By Matt Chaban 10/30/12 9:57am

Frankestorm

Video

Hurricane Sandy Bears Down On U.S. Mid-Atlantic Coastline

A Force of Nature: Watch the One57 Crane Be Bent Backward by Hurricane Sandy [Video]

Curbed spotted this terrifying video of the crane boom being bent backward yesterday afternoon. It almost defies belief, the way the hurricane-force winds, reportedly surpassing 100 miles per hour, just bend the steel frame of the crane—built to carry tons of material—like it is made from strands of spaghetti. This may be even more harrowing to watch than the video of the Con Edison plant exploding on 14th Street. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/30/12 9:36am

Frankenstorm

7 Photos

Hurricane Sandy Bears Down On U.S. Mid-Atlantic Coastline

One57′s Cracked Crane Still Hanging on in Midtown

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said the crushed crane hanging off the side of the billionaire-beloved One57 could have been an act of God for all anyone knew, but there would be no securing it until the storm passed. In other words, pray for Midtown.

It appears to have worked, because the crane boom remains intact, as photos coming in from the press agencies and on social media show. Eric Trump even tweeted a photo from his office on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street, two blocks away. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 10/29/12 9:40pm

Dogs and Cats Living Together

A tease from the Yale Club's website.

Yale Club Reportedly Suspends Dress Code to Aid Stranded Bulldogs

The latest blow stuck by Hurricane Sandy? Say goodbye to decorum, to civility, to gentility. We’re not even a full 24 hours into the crisis and the Yale Club of New York City has suspended its dress code.

Quelle horreur!

The Yale Daily News reports that earlier today, VP Linda Lorimer emailed the Eli community and announced that any students stranded at Grand Central are now welcome in the main lounge and grill room, and they’ve also got rooms for rent. (Though that’s not gonna be free, kiddos.) For anyone concerned that his Williamsburg-friendly hipster weekend-wear might result in his being turned away at the door, fear not:

Lorimer added that the “dress code is not in effect at this time.”

Until this summer, the Yale Club did not even allow denim inside its hallowed premises (though it’s typically limited to the more casual rooms and still must be “neat, clean, and in good repair”).

The rest of you lot–Harvard snobs, UPenn riffraff, Princeton unfortunates–are on your own.

By Kelly Faircloth 10/29/12 7:28pm

hurricane sandy

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Homeless Still on the Streets of New York as Sandy Hits Land

“As long as you stay indoors, you’re probably safe,” Mayor Bloomberg told the reporters at this evening’s latest press conference. But what about the people for whom it isn’t that simple? The Observer is getting reports that even as Sandy roars our way, some of the city’s most vulnerable–the homeless–are still outside.

As late as this evening, an Observer source found a group of people at Eighth Street and Second Avenue with no plans to leave for a drop-in or emergency center. ”We got shelter right here,” one man told her. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/29/12 7:19pm

Frankenstorm

Safe? (Jerome de S/Instagram)

One57′s Broken Crane Appears Safe, but Will Not Be Secured Until After Hurricane Passes

For the past few hours, New Yorkers’ eyes have been trained on the skies, or at least their TV and computer screens. No, they are not watching out for the eye of the storm but the crane that Hurricane Sandy has dislodged in Midtown Manhattan. The boom of the crane attached to the billionaire-beloved One57 snapped back earlier today and has been hanging precariously ever since, but it has yet to break free, and the hope is that will be the situation until the storm passes.

At a press briefing this evening, Mayor Bloomberg said all buildings on West 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues have been evacuated, as well as “exposed buildings” on the same block of West 56th Street. Among the buildings evacuated were a hotel and some apartment and office buildings. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but better safe than sorry,” Mayor Bloomberg said.

The accident occurred at 2:35 p.m. today, according to a statement from Lend Lease, the general contractor on the project, the tallest apartment building in the city, at 1,005 feet, and also home to the most expensive sale ever, more than $90 million for the penthouse.

Mayor Bloomberg said the surrounding area had been secured, with steam, electricity and gas all being shut off to prevent any additional damage should the crane’s boom come loose.  Read More

By Kit Dillon 10/29/12 2:44pm

Frankenstorm

Rain, rain, go away, spare the Rockaways be. (Kit Dillon)

Bridges Over Troubled Waters Will Still Cost You: MTA and Port Authority Keep Tolls in Place During Frankenstorm

A mandatory evacuation from the Rockaways will still cost you $3.25.

The mayor announced earlier today that all city employees are expected to come into work today at the discretion of their departments. The same goes for a few unlucky MTA and Port Authority employees manning the city’s bridges. While weather conditions may become so severe that the bridges have to be shut down, for now, the toll booths are manned, and tolls remain in effect. For once, the banks are being kinder than the toll man. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/29/12 12:51pm

Frankenstorm

A soggy Bowery after a Feb. water mane break. (Bowery Boogie)

The Bowery Has Not Flooded (Yet!)

If you happen to live on the city’s now-glitzy skid row, you should be high and dry, at least for the time being, so fear not for a slip-up during the mayor’s storm update this morning. If you caught it, Mayor Bloomberg said the Bowery had flooded, when in fact he meant The Battery, according to his staff.

“There has already been some flooding already in the Bowery, as well as the FDR and some of the Rockaways,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “We expect surge levels of 6 to 11 feet. A surge of 9 to 10 feet is possible along Coney Island and the Rockaways. And a surge of 11 to 12 feet may occur at the Battery Monday evening.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/29/12 10:43am

Transportation

Don't want to be this guy. (Free Images UK)

Trapped in Manhattan: Holland and Brooklyn-Battery Tunnels Closing at 2 p.m., Bridges Could Be Next

Governor Cuomo just announced that the Holland Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel will be closed at 2 p.m. today because they would be the most prone to flooding. There was no mention of the Lincoln Tunnel, which presumably will remain open and could be the one life-line for Manhattan as the bridges will also close should wind speeds surpass 60 miles per hour. Earlier today, a wind speed of 51 miles per hour. Read More

By Jessica Roy 10/29/12 10:39am

Frankenstorm

6 Photos

The East River beginning to overtake some of the land that juts out into it.

Dispatch from Dumbo’s Evacuation Zone: East River Swells, Creeps Up Towards Brooklyn Bridge Park

The Observer decided to take a morning stroll through the streets of Dumbo, the area of Brooklyn between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges that borders the East River. By the time we returned to our apartment we were just grateful we didn’t die from falling debris. The wind propelled us forward, at times so strongly that we wondered if we should maybe just turn back. At the end of Bridge Street, where it dead ends at the river, water was beginning to crest over the barrier, rising higher than we’ve ever seen it. Read More