COVID al fresco still going on at NYC schools

  

NY Post

Talk about cold cuts.

Kids in some city schools are still eating lunch outdoors each day due to social distancing rules despite plunging temperatures and steamed parents.

“It’s getting a little ridiculous at this point,” said a mom at MS 104 in Manhattan, where kids again pulled apart their string cheese in 39-degree weather Wednesday. “They’ve eaten outdoors every day this week. It’s cold.”

A mom at a Park Slope elementary school said her child has also been dining al freezo for the entire year and began complaining about the conditions this week.

“We’ve heard no plans to bring them inside anytime soon,” she said. “In fact, they are still asking for parents to give the school their Fresh Direct bags to create seating pads. It doesn’t sound like they’re going in.”

The Department of Education allowed principals to devise their own lunch arrangements this year while complying with social distancing rules.

While some have managed to keep kids under a roof while eating, others have headed for the great outdoors.

“It’s already hard enough for a little kid to eat outside while sitting on concrete with a mask on,” said the mother of a Brooklyn fourth-grader who ate outside this week. “What does the weather have to be to go inside? How low does it have to go?”

The Blaz, suffering from Weather Forecast Derangement Syndrome, is spending over two and half billion dollars for the city's own meteorlogists

#WPC_MD 0925 affecting Northern Mid-Atlantic States into Southern New England, #mawx #riwx #ctwx #nywx #njwx #pawx #dewx #mdwx, https://t.co/8WorcCevs3 pic.twitter.com/kzYoSnKtke

— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) September 1, 2021

 

 Patch

  Remnants of Hurricane Ida dealt New York City a sudden, costly lesson in the effects of climate change — and city officials don't want to be caught unaware again.

A city-penned new study — "The New Normal: Combatting Storm-Related Extreme Weather in New York City" — released Monday outlines $2.7 billion in steps to fight severe storms.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said many recommendations by the study's extreme weather task force, such as evacuation preparations and travel bans will go into effect, soon. Others, such as a $100 billion overhaul of the city's sewer system to accommodate previously unseen rainfall, will take longer and likely require federal help, he said.

"We know the climate crisis demands of us a lot of changes, a lot of new approaches," he said. "We also know it is manifesting as something that's shocking: more severe, more sudden. The type of weather that we've never seen before, literally in our lives — kind of stunning, brutal weather changes that have a horrible impact on our people."

Ida on Sept. 1 claimed 13 lives, broke a city record for the most rainfall in an hour and flooded streets, subways and basement apartments across the city.

De Blasio said the storm showed the need for the city to set up its own weather tracking and alert office. He said information currently provided by the National Weather Service, while appreciated, isn't specific enough for the city.

A new city-run weather system would be analogous to the NYPD's Counterterrorism Bureau set up after the Sept. 11 attacks — an added level of warning able to work more quickly for the city than federal agencies.

"So, my simple summary would be having a private forecasting capacity to just be that second set of eyes, just like you go to a second opinion with the doctor, to tell us if what we're seeing from the National Weather Service looks like the whole story, whether there's the possibility of things happening earlier, higher impact, what level of alert we should go to," he said. "Someone dedicated to thinking from the New York City perspective, not the whole nation perspective."

DeBlasio criticized for downplaying NYCHA heat issues

From the Daily News:

On WNYC, de Blasio was asked how NYCHA was handling its pervasive heating glitches, and downplayed the issue.

“As the problems have been occurring, we've been getting the heat back on in each development. There are still a few, for sure, that we have more work to do,” he said.

The mayor conceded there were “some developments right now that need heat restored,” but that usually NYCHA can fix the problem in a few hours.

But over the holiday weekend and throughout the frigid week, entire developments across the city found themselves without heat, some for days at a time.

Congratulations on making it through!

If you're reading this, you're still alive!

Cuomo's infamous order to shelter doesn't actually do anything new

From the Daily News:

Cuomo inked the order on Sunday to remove homeless people from the streets and move them to shelters when the temperature is 32 degrees or lower. The mandate goes into effect Tuesday, when temperatures are expected to fall into the low 30s.

As homeless New Yorkers rebelled against the order and others questioned the legality of yanking people off the streets, Cuomo administration officials elaborated on the process, saying people would not be forced to leave the sidewalks.

“The executive order directs localities to conduct an assessment when necessary,” said the governor’s counsel, Alphonso David. The process involves outreach to let people know shelter beds are available and competency assessments in certain cases.

Deep freeze affecting transportation

From WPIX:

By land and by sea, the weather has been interrupting any trip around New York City for the past few days.

Most subway work is continuing through the weekend. Check mta.info for status updates.

The East River Ferry suspended rides again on Saturday due to ice in the river.

Lots of people kissing NY & NJ goodbye

From Forbes:

More people are moving out of New Jersey than are moving in. The same is true for New York and Illinois. Those three states top the “outbound” list compiled by United Van Lines, the big St. Louis-based moving company that has put together an annual survey of where Americans are moving for the last 38 years. The company analyzed a total of 128,000 moves across the 48 continental states and the District of Columbia in 2014 and came up with a picture of migration patterns across the US.

According to Michael Stoll, a professor of public policy at University of California, Los Angeles, and a consultant to United Van Lines who studies American migration, the moves reflect the increasing numbers of retiring baby boomers who are leaving colder, more expensive states in the Northeast and Midwest in favor of lower-cost locations with retirement infrastructures like Florida and Arizona. Long-term shifts in the US economy and the hit to employment in many states resulting from the slow recovery are also prompting many Americans to relocate.

New Jersey has been stuck at the top of the outbound list for four of the past five years. In 2014 nearly 65% more people moved out than moved in. According to Stoll, the Great Recession hit the state especially hard, accelerating a longtime shift in manufacturing to the southern states, away from the Northeast. Damage done by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the slow pace of rebuilding since has also driven people away. Plus New Jersey has a population that is older than other states’ and the cold climate is driving retirement-age people south. Further, housing costs tend to be high there, especially in northern New Jersey which is subject to demand from people who work in Manhattan.

New York comes in at second place for some of the same reasons. High housing prices, more retirees and a desire for a warmer climate are driving lots of people out of the state. Like New Jersey, Illinois, at No. 3 on the list, got hit disproportionately hard by the Great Recession, notes Stoll, especially in the manufacturing sector, and the state has had a slow recovery. Though job losses have slowed, the rate of job growth in Illinois is still below the national average and its older population has been relocating.

A lot of people want to leave

From Patch:

More than 40 percent of New Yorkers surveyed in a recent Gallup poll said they would leave the state if they could.

Of all 50 states surveyed, New York tied New Jersey and Massachusetts for sixth place–at 41 percent–for the highest percentage of residents who would head for another state if given the chance.

The poll dug a little deeper, too, and asked residents if they were actually planning to move out of the state sometime in the next 12 months. Of those in New York who answered yes (16 percent), here are their reasons why:

Work/Business-related: 15%
Family/Friends: 16%
Weather/Location: 8%
Quality of Life/Change: 5%
School-related: 6%
Cost of Living: 21%
Taxes: 14%

Hydrant outside burning church was frozen shut

From NBC:

Members of Deliverance Tabernacle Church in South Ozone Park, Queens are optimistic they'll rebuild after a fire ripped through their house of worship. Rob Schmitt has more.

QNS 2-ALARM 144-01 SUTTER AVE, HOUSE OF WORSHIP FIRE IN BASEMENT & 1ST FLR, UNDER CONTROL

Glen Oaks Village replaces windows during Polar Vortex

"It's freezing cold out there today and Dun-Rite workers are installing windows on 76th Avenue and 246th Street in Bellerose, starting at 8am when the temp was 7 degrees. Most residents were in their pajamas or night dress when installers came knocking on their doors. Some could not even have a breakfast. The workers today are different from yesterday. Asked one worker and he clearly stated anyone who wants a job can come to work despite the weather. These are recruited by a temporary employment agency in Brooklyn and no handyman experience is required. Also asked the workers if they are cold and their reply is, "yes but we need the bread." No one from the usual crew showed up for work including Wallace and George who oversee everyone." - Glen Oaks Family on Facebook

Spring comes to Queens

I think it's safe to say it now...
Spring has arrived in Queens!

Photos from a Queens walk at 10000 Birds.