A look back at the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

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Ambulances line up outside Bellevue Hospital during a planned evacuation October 31, 2012 in New York.
Credit: Getty Images

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The collapse, at 92 8th Ave., happened after 3 p.m. today, according to the FDNY. No injuries were reported and no one was trapped inside.

A massive police and fire department presence surrounded the intersection after the incident.

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The latest reports paint a dismal picture for the East Coast in the coming days, with predictions of 90 mph winds, public transit closures, and life-threatening flood levels. A crane on a Midtown highrise has partially collapsed in the midst of rapidly increasing winds.

The storm is expected to make landfall in the city late Monday afternoon and while most New Yorkers who spoke to Metro admit they took some precautions, like stocking up on food and water, they also have a “believe it when I see it” attitude about Sandy.

“I just loaded up on batteries, flashlights and candles, bottled water, food that will last in case the electricity goes out, and other essentials, like chocolate and wine — I emphasize the latter,” Will Reilly, of Sunnyside, Queens, told Metro.

Most attribute their skepticism to the much-hyped Hurricane Irene last year, which proved more bark than bite.

“Last year, Irene was expected to do much more damage than we actually got, so who knows?” Reilly added. “I guess the best thing is just to be prepared and expect the unexpected — I feel like it’s the kind of thing you shouldn’t get to crazy about until necessary.”

“I honestly didn’t do much prep because I’m from Florida, so I’m really blasé about it,” Irina Gonzalez, a resident of Spanish Harlem, said. “I think people are panicking and freaking out. I appreciate being prepared because we can’t really know what will happen, but I don’t think it will be that bad at all.”

Still, forecasters insist Hurricane Sandy is a much more powerful storm than Irene, already claiming 67 lives after it ripped through the Caribbean.

While most city businesses have shut their doors for the duration of the storm, several brave workers remain in the hopes of scooping up revenue from those still relying on restaurants and grocery stores. Eater reports swanky spots like Joseph Leonard plan to stay open all day and it’s still business as usual at the neighborhood joint Waverly Diner.

Midday, some New Yorkers were venturing outdoors in the final moments of calm before the storm.

“I just took the dog out, but winds are kicking up,” Upper West Side resident Tracy Kaler said. “People are out and about right now, but I expect that to stop when the storm really hits later today.”

Most of the city’s workers, though, have been ordered to remain inside or work from home, if possible. Thousands of people have filtered into the city’s 73 shelters from Zone A, which covers mostly the outlying areas of Lower Manhattan, the western edges of Brooklyn and southernmost tip of Queens. Those in Zones B and C said they’ll be keeping track of the storm, but don’t expect to budge anytime soon.

“If I really, really had to, I guess I would but I’d rather not,” Gonzalez said. “I have plenty of food and all that, and I figure if power does go out, Manhattan is the first place they’d fix anyway.”

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Obama intends to visit first responders and survey the damage from Hurricane Isaac, and is “making sure that unmet needs are being met,” Carney said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has led the storm recovery efforts.

The president has steered clear of the U.S. Gulf Coast region as emergency responders dealt with the damage. Obama held campaign events in Colorado, Iowa, and Virginia this week that coincided with the Republican national convention in Tampa, Florida.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is making a trip to Louisiana on Friday. Romney, fresh from accepting the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, is scheduled to join Louisiana’s Republican governor, Bobby Jindal.

The memory of Hurricane Katrina that battered the Gulf in 2005 and led to heavy criticism of Obama’s Republican predecessor in the White House, George W. Bush, has prompted the administration to go to great lengths to show it is on top of the response to Isaac.

Carney said the president has not gone to visit the region because of to logistical challenges.

“It was the assessment of the president’s team working with all the people involved in operations, as well as people on the ground, that Monday was a good day for the president to visit,” Carney said.

Obama made several references to Isaac in his campaign remarks this week and said he had personally been in contact with various federal agencies.

Isaac, the first hurricane to hit the United States this year, is now a tropical depression.

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“As we prepare for Isaac to hit, I want to encourage all residents of the Gulf Coast to listen to your local officials and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate,” Obama said at the White House before departing on a two-day campaign trip.

“Now is not the time to tempt fate, now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. You need to take this seriously,” he said.

Obama’s statement was meant to show he is taking the storm seriously, too, despite his campaign travel.

Isaac is expected to make landfall in the New Orleans area seven years after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Obama has criticized the Bush administration’s handling of the Katrina disaster.

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Isaac was expected to spare Tampa a direct hit and strike, with hurricane strength, farther north along the Gulf Coast this week.

But it has left Republicans – who canceled events on Monday in anticipation of the storm – with a new challenge to salvage the convention’s remaining three days: Help Romney make an aggressive, memorable argument to be president, while being careful to show sensitivity to those at risk from the storm.

It is a quandary Republicans also faced in 2008, when they chose to delay their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. That year, Hurricane Gustav hit the Louisiana coast as the convention was set to nominate Arizona Senator John McCain as the Republican presidential nominee.

At the time, the party was still reeling from criticism of Republican President George W. Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. New Orleans is now threatened by Isaac’s projected path.

Romney, who will face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election, is eager to use the nationally televised political extravaganza in Tampa to define himself to American voters after a series of campaign setbacks.

But Romney could be robbed of some media attention – or worse, have images of convention festivities juxtaposed with searing split-screen television images of the storm’s onslaught if Isaac dominates the news this week.

Seeking to regain the initiative, convention organizers juggled the speaking schedule as Republican delegates converged on Tampa, where the party will formally nominate Romney and his vice presidential running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan.

The main speakers whose Monday appearances had to be scrapped were given slots on other nights, including House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Senator Rand Paul, son of Romney’s former presidential rival Ron Paul.

Mindful of the potential for bad “optics” if Isaac hits the Gulf Coast at the height of the convention, Russ Schriefer, the Romney campaign’s top convention planner, left open the possibility of more scheduling changes or even extending the gathering into Friday.

TELLING ROMNEY’S STORY

“We all know that a weather event is there,” he told reporters on a conference call Sunday afternoon. “We’re obviously monitoring what is going on. … Concern has to be with the people who are in the path of the storm.”

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that despite competition from the storm coverage, he expected independent voters in particular to tune in to hear Romney’s speech Thursday night and Ryan’s the previous night.

“I think we’ll still get a fair amount of attention,” McDonnell said, “and the message will be good.”

Part of Republican officials’ aim is to present Romney’s biography – his years as a private equity executive, Massachusetts governor and leader of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics – in a flattering way that contrasts with the waves of attacks on Romney by the president and his allies.

“We’re going to tell the Mitt Romney story. (And) we’re still going to prosecute the president on what he promised, what he delivered, and why we think we need to save this country and put Mitt Romney in the White House,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told CNN on Sunday.

The Republican convention, just like the Democrats’ similar gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, early next month, is typically a celebratory event bringing together thousands of party activists from across the United States for a week of speeches, partying and strategizing.

For Romney, the importance of the convention cannot be overstated. Running even with Obama or slightly behind him in most opinion polls, Romney needs a bounce in the polls from the convention, particularly in the 10 or so politically divided “swing states,” like Florida, likely to decide the election.

Romney enters convention week having made a self-inflicted error by telling a crowd in Michigan that “no one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate,” a joke that rekindled a storyline pushed by far-right conservatives over whether Obama was actually born in the United States.

Romney tried to get the focus on what he considers the paramount issue in the campaign, the weak U.S. economy, telling Fox News he and Ryan would offer “big and bold answers.”

“America needs that kind of help at a time when so many people are out of work or underemployed or having a hard time making ends meet,” he said in remarks broadcast on Sunday.

Convention organizers were working intensely to ensure that Isaac doesn’t distract from Romney’s mission. The storm lashed south Florida with winds and heavy rain on Sunday after battering the Caribbean.

Fueled by warm Gulf waters, Isaac was expected to strengthen to a Category 2 hurricane and hit the Gulf Coast somewhere between Florida and Louisiana at midweek, on or near the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory.

A hurricane watch was extended westward to include New Orleans. A storm becomes a hurricane when sustained winds reach at least 74 miles per hour. At least seven people were killed when Isaac moved across Haiti.

SAFETY FIRST

The Republican convention will bring 50,000 visitors to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, home to well over 4 million people. Over the last few days, local authorities have said they could handle the crowds and the approaching storm.

Many attendees booked earlier flights to be in place before any bad weather. Hotels said they were ready to shift party schedules or move outdoor events indoors.

Party officials were working with Florida state officials and emergency management to ensure the safety of those attending the convention. Heavy winds and rain can stretch for hundreds of miles out from the center of a major storm.

A Lynyrd Skynyrd concert planned for Sunday night was canceled because of the likely severe weather. But several other pre-convention events were going ahead as planned, including a giant welcoming party at the Tropicana Field.

Democratic Vice President Joe Biden, who had planned to visit Florida during the convention but canceled his Tampa event because of the storm, has decided to also cancel his other planned events in Orlando and St. Augustine, Florida.

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“Yes there’s a federal role, yes we’re going to find the money. We’re just going to make sure that there are savings elsewhere,” Representative Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, told Fox News.

Democrats who oversee disaster funding in the Senate said they won’t cut other programs to boost emergency aid.

“It makes no sense to cut programs that help respond to future disasters in order to pay for emergencies that have already occurred,’’ Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu said in a prepared statement.

Irene killed at least 30 people and caused substantial property damage from North Carolina to Vermont over the weekend. Cantor’s Virginia district was among the areas hit by the storm, and was the epicenter of an earthquake last week.

Obama administration officials said they had no estimate of the storm’s cost and were still assessing the damage, but other elected officials and companies have indicated it will likely amount to billions of dollars.

The administration may have to ask Congress for additional funding at a time when lawmakers are debating further budget cuts.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has suspended funding for some rebuilding programs from earlier disasters to ensure that its disaster-relief fund will not run out of money, according to agency administrator Craig Fugate.

President Barack Obama has signed declarations committing the federal government to helping states from North Carolina to New Hampshire cover disaster-response costs.

Tighter disaster budgets

U.S. state and local governments may have to pay for some of the billions of dollars in costs from Hurricane Irene after slashing disaster spending in recent years to shore up bleeding budgets.

That bill will arrive as state and local government revenue remains largely below pre-recession levels, leaving them with tough choices on spending for the recovery from the storm.

The International Association of Emer­gency Managers estimates the total impact of Hurricane Irene as between $2.2 billion and $2.6 billion.

New York

Spared from Irene’s worst fury, New York City went back to work yesterday despite a partially crippled mass transit system and power outages to 100,000 customers. Air travel at New York City’s three major area airports slowly resumed service.

New Jersey

Raging waterways caused dramatic flooding yesterday across New Jersey, as the state’s rivers and creeks rose from the force of Hurricane Irene. Several rivers have not yet crested, and the rising waters threatened to smash longtime flood records, authorities said.

Massachusetts

Western Massachusetts was hit especially hard by the heavy rains, and more than 500,000 customers in Massachusetts remained without power. A town employee from Southbridge, Mass., was electrocuted by a downed power line, authorities said.

Vermont

President Obama has declared a state of emergency for Vermont, experiencing its worst flooding in recent memory. At least one person was killed after being swept into a swollen river in the mountainous, land-locked New England state, which rarely sees tropical storms.

Connecticut

Some of the nearly 700,000 Connecticut residents without power could remain in the dark for a week or more, said Gov. Dannel Malloy. There has been one storm-related fatality in Connecticut, but officials did not elaborate on details of the death.

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The powerful storm is expected to be downgraded to Category 1 by the time it hits New York. But that doesn’t mean it can’t do plenty of damage, expected to bring with it six to 12 inches of rain and heavy winds, according to meteorologists.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is urging New Yorkers to prepare themselves for the worst possible scenario, warning that evacuations may be called for in low-lying areas like Coney Island, Manhattan Beach and Battery Park City. About 270,000 New Yorkers could be affected by an evacuation order.

The mayor said he would make the decision to evacuate by 8 a.m. Saturday. But he urged New Yorkers who live in evacuation zones to stay with friends or family this weekend as a precaution.

“At this point, people need to be prepared for a significant event and they must listen to authorities,” warned Brian Ciemnecki, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “They don’t ask people to leave for no reason. Their lives could be in danger.”

He predicted Irene will bring winds between 75 and 85 miles per hour when it reaches our area, speeds that can cause some serious damage.

“I would not be surprised if there were windows blown out,” said David Stark, another meteorologist. “With that wind speed, that’s certainly a possibility.”

High winds can also bring down branches and trees in city parks.

Pack a ‘go bag’

How can you prepare? Mayor Bloomberg is encouraging all New Yorkers to pack a “go bag” complete with drinking water, a flashlight, important medications, car and house keys and important documents like passports and any other IDs.

It may also be a good idea to add in a first-aid kit complete with things like latex gloves, scissors, tweezers and cleansing agents.

Keep a three-day supply of nonperishable food. Two to three gallons of water are recommended per person for a three-day supply. 

Will the subways run?

The MTA is expecting to shut down all lines in the event of severe wind and rain this weekend. Officials said they are prepping facilities by clearing drains, securing work sites and bringing on extra personnel. An MTA representative told Metro that the agency shuts down outdoor trains if wind speeds exceed 39 miles per hour. Check mta.info for the latest updates before you travel this weekend.

Evacuation destination

Find out if you live in a hurricane evacuation zone by entering your address at www.nyc.gov or calling 311. Register for alerts at nyc.gov/notifynyc. Updates are available via e-mail, SMS, and phone and the city will also distribute evacuation alerts through the media and on Twitter.

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