shitty web-site run by a guy with an ax to grind with the New Ro BOE” but if it validates your self-worth to imagine that to be the case, feel free. Meanwhile, we will keep rolling towards 1 million unique visitors while shining a very bright light on the pigs who feed at the public trough.
Stop-The-Hype
Like I said last night, “Downgraded to a Tropical Storm.”
I must be clairvoyant.
We’ve had worse Nor’easters
Next time it really could be a dangerous hurricane and people will naturally think, “No big deal, the media yaked it up the same way last time, and it was a big nothing.”
That’s a problem.
You must be clairvoyant!!!
After all, who could ever figure that a Hurricane would be downgraded to a Tropical Storm. This normally does not happen. Usually Hurricanes continue to gather strength until the become super hurricanes, spreading out to cover the entire planet and then spread across the known universe causing the end of life as we know it.
Later, Inman will predict gradual darkness towards evening with complete darkness overnight with brightening towards dawn.
Stay tuned after that for Inman’s predictions on cooling over the coming months as winter approaches with a possibility of warming by next spring.
give Inman a little
give Inman a little credit..you forgot to include snow in his predictions….lol
On the Manufacture of Synthetic Hysteria
Called that Irene would degrade to a tropical storm last night while you were still raving about direct hits and extreme threats to New Rochelle.
I’ll rest my case about the unnecessary panic and fear ginned by media hacks like you, with George Will’s statement about journalism from todays panel on ABC’s “This Week”:
“I know that the Atlantic Ocean generates hurricanes, and they can be dangerous and unpredictable. That said, this too must be said: Florence Nightingale said, “Whatever else you can say about hospitals, they shouldn’t make their patients sicker.” And whatever else you want to say about journalism, it shouldn’t subtract from the nation’s understanding and it certainly shouldn’t contribute to the manufacture of synthetic hysteria that is so much a part of modern life. And I think we may have done so with regard to this tropical storm as it now seems to be.”
Not for nothing, but Bob Cox
Not for nothing, but Bob Cox has 1700 readers. There are 75000 people living in NR. If you’re trying to imply that his reporting caused mass hysteria, grocery store shelves to be emptied, and windows to be boarded up, then you’re going to miss the side of the barn by at least 8 yards.
Bramson, Lowey, Cuomo and the national media outlets did enough to create the hysteria. Bob Cox was nothing more than a pimple on an elephants backside. He merely conveyed the reports put out by others. So your efforts to “tear him down” with your posts are being wasted.
still raving
Inman,
You would be hard pressed to find an example of me “raving” about Irene.
Let me see if I can help you understand something that seems to be beyond your ken as you seem absolutely obsesses with the idea that the headline of this article did not change as the status of Irene changed over the past several days. I can assure not changing the headline is not some sort of plot to piss in your cheerios.
The URL for the article was originally:
http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/new-rochelle-under-extreme-threat-hurricane-irene
I later added an update on Cuomo declaring a state of emergency so that it became:
http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/new-rochelle-under-extreme-threat-hurricane-irene-governor-cuomo-declares-state-emergency-ne
Adding that update to the headline was a tough call because I generally try not to change the headlines because of the impact on the URL.
So, why does the URL for a story matter?
There are “search engine spiders” crawling this site constantly. They see a new story and add it to Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. Stories also get added to Google News, Topix and go out on Facebook, Twitter, etc. If a user then comes across the headline and clicks the link they follow that URL back to the site and can read the story. When I change a headline the URL is changed and so the link back to the site gets broken.
There is limit to the length of URL in Drupal which is the software I use for this site (128 characters). The URL also does not use contractions and other short words only “keyword” type words.
The software does this because I have selected options that create URLs based on keywords rather than the underlying “node” number. Every article published on Talk of the Sound is assigned a number. Any blog post, newsletter, page, etc in the site is considered a node. For example, this article is node number 4354.
The software converts 4354 into a word-based URL for SEO reasons; the more keywords in the title the more Google, et al will direct their users to my site based on keyword matches. As along as I put ACTUAL headlines which genuinely match the story, the Google user will end up at a story about which they were searching (websites that try to trick Google game this system; getting caught doing that can result in a site being blocked from Google).
I made an error in the first headline because it was not long enough and so adding an update on Cuomo caused the domain to be:
http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/new-rochelle-under-extreme-threat-hurricane-irene-governor-cuomo-declares-state-emergency-ne
…where the word “new” in New York was truncated.
When that happens there is a way to cause one URL to redirect to another and often I do that but in this case I was rushing to get around town and cover the story and I did not bother to do this because it was still earlier in the story the old URL was going to quickly get pushed down in the search rankings so I skipped that step. It seems, based on the traffic after that, I got away with doing that (in terms of people finding the story).
With me so far?
So, once the URL is at the 128 max I can add more (e.g. LIVEBLOGGING IRENE”) without changing the URL.
Parallel to this was my decision to NOT put up a different article for every news update on the story. This is because there were so many coming in and I did not want to have readers be required to jump all over the place to follow the story. The tabbing feature at the top of the home page is not geared towards doing this with this kind of a story.
Once I decided to just have the one feature article up all weekend it is much better for me to just leave the headline alone because people are sharing THAT link, that URL via email, Twitter, Facebook and that is what is going on search engines and Google News and Topix and so forth.
Now you seem to have the idea that my goal was to somehow fool people into thinking Irene was an “extreme” hurricane and that leaving the headline “as is” over the weekend was part of some plot to gin up page views. It WAS left the same out of my desire to have readers come to the site but that was because the link was already being widely circulated on the internet and “breaking” that link would cause many readers to get error messages upon arriving at Talk of the Sound. That is a pain in the neck for them and not how I want people to be introduced to my site if they are new.
If I were to go back in a time machine to Thursday morning, I would have created a more generic headline and made sure the URL was 128 characters leaving me free to then change the headline as a way to indicate the story was updated. In the real world, however, stories develop in unpredictable ways and sometimes I have ideas on how I want to handle a story that change or are developed on the fly in reaction to events. Add to that my running all over town trying to actually cover the story and you can get a less than ideal outcome.
I am not saying that I am agreeing with your silliness about all this or that I am interested in your ideas on how I should report on my own site. Really, I do not expect you to process this response at all because it appears your purpose is not to make the site better but, as many before you have done, tried to discredit the site by pointing out various journalistic sins that I have committed all in some pathetic hope that people will not read the site and learn about whatever corruption or untoward behavior it is that you hope to cause not to be noticed by the public. In case you had not noticed (and you are new so I figure you) I do not care a rat’s ass about anyone’s ideas of “journalism”. That is all BS. I do the best I can with what I have available to me and try to tell my readers of the crap that goes on in this town. If that has cause you or some family member or friend some embarrassment or maybe prevents you or they from benefiting from some scam or graft then I would only tell you and your pals that there is no way to measure how little I care.
That said, I do think it is useful for my genuine readers to learn a bit more about how the software on this site works, what sort of limitations or complications it can create and how I try to work with that in order to get my stories out.
In this case, your whining on this site has been a benefit. It has given readers something to talk about and generate a lot of comments on this thread and all of that is great for me as it increases unique visits and page counts. I often quote PT Barnum on this point “If you want to draw a crowd, pick a fight” so I am have to you pick nits while I pick a fight with you and my traffic goes up. Thanks for that.
Anywho, I am tired. It has been a long week with little sleep and I have already gotten by 5,000+ reads on this story (which will certainly hit 10,000 over the coming weeks) and you have served your part in that. Good job.
poor inman
INMAN……..OUCH!!!!
As the saying goes “you can never win an argument with an ignorant person” Bob has surely shown that, in fact, you do come in handy for some things.
Way to go Bob…now get some sleep cause we’re gonna have a busy few months ahead.
Phew
Man, talk about an overshare.
Give it a rest.
Semantics
FYI, just watched WABC meteorologist say the difference from Class 1 to Tropical Storm is semantics. The worst is yet to come from flooding and yes it will be EXTREME! As far as Bramson goes I just received the latest official NR update reverse 911 information robo-call. After reading from his teleprompter (ala Obama) Bramson ended the call by informing NR residents that parking meter enforcement will resume on Monday. Forget the hurricane emergency let’s focus on parking meter revenue so we don’t have to lay off more firefighters this year. Oh, by the way Noam, how do you intend to make up the lost revenue from the library parking lot which has been free due to broken machines for months???? Since you decided not to pump out flooded basements can the taxpayers of NR expect a property tax reduction that relates to the service reduction?