Roosevelt Island Hurricane Irene Update - Gristedes, Duane Reade Crowded With Shoppers Picking Up Last Minute Supplies

Roosevelt Island residents were out early this morning shopping in preparation for Hurricane Irene. There were long lines at Gristedes

 

Duane Reade

 and the Farmer's Market

but everything appeared orderly and supplies were available.

The manager at Duane Reade reported that the store would be closing at 12 PM. The Gristedes Manager said they would stay open as long as their employees could stay but indicated that would probably be about 3 or 4 PM.

Starbucks was closed today. Most of the employees do not live on Roosevelt Island. The Trellis Diner was open and packed. The Riverwalk Bar and Grill will open at 12 PM. The kitchen will be closed but deli sandwiches available.

HURRICANE PARTY!! WE'LL BE OPEN AT NOON TODAY ROOSEVELT ISLAND, HURRICANE COCKTAIL SPECIALS AND BEER PONG. IF YOU STUCK AROUND COME JOIN US!

Here's the latest update from RIOC received at 10:33 AM:

Please be advised that RIOC is monitoring the progress of the storm scheduled to arrive in the New York City area this coming weekend. We are taking precautions to secure the operations of the island. New York City will Shut Down Mass Transit on Saturday, August 27th at 12:00 Noon. The commuter rail lines that serve Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut will also be shut down. The Tram will run on schedule until winds reach 45 mph. Based on hourly forecasts we will notify the public via an advisory 2 hours in advance of a shutdown. When this occurs, Tram service will be suspended. The Red Buses will continue to run and will only be interrupted if there is excessive flooding and/or decreased visibility that prevents continuous service. Subsequent advisories will follow as needed. Public Safety will be in operation 24 hours a day, with extra staff working this weekend. Please click the following link for additional info http://www.rioc.ny.gov/pdf/IreneAdvisory-082611.pdf

In preparation for the storm, we ask residents who have terraces or an outdoor space to make sure to bring in plants or any items that could be blown away by high winds which could potentially cause injury or property damage. Vehicles are discouraged from parking on Main Street, and we encourage you to utilize the Motorgate Parking Facility. In addition, the tennis courts, Sportspark and all parks will close on Saturday, August 27th at 2:00 PM. For those who live above the 10th floor, the Mayor’s Office asked that you move to a lower level or to another location before the storm arrives.

Please continue to monitor the storm's progress on The Weather Channel, weather.com, your local news or radio broadcast or the following link: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/refresh/AL0911W5_NL+gif/145713W5_NL_sm.gif

In addition, the City provides some information about how to prepare for a major storm as well as information on evacuation routes for certain parts of the city that are particularly susceptible to flooding:
Preparation: http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/downloads/pdf/hurricane_brochure.pdf

Please visit http://nyc.gov/html/oem/html/hazards/storms.shtml for information about hurricane preparedness.

As always feel free to call 3-1-1 for non-emergencies and 9-1-1 or Public Safety 212-832-4545 for emergencies.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

You can track Hurricane Irene storm path at this NY Times map.