Sandy stormwatch

Posted October 28, 2012 By

New York World reporters bring selected updates on city and state government response to superstorm Sandy. For complete feed follow @thenyworld on Twitter

Thursday, 10:50 a.m.

The office of New York City Comptroller John Liu says it has approved $29.9 million in emergency city contracts so far to deal with preparations and recovery from superstorm Sandy:

  • Department of Design and Construction – $12 Million for heavy equipment and construction related services
  • Department of Buildings – $750,000 for structural engineers
  • Office of Emergency Management – $3.2 Million for oxygen, ambulances, ambulettes, buses, MREs, livery cars, sandbags, vacuum trucks
  • Department of Citywide Administrative Services – $2 million in heavy equipment and vehicles
  • Department of Environmental Protection – $5 million for pumping equipment
  • Department of Sanitation – $7 million for heavy equipment
  • Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications – $30,000 for laptops to use at City Hall
  • Office of the Chief Medical Examiner – $12,150 for refrigeration trailers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, 1:40 p.m.

Our Nat Herz gets word from the office of New York City Comptroller John Liu that the comptroller approved a slew of emergency city contracts in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. Emailed spokesperson Michael Loughran: “Our staff has also has been closely coordinating with city agencies since last week to address emergency procurement needs, in order to ensure that the available resources are provided. As of noon today, we have given approval for $16 million in emergency procurements for various city agencies to acquire the needed goods and services for storm preparation, response, and recovery.”

Monday, 1:30 p.m.

Curtis Skinner reports that NYU Medical Center’s Rusk rehabilitation center is relocating patients to other facilities run by NYU. A hospital spokesperson writes:

“Because of the age of the Rusk building, it was determined that in a storm of this severity it would be best to relocate these patients.”

Langone Medical Center, the hospital at the NYU Medical Center complex near the East River in midtown, is caring for current inpatients but not accepting new ones.

 

 

Monday, noon

As Mayor Bloomberg just confirmed at a news conference, all city workers were required to report to duty today, though commissioners now have discretion to send selected workers home early.

Here’s how Department of Education employees in central and field offices learned yesterday afternoon about their obligation to come to work this morning — even though all schools are closed — in an email from Chancellor Dennis Walcott:

“Because of the storm and its lingering effects, you should exercise caution and allow extra time for travel to work tomorrow morning. If mass transit services have not yet been restored in your neighborhood, and you have no other safe and feasible way to travel to work, then you should use your judgment and delay your arrival. There will be no penalties for transit-related lateness. If you cannot come to work, you should use annual leave, personal leave/CAR time or compensatory time to stay home. There will be no penalties for transit-related unscheduled leave time. For those who have no applicable leave balance, leave may be advanced for this purpose. For hourly employees who are unable to come to work, offices should make every effort to schedule make up hours within this pay period if at all possible.”

 

 

 

Sunday, 6:40 p.m.

Our Allison Maier finds out that Gov. Cuomo made the final call to have the MTA shut down the city’s buses and trains starting tonight. Storm surges of up to 11 feet were a factor. Read more.

Sunday, 4:20 p.m.

At a press conference at a Manhattan evacuation center, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that all New York City Housing Authority developments in the mandatory evacuation zone, known as Zone A, will not have elevator service, heat or hot water during the storm. Developments in Zone A include Jacob Riis, Alfred E. Smith, Lower East Side I and II, and Lillian Wald in Manhattan; Gravesend, Surfside Gardens, Coney Island, Carey Gardens, O’Dwyer Gardens, Haber, and parts of the Red Hook Houses in Brooklyn; Hammel, Redfern, Ocean Bay, Beach 41st St, and Carlton Manor in the Rockaways, Queens; and Markham Gardens in Staten Island.

Sunday, 3:30 p.m.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is suspending all service beginning Sunday evening to keep customers and equipment safe. Subways, buses and commuter rail are all affected by the shutdown. Subway suspension begins at 7 p.m.; buses at 9 p.m. Last year, Tropical Storm Irene inundated the New York City subways and commuter lines, including the No. 3-train terminal at 148th Street and Lenox Avenue (pictured).

PATH train service is also suspended beginning at midnight Sunday.

Residents in low-lying areas, labeled “Zone A” by the city Office of Emergency Management, are now under a mandatory evacuation order. Find your zone here and see a list of evacuation centers.

All public schools will be closed Monday.

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