We woke up this morning with no internet and no TV, so we went out for a predawn drive to gauge the state of Brooklyn. The rain was intermittent, and the streets were mostly empty, the odd patrol car creeping down Bedford Avenue in Bed-Stuy, flashing lights but no sirens. Not much was open except for gas stations. Once we made it to the water, the effects of the storm were less severe than we expected. A streetlight down on Bedford Avenue between Third and Fourth streets, some construction debris on Wythe Avenue.

There were a dozen or so livery cars parked outside the Northside Car Service, so we stopped to ask a driver if the bridges were open. Yes, but you have to go around to McGuinness Boulevard and enter from the BQE. We wound our way through Greenpoint, noting that the Bank of America ATM on Manhattan Avenue was working. But when we reached the ramp for the Williamsburg Bridge, a squad car blocked the way. Read More