Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York

New York was severely affected by Hurricane Sandy on October 29–30, 2012, particularly New York City, its suburbs, and Long Island. Sandy's impacts included the flooding of the New York City Subway system, of many suburban communities, and of all road tunnels entering Manhattan except the Lincoln Tunnel. The New York Stock Exchange closed for two consecutive days. Numerous homes and businesses were destroyed by fire, including over 100 homes in Breezy Point, Queens. Large parts of the city and surrounding areas lost electricity for several days. Several thousand people in midtown Manhattan were evacuated for six days due to a crane collapse at Extell's One57. Bellevue Hospital Center and a few other large hospitals were closed and evacuated. Flooding at 140 West Street and another exchange disrupted voice and data communication in lower Manhattan.

At least 43 people died in New York City as a result of the storm, and 53 in the state. Thousands of homes and an estimated 250,000 vehicles were destroyed during the storm, and the economic losses in New York City were estimated to be roughly $19 billion with an estimated $32.8 billion required for restoration across the state.

Background and preparations

Hurricane Sandy originated in the Caribbean Sea on October 22. Early on October 25, Hurricane Sandy moved across eastern Cuba as a major hurricane and emerged into the western Atlantic Ocean. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expected that Sandy would become extratropical at some point before hitting the New Jersey coast, but there was uncertainty in the timing. To avoid potential confusion, the agency did not issue hurricane and tropical cyclone warnings; instead, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in New York City issued high wind warnings, reflecting the expectation of wind gusts over . As early as October 27, the NHC forecast a storm surge inundation, which they later increased to .

On October 28, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for every county in the state. He also asked for a pre-disaster declaration to better access federal assistance. Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano ordered voluntary evacuations of the South Shore storm surge area, which includes the area south of Sunrise Highway, as well as the North Shore's areas north of Route 25A and in elevations 15 feet above sea level or less. Shelters were opened at Levittown Memorial High School, Locust Valley High School, Nassau Community College and SUNY Old Westbury. In Suffolk County, officials ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of Fire Island and in surge zone areas in Babylon, Brookhaven, Islip, Riverhead, Southampton and Southold. Shelters were opened at Hampton Bays High School, Sachem East High School, and the Brentwood High School Sonderling Building. Most schools closed in Nassau and Suffolk counties on October 29, including Adelphi University, Hofstra University, Molloy College, Nassau Community College and Stony Brook University.

On October 28, President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration for the state of New York. The Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road suspended service beginning 7 p.m. October 27 through October 29 and possibly October 30. Starbucks closed all of its outlets in the city and Long Island on October 28 at 4 p.m. to let employees get home before the transit system shut down. The stores remained closed on October 29. The Tappan Zee Bridge was closed October 29 at 4 p.m. EDT due to wind conditions.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters on October 26 that the city had begun taking precautions but said at that time there was no call for mandatory evacuations and no plans to suspend the city's mass transit or cancel school. But on October 28, Governor Cuomo ordered the MTA, including the subway, closed and in a press conference immediately after Cuomo's announcement, Mayor Bloomberg ordered public schools closed on October 29. He ordered mandatory evacuations for Zone A which includes the southern tip of Manhattan, the Coney Island-Brighton Beach and Red Hook areas of Brooklyn, the entire Rockaways peninsula, much of Staten Island, City Island, and part of the Throggs Neck area of the Bronx. On October 28, officials activated the city's coastal emergency plan, with subway closings and the evacuation of residents in areas hit during Hurricane Irene in August 2011. More than 76 evacuation shelters were open around the city.

The MTA announced that all subway, bus and commuter rail service would be suspended, beginning at 7 p.m. EDT on October 28 and expected to continue suspension through at least October 30. All PATH train service and stations were shut down at 12:01 a.m. October 29. 200 National Guard troops were deployed in the city. All bus carriers at the Port Authority Bus Terminal closed at 3 a.m. October 29. U.S. stock trading was suspended for October 29 and 30. It was the first two-day weather closure since the Great Blizzard of 1888. All state courts were closed October 29, except for arraignments and emergency applications. NYU Langone Medical Center cancelled all surgeries and medical procedures, except for emergency procedures.

On October 27, Google postponed their planned Android event in New York City due to the storm. The Staten Island Ferry and East River Ferry services were suspended at least through October 29. Most bridges and tunnels closed. Major carriers cancelled all flights into and out of JFK, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty airports until it was safe to fly. Broadway theater owners canceled all October 28 evening and October 29 performances. Alternate-side parking and parking meter regulations were suspended on October 29. Grand Central Terminal, Central Park and Battery Park were closed on October 29. The Holland Tunnel and the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel closed at 2 p.m. EDT on October 29. The Tappan Zee Bridge was closed later on that day.

One of the units at Indian Point nuclear power plant (Unit #3) was shut down around 10:45 p.m. October 29, because of external electrical grid issues according to plant operator Entergy.

Impact

As an extratropical cyclone, Sandy made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 29, about 100 mi (160 km) south of New York City. It was a large cyclone, with gale-force winds about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) in diameter. Sandy's northwest track toward the coast drove a wall of water into southeastern New York from New York Harbor, as well as from the Long Island Sound. Along the coast of Long Island and across the New York metropolitan area, the storm's large size produced record high tides and a significant storm surge, which is the rise in water above the normally expected high tide. The timing of the surge coincided with the normal high tide, as well as a full moon, which added to the increase in water. Kings Point at the western end of the Long Island Sound recorded a storm surge of above normal tide levels. At the Battery on the southern tip of Manhattan, a storm surge of was recorded, corresponding to above the average low tide; this was the highest water level on record, surpassing the previous record set by the December 1992 nor'easter. About 17% of New York City flooded during the storm, equating to . This exceeded the 100-year flood as predicted by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Areas along the ocean suffered from in addition to the high tides, which eroded more than 3 million yd³ (2.3 million m³ of beaches in New York City. Oceanfront locations with nourished beach, dunes, or bulkheads had less flooding.

Sandy's large circulation produced high winds across southern New York. At Great Gull Island in the Long Island Sound, sustained winds reached 75 mph (120 km/h) while Sandy was still a tropical cyclone. Wind gusts reached 95 mph (154 km/h) at Eatons Neck along the northern coast of Long Island. Hurricane-force gusts occurred throughout the New York metropolitan area and along Long Island. The storm also dropped light rainfall across the state. Precipitation in New York reached in Sherman, in the extreme western portion of the state.

Across New York, Sandy killed 48 people directly related to its impacts, including floodwaters and winds. The storm caused 43 deaths in New York City, mostly in Staten Island. There were another five deaths caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, after people used generators inside their homes. Power outages affected nearly 2 million people in New York City, while more than 1 million people lost cellphone service. Statewide, Sandy destroyed about 305,000 homes, mostly related to the high storm surge. In New York City alone, the floodwaters entered the homes of more than 443,000 people and more than 23,400 businesses. About 75,000 people in poor health were affected by the floodwaters, while another 54,000 people in poor health were in areas affected by power outages. On November 26, Governor Cuomo estimated statewide damage and losses at $32 billion. Mayor Bloomberg announced earlier in the day that the storm caused $19 billion in losses in New York City, which was included in the estimate Cuomo gave. The statewide damage was roughly half of the nationwide estimate of $68.7 billion, with much of the remaining damage occurring in neighboring New Jersey.

The Old Orchard Shoal Light in New York Harbor was destroyed by the hurricane."Old Orchard Shoal Light Is No More", Mai Armstrong for Working Harbor Committee, blog post November 9, 2012.
USCG 'Local Notice to Mariners" week 44/12, LLNR 35395 states "Structure Destroyed"

Electricity

As of the morning of November 1, Con Ed had restored two power networks, but there were still more than 600,000 customers without power throughout the five boroughs. Con Ed predicted most all of Manhattan would be fully restored by November 3. By the afternoon of the same day, Con Ed said it expected to "restore the vast majority of customers who lost power by the weekend of November 10 and 11. The remaining customer restorations could take an additional week more."

As of the morning of November 2, more than 1.3 million customers were without power, down from 2.2 million. As of 5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) on that date Con Edison said about 226,000 customers lacked service in Manhattan, 84,000 in Queens, 35,000 in Brooklyn, 54,000 in Staten Island 31,000 in the Bronx and 140,000 in Westchester. On Long Island, LIPA said it still had about 532,000 customers without power, down from more than 900,000. In the evening of November 2, LIPA said they expected to cut the number of customer outages by 150,000 by November 4.

As of 4 a.m. November 3, Con Ed reported about:
* 94,769 customer outages in Manhattan
* 81,372 customer outages in Queens
* 37,504 customer outages in Staten Island
* 31,448 customer outages in Brooklyn
* 26,252 customer outages in the Bronx

During the evening of November 3, Con Ed announced all Manhattan power networks were back online. Approximately 153,000 Con Ed customers were without power as of 8 p.m. November 3:
* 9,211 customer outages in Manhattan
* 74,067 customer outages in Queens
* 27,842 customer outages in Staten Island
* 24,707 customer outages in Brooklyn
* 19,501 customer outages in the Bronx

As of around noon November 5, Con Ed reported those without electricity were:
* 3,825 customer outages in Manhattan
* 38,397 customer outages in Queens
* 17,465 customer outages in Staten Island
* 22,887 customer outages in Brooklyn
* 8,282 customer outages in the Bronx

, there were still 8,200 people without power.

Structures

The storm damaged, destroyed, or severely flooded around 100,000 homes on Long Island. , more than 2,000 homes were deemed uninhabitable.

Bloomberg stated on November 3 that 55,000 buildings in the city's Zone A were ordered to evacuate and would be inspected for damage.

Transportation

The MTA incurred about $5 billion in damage from Sandy, which became the worst disaster to affect the transit agency in its 108-year history. There was an additional $2.5 billion in transportation damage in the state. Several subway stations were severely damaged, and eight tunnels were submerged. Train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn was disrupted for several weeks after the storm.

The storm surge inundated portions of the runways and tarmacs at both LaGuardia and JFK airports.

Waterways and services

On October 31, NY Waterway ferries between Hudson County, New Jersey, and Manhattan resumed service.
The Staten Island Ferry resumed full service November 2 and Staten Island Railway the next day.

On November 1, fuel ships started arriving in reopened New York Harbor.

On November 2, Governor Cuomo signed an executive order waiving the state's requirements that fuel tankers register and pay a tax before unloading.

Ground

The George Washington Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, Verrazano Bridge, and Whitestone Bridge closed at 7 p.m. EDT October 29. All road tunnels into Manhattan, except the Lincoln Tunnel, were flooded and closed, as were subway tunnels under the East River and the PATH subway system. Limited bus service resumed Tuesday evening, Oct 30. Limited MTA subway service was scheduled to resume on November 1 with two East River tunnels (59th Street and 63rd Street) in operation and shuttle bus service to Manhattan from Brooklyn termini. The Long Island Rail Road remained closed due to storm damage until November 8, 2012. The LIRR then re-opened with partial service to most of its branches, excluding Long Beach. Nassau Inter-County Express and Suffolk County Transit suspended and/or greatly limited service for the storm. In response to the flooding of tunnels and other infrastructure, the United States Army Corps of Engineers sent its National Unwatering Team.

, MTA bus service began operating on a regular schedule. The subway system was tested with plans to resume limited service to 14 of the 23 services on November 1. PATH services remained suspended; the Long Island Rail Road resumed limited, hourly service; and Metro-North restored hourly service on its Harlem Line between North White Plains and Grand Central Terminal. All bridges were open. Amtrak provided modified service starting on November 1, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal reopened with no Greyhound Lines service or commuter buses to New Jersey.

On the morning of November 1, the first train, an A train, pulled out of Penn Station three days after tunnels were flooded. Subway service in Lower Manhattan except for the IRT Lexington Avenue Line and to Brooklyn was disconnected. The G train (which is a crosstown route between Queens and Brooklyn), as well as the Rockaway Park Shuttle and the part-time , , and trains, were also suspended. Governor Cuomo waived fares on MTA trains and buses through November 5.

The Holland Tunnel opened to buses only on November 2. HOV restrictions on bridges and Lincoln Tunnel ended on that day. By November 3, 80 percent of subway service was restored. On November 6, the Queens Midtown Tunnel reopened one lane for buses heading into and out of Manhattan during rush hour. The Holland Tunnel reopened November 7 at 5 a.m. EST., while the Queens-Midtown Tunnel reopened on November 9 at 6 a.m. EST. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel opened November 12 to limited rush-hour bus service.

Airports and airlines

Delta Air Lines cancelled all flights out of LaGuardia Airport through October 30 at 8 p.m. EDT. The three major airports serving New York City, JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, were closed as of 8 p.m. on October 29. More than 8,000 flights were canceled by 4 p.m. EDT for the day of October 30. LaGuardia and Newark had a total of 2,400 cancelled flights. As of early morning October 31, nearly 3,000 flights were canceled, but JFK and Newark airports began handling flights after 7 a.m. LaGuardia Airport reopened November 1 at 7:00 a.m.

Events

New York's Village Halloween Parade, held annually on October 31, was cancelled due to blackout conditions in Greenwich Village. A similar parade in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York was also cancelled for that same reason.

After many complaints that running the New York City Marathon through affected areas would seem insensitive and would put further pressure on police and other service workers who would be better deployed in the recovery efforts, Mayor Bloomberg announced late afternoon November 2 that the race had been cancelled. The event was to take place on Sunday, November 4. Marathon officials said that it would not be rescheduled.

The opening game at the Barclays Center between the National Basketball Association's Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks originally scheduled to take place on November 1 was rescheduled for November 26.

The soccer game between the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United in the 2012 Major League Soccer playoffs, scheduled for November 3, was moved to November 7, due to a power outage at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.

Staten Island

The most significant water levels in the state from Sandy occurred in Staten Island. Along the northern tip along the Kill Van Kull, Sandy produced a storm surge of above normal tide levels, which corresponded to water levels above the average low tide. This surpassed the previous record by , set by Irene a year earlier. The highest-observed water line in the state was above ground, measured on a doorframe of a house in Staten Island's Oakwood neighborhood.

Staten Island experienced sustained winds of 40 to 60 mph, with gusts of up to 80 mph.

At least 21 people died on Staten Island from the storm surge. Floodwaters washed away entire blocks of houses in Midland Beach, New Dorp, and Oakwood Beach.

On October 30, the tanker was driven ashore at Staten Island.

Manhattan

Parts of Lower Manhattan were inundated by floodwaters, possibly as much as deep, based on water marks measured near the South Street Seaport. At One World Trade Center in the Financial District, water levels were above ground. Floodwaters reached the corner of Canal and Hudson streets. Waters from the East River inundated parts of the East Village.

The floods entered hundreds of buildings across Manhattan. The South Ferry/Whitehall Street station in Battery Park was largely destroyed, after the storm surge submerged the station with of floodwaters. The station was less than four years old, as the previous station was rebuilt following the September 11 attacks of 2001.

Heavy winds caused a construction crane atop One57 to collapse, causing the area to be evacuated on October 29. The crane was secured to the building on November 3 and West 57th Street reopened to traffic that evening.

Space Shuttle ''Enterprise'', on board the flight deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in the Hudson River, was damaged. The inflatable pavilion containing the shuttle appears to have first deflated and then been torn by the high winds.

Everywhere in Lower Manhattan south of 39th Street lost power.

Brooklyn

In Brooklyn, the most significant inundation was , with large parts of Red Hook underwater.

Damaged structures included community centers in South Brooklyn. The offices of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, as well as a senior home run by the organization, were affected.Donation Helps Center Damaged By Sandy Get Back On Its Feet. ''NY1''. Jan 24, 2013.
Ain, Stewart. Holocaust Survivors Affected By Sandy Get Aid From Germans And Claims Conference. ''The Jewish Week''. Jan 15, 2013.
/ref>

Queens

Water levels in Queens reached deep in Maspeth. Along the Rockaways on the southern coast of Long Island, two stations recorded water levels of deep.

On October 30, over 190 firefighters fought a six alarm fire that destroyed 111 structures and damaged another 20 in Breezy Point, Queens, as a result of the storm. The area had been under evacuation orders, but some residents rode out the storm. One firefighter and two residents were injured. The rescuers were in chest-deep water and had to use a boat to reach survivors. A transformer explosion is suspected to have caused the fire. On October 31, Breezy Point residents pledged to rebuild their community.

Remainder of Long Island

On the eastern tip of Long Island, the storm surge reached above normal water levels in Montauk. The entirety of Fire Island was inundated by the floodwaters, with a high-water mark of . Along the island, about 200 homes were washed away or destroyed. Much of the protective dunes along the beach were swept away, and most coastal areas were inundated a few blocks inland. Coastal damage was heaviest in Mastic and Moriches. Around Peconic Bay, water levels were about deep. The high tides breached through Westhampton Island east of Moriches Inlet. Severe beach erosion occurred in Montauk Point State Park. In Riverhead, the flooded Peconic River

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