Category Archives: weather

weather

Streetsblog: What Your District Loses Without Congestion Pricing

The deadline is midnight for the legislature to decide about congestion pricing. Here’s Streetsblog on what will be lost if it doesn’t go though:

The Campaign for New York’s Future has some handy fact sheets on the transit upgrades outlined in the MTA 2008-2013 Capital Plan, broken down by city and state electoral districts. Since many of these projects will be threatened without the hundreds of millions in annual revenues expected from congestion pricing, some legislators may need to be reminded of what’s at stake.

Take Hakeem Jeffries. The Brooklyn assemblyman reportedly has no position on pricing at the moment, but not so long ago he stood with Richard Brodsky in support of the Westchester pricing foe’s $6.50 taxi drop charge “alternative.”

weather

BREAKING NEWS FROM WEATHER BY ROSE: SNOW

Dad_at_the_metropolitan_34
Here is today’s weather by Rose, who is watching the snow from her weather tower in Coney Island:

"Snowing off and on all day. 20 something degrees now. Should be in the mid-30’s later on. Not much snow is sticking: only about 1 or 2. The snow will turn into rain this afternoon or this evening. Right now it’s off and on. It’s very light coming down now."

weather

GLOVES

It snowed last night. Not a lot of snow. Not blizzard-style snow.
No, no. Just a light snow. But the Oh So Feisty One is excited and hoping for a
snow day tomorrow even though WNYC says that there will only be a couple of inches and it should turn to
rain by evening.

And then for all the slushy fun.

But for now, the apartment is a-flurry with activity and excitement. OSFO is dressing to play in the snow.

"I’m wearing layers," she assures me and pulls up her jeans to reveal grey tights. "But where are my gloves?" 

GLOVES. The first snow of winter means it’s time to locate all that
winter clothing from last year. The boots, the hats, the scarves, the
mittens, and the GLOVES.

Where did I put that stuff from last year where is it again? It’s
amazing how easily things can get lost in a small, 3-bedroom apartment.
Finally I locate the red duffel bag where I put the family’s scarves,
hats, and gloves. It is under the bed…

Sure, there’s lot of stuff in there. But not one PAIR of gloves.
There are plenty of single, unmatched gloves. Gloves and mittens in
many colors. Some gorgeous ski mittens, hand knit mittens, boucle
gloves, fleece. You name it.

ALL ONE OF A KIND.

What good is that? Impatiently, OSFO goes through all her drawers, all my drawers.

"Why is it that the bottom drawer is always our winter stuff?" she asks.

10 a.m. on Sunday. It is the first snow of winter and OSFO is off
to a friend’s apartment around the corner and I am searching for the street
vendor who sells gloves on Seventh Avenue.

Gloves. Anybody got gloves?

weather

WEATHER BY ROSE

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Dad_at_the_metropolitan_29
From her weather tower in Coney Island, here’s today’s weather by Rose at 7:50 a.m.

"On the chilly side and partly cloudy today. In the low 70’s today. 63
degrees right now. It’s not going to be sunny today. Partly cloudy all
day and cool."

weather

UNDERWATER BALLERINA ON HURRICANE DEAN

My niece, Underwater Ballerina, left the Carribbean island where she’s working during Hurricane Dean. Turns out the island was spared the wrath of Dean and UB is back on the island affter two days in Ft. Lauderdale. On her blog she writes eloquently of the experience. Read what happened on the island…

I’ll admit there’s a voice in the back of my head saying that I’m a quitter, that I cut and run, that all my friends are still stuck on the island, and that it’s not fair that I left. Still, the island is about to be wiped off the map. I downplayed the seriousness of the storm in my assorted emails and posts, but Arrecife is in for some big trouble. The island rode out Hurricane Ivan, a similar storm, three years ago, and damage is still evident all over the island.

As I was driving through the empty streets last night on my way to the Bypass, I saw plywood and hurricane shutters over stores and houses that stood next to other buildings still with holes in their roofs or only partially rebuilt from Ivan. Arrecife is mostly below sea level. The storm surge from Hurricane Ivan was 8 feet in some parts of the island; a foot of water in the ground floor of your house was considered “minimal damage”. While many people learned their lessons about complacency from that storm, there is still only so much you can do when a Category 5 storm is bearing down on you.

Had I stayed, I would have been safe in the Winchester-Swann’s ballroom, but utilities will not be back up for days after the storm passes, if not a few weeks. Most employees will be sent home as soon as the airport is functional again, as conditions will be unsanitary, looting will be rampant, curfews will be set, and the air will be full of mosquitoes and the smell of effluent and dead fish. Despite all of that, part of me wishes I had stayed. Could I have done something to help? Are my friends going to be okay? When will I be able to get back onto the island? What will be left when I do return? For now, though, all I can do is watch and wait as the little swirly mass of clouds on satellite photos inches closer and closer… Stay safe, Arrecife.

weather

WEATHER BY ROSE

From her weather tower in Coney Island, here’s today’s weather by Rose at 9:20 a.m.

It’s going to be nice like yesterday. Sunny all day. High in the 80’s. Now they’re saying no thunderstorms on Monday. Not too humid today. Humid tomorrow but not today.