The Silver Screen Oasis

Our east-coast friends may already be out of touch...but am sending up the most heartfelt wishes and prayers for their comfort and safety. I think the whole nation will be on pins and needles tomorrow with worry. We'll hope for more worry than troubles...

I think most of us here in Manhattan -- with one exception being the Battery Park area -- will be okay. I don't think we'll lose power or water, our electrical lines are all underground. The main disruption will be no public transportation as of noon Saturday until some time Monday. People won't be able to get to/from work even on Saturday before the storm hits, meaning that places like restaurants and stores will either close or be staffed minimally by those who live in walking distance.

So on my way home from work tonight I stocked up on sandwiches and chips to tide me over until Monday.

I live in Manhattan, too, so I hope you're right, PT. As long as I have power I'll try to stay online. I'm hoping there won't be any loss of life. If that can be avoided, then we'll all get through the rest. I said I wished I could have gone to the beach this summer, now it looks like the beach may come to me!

I keep hearing the old timey tune, "Goodnight, Irene..." playing in my head.

Thinking bout you, Chris, today.... take care.

I'm worried about you and the others up there. I think we'll be fine. Keep us posted if you can.

Well, I was able to get breakfast delivered this morning. My usual spot wasn't answering the phone, but one of the diners picked up and delivered. Probably my last cooked meal until Monday. Tonight even if some places are still open I don't think I would ask them to deliver if it's already raining hard with strong wind. I think we'll be fine here, but those in low-lying areas may have more of a problem with flooding and power outages.

There are some prices people pay to live in Manhattan, such has high rents, small living spaces, polluted air, but one of the advantages is that we tend not to lose essential services such as power and water. We'll see what happens, of course, as the weekend progresses; anything is possible, but I'm still fairly confident we'll be all right here. The storm has already weakened from category two to category one, and may continue to weaken as it continues northward.

For our friends in low-lying areas subject to flooding, wind damage, and loss of services, all my best wishes for minimal impact and speedy recovery.

I have been following Hurricane Irene thru the Internet, Local and National News, and thru the Newspapers at my local Starbucks and I'm thinking about all the members living in the midwest with the heat, and the impact of Irene as the weekend progresses. I enjoyed reading all of your comments ... and hang in there and thanks keeping us informed!

Weather can be so unpredictable ...

I hope you all manage to keep safe and sound and get back to us soon.

The storm is gone and flooding still going on for about two more days. Flooding seems to be the major problem. There is some tree and wind damage in the New York Metropolitan area but water seems to be the big problem.

In my town of Bloomfield, New Jersey we lost no power but other areas did. I have about one inch of water in my basement but my sump pump is working hard to get it out. We are ok but ocean front properties have a lot of cleanup to do. I saw pictures of our famous shore line Boardwalks covered with sand washed up from the beaches. Atlantic City Casinos and township closed during the storm. Two million people were evacuated in New Jersey to avoid harm from the storm. All in all it is and was the water flooding problems that is most concern.

Uncle Stevie

Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm before hitting New York, where the center is said to have passed near the border of NYC and Long Island. There is some flooding and power outage throughout the city, particularly in the low-lying areas and areas of above-ground electrical lines. The rest of us are perfectly fine. We should be back to normal once the public transport is back up and running and business is back to usual. I'm looking forward to a hot cup of coffee at my desk in the morning.

When I lived in Chicago, people said, "We don't have hurricanes, earthquakes or tornados. All we have is cold. REAL cold!"

Public transportation in NYC is back up and running. This morning's commute was easy, and everything along my route looked normal, as though no tropical storm had visited at all. I was glad for my oatmeal and hot coffee at my desk this morning. Here are some photos from around the metropolitan area.

Glad you're ok, PT! The picture of the sunset is beautiful, isn't it? Hope all our East coast friends are well.

Just got a note from Judith, she and daughter and cat, Monte, made it thru just fine. They decided to ride out the storm at home, she said the shelter was in an area that was more dangerous than her home

We're fine here. No damage of any kind at my house. Didn't even lose power.