NEW YORK CITY — Preparations are underway Monday across New York City and the surrounding areas as Tropical Storm Isaias barrels up the East Coast.
Isaias is expected to arrive in the area on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain, dangerous winds and possible flooding. A tropical storm warning is in effect for much of the tri-state area.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management issued a coastal flood watch for parts of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, from 8 p.m. Tuesday through 2 a.m. Wednesday.
OEM Commissioner Deanne Criswell chatted with the PIX11 Morning News on Monday about what the city is doing to prepare for the storm. She said it’s likely Isaias will have more of an impact on the region than Tropical Storm Fay did in July.
“We activated our flash flood plan on Friday. We’ve been taking measures to clear the streets, clear the catch basins for those areas especially that we know we’re going to see some flooding,” Criswell said. “We’ve also put our downed tree task force on alert because we expect to see some damaged trees throughout this. And our EOC (Emergency Operations Center) is going to be activated starting this evening.”
Crews also put up flood barriers in lower Manhattan, where Criswell said a storm surge of about 1 to 2 feet is expected.
Click here for tips on how New Yorkers can prepare for Isaias
Officials with Con Edison, meanwhile, are urging customers to register on the utility’s website to make reporting power outages easier. Customers can sign up to receive power outage alerts and updates on their phones.
“We’ve been tracking the storm closely since last week. We’re taking this very seriously,” Jamie McShane, director of Con Ed media relations, told the PIX11 Morning News on Monday. “We have upgraded staffing and we want people to know that if they lose power our crews are going to be ready to respond to restore power as safely and as quickly as possible.”
NYC beaches will be closed to swimming on Tuesday because of dangerous rip currents, rain and gusty wind from Isaias, the Parks Department said.
All restaurants with out door dining must secure furniture and all construction sites have been shut down in the city.
“I’m not sure if there is any sense of me being open tomorrow.” said Bryon Anderson, owner of McNally Jackson Cafe and Books in South Street Seaport.
Anderson remembers what it was like during superstore Sandy.
“Everybody is real worried and concerned,” Anderson said. “It’s just one thing after another and we are all going through this.”
