“[W]hen you start to consider that five of the largest snowstorms for NYC occurred over the past 10 years … that becomes harder to explain by chance alone. Instead there must be a reason and the reason we propose is the warm Arctic and the subsequent increase in fall snow cover,” said lead researcher Judah Cohen. In other words, increasingly extreme snowstorms are the result of global warming, not proof that it doesn’t exist. (Photo: @dceiver/yfrog)

An official tasked with maintaing the park aptly put things into perspective. “It’s like a bomb blew off,” said Douglas Blonsky, president of the Central Park Conservancy after he toured the devastated areas, some of which will remain off limits as workers clear out debris and further survey the damage. (Photo: @CentralParkBuzz)

The NY Mayor’s Office tweeted, “We’ve never done a mandatory evacuation before – and we wouldn’t be doing this now if we didn’t think this was serious.”

We know Bloomberg’s been waiting to be a weather hero ever since he did a horrible job with this winter’s snow clean up — but he, and the rest of the city needs to chill out a little. New York is always the location of every disaster movie — but this ain’t the movies. The only way Irene will be a disaster is if our politicians keeps making everyone panic.

This whole evacuation and shutdown idea is horrible. The mayor is ordering people to leave their homes while the governor simultaneously closing down mass transit. So, how exactly are people supposed to get anywhere?

According to weather experts Irene is going to be a Category 1 hurricane when it hits New York, a classification that usually doesn’t do any “significant structural damage to building structures.”

For those of you less versed in hurricane terminology, here’s a an easier way to understand the various categories:

A tipster sent in an email they received from the Solaire, a residential complex in “the heart of Battery Park City,” that included the official hurricane preparedness pamphlet from NYC’s Office of Emergency Management. Doesn’t the concern just ooze out?

In anticipation of Hurricane Irene we would like to bring to your attention following:

We have been advised by the National Weather Service and Office of Emergency Management that Hurricane Irene has the potential to produce flooding rains, high winds, downed trees (on houses, cars, power lines, etc) and widespread power outages. Significant impacts along the immediate coast include high waves, surge and beach erosion
Because of the heavy rain and high winds that are expected from the Hurricane, we have been asked to advise tenants to be especially careful to keep windows closed during this time and give us access to the terrace to check for any flooding. This is particularly important if you are going to be out of the apartment during this time. If you have any issues with your windows, please enter a Work Order through BuildingLink or by contacting the Front Desk.

Also, to follow up on the emergency training we had a few months ago here are some important updates and take aways from the meeting:

Attached please find information from Office of Emergency Management regarding Hurricanes and New York City. You may also find more information to the OEM website at nyc.gov/oem.

Attached is information on Notify NYC. This is a service offered by the city of New York that delivers important information about events and city services. Registration is free and you can sign up now at www.nyc.gov/notifynyc or by calling 311. We have also added other guides from OEM that help prepare your home for an emergency.

Another great organization that we would like to introduce is the Battery Park City Community Emergency Response Team. CERT organizes members of the community who have special skills to form a response team in event of an emergency. A 27 hour FEMA course is required to become a CERT member. The application is attached.

We would also like you to share this information with your families and also suggest if you have a nanny, maid, or anybody else who has interaction with your apartment that you provide them with this information as well.
The FDNY’s website is an excellent source for documentation on many different Fire Safety issues that help prevent fires.

At this time, we recommend you review your contact and emergency contact information on your BuildingLink profile or at the concierge desk. If any residents have any special needs and would require additional assistance during a building emergency please let the concierge know as this helps prepare for these types of situations.

Day turned to night in a matter of minutes on Friday as an epic dust storm pushed through Kuwait, creating harrowing conditions and awe-inspiring videos, like this one. As you’ll see, waiting around for disaster to strike while recording footage is a universal trait shared by all of humanity.

The snow just can’t get enough of NYC this year and even though it’s late March, decided to sprinkle Central Park with a light coat of white as one final bitch slap after a full winter beat down. (Photo: @isardasorensen/twitpic)

Bend from your knees, not your back; don’t overload the shovel; remember that wet snow is heavier than the fluffy kind; shovel in short intervals and rest in between; and don’t twist.

Observe the handy illustration just in case you didn’t get all that.