On the Ground: Midtown New York (The Lost – and Found – Images)

Woman shelters herself as she walks through the rain at Columbus Circle, New York City, Saturday, August 27, 2011. The eye of Hurricane Irene won't hit the city until morning but notices have gone out to 370,000 residents to evacuate their homes in lower New York. (Photo: E.D. Cauchi/CUJIreneWatch)

FedEx center on Broadway and 59th Street closes in preparation for Hurricane Irene. Many local area businesses closed down Saturday, August 27, 2011 as Irene moved closer to New York City. (Photo: Adam McCauley/CUJIreneWatch)

Woman races to find shelter as Hurricane Irene's rain pound New York City streets on Saturday, August 26, 2011. (Photo: Adam McCauley/CUJIreneWatch)

Three tourists enjoy a relatively quiet Saturday night in Times Square, an oddity, as Hurricane Irene moves into New York City. (Photo: Adam McCauley/CUJIreneWatch)

Disconnected: The Narrative of Hurricane Irene

While the hurricane has moved on, it would be crass to believe it hasn’t left its mark.

Hurricane Irene Hits New York from Erin D. Cauchi on Vimeo.

Irene’s Wind Downs Trees, but Spares Building

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A bus stop was the only casualty as Hurricane Irene’s winds uprooted eight trees at the East River Cooperative village on Grand Street and FDR Drive in Manhattan’s Lower Eastside.

Neighbors gathered to watch management and cleanup crews saw, cart and sweep toppled trunks and debris from the sidewalk and street, Sunday afternoon.

“This is the most damage I’ve seen,“ said Dundee Godfrey, who’s lived on the building’s 15^th floor for more than a decade. He was shocked by the “act of god,” despite being briefed by countless official warnings of such potential occurrences over the last few days. Godfrey, who stayed up to watch the storm with a friend, witnessed the second tree fall around 3:30 am.

The largest of the trees was some seven stories tall reaching around 85 feet. It caused the most damage, crushing a bus stop and blocking the Grand Street sidewalk. Remarkably, all eight trees circling the building had fallen outwards, away from the inhabitants asleep inside.

“Grateful is the better word for it,” said Joe Wong, a resident of the building across the street. “It could have been worse.”

Wong’s first worry when he heard the trees tumble was for the safety of his grandmother, who lives on the affected property. He was one of many who spent the night in his own bed, shirking warnings from city officials.

“We were in the evacuation zone,” said Wong, “I don’t think a lot of people left.”

With roughly 9,000 visitors to New York City’s 81 evacuation centers, it seems that many of the 370,000 mandated evacuees decided to wait Hurricane Irene out on their own terms.

Despite damage done to isolated areas throughout the five boroughs, New York’s National Weather Service reported lower than anticipated wind speeds and only half a foot of rain in Central Park.

“It’s all up to Mother Nature,” said East River resident Ray Lotito, who had been up all night listening to news reports on the threatening storm.

This time, Mother Nature decided to take it easy on New York.

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Adam McCauley & E.D. Cauchi

On the Ground: Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx

Hurricane Irene floods a picnic area in the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park on Sunday afternoon. (Photo: Tami Luhby/CUJIreneWatch)

For a Few Businesses, Storm Could Give a Boost

Starbucks remained closed on Sunday, August 28, 2011 despite Hurricane Irene's relatively benign conditions. (Photo Nat Herz/CUJIreneWatch)

As the remnants of a diminished Hurricane Irene moved through New York City on Sunday morning, the majority of businesses in Upper Manhattan looked a lot like the Starbucks Coffee on 103^rd St. and Broadway: closed.

“We hope that everyone is safe this weekend, and look forward to connecting with each and everyone of our beloved customers Monday!!!” read the sign on the front door.

But for the few shops and restaurants that remained open in Harlem, Morningside Heights, and the Upper West Side, the combination of milder weather and shuttered competitors was beginning to look like an unexpected boon.

At Broadway Bagel on 101^st St., 15 people were waiting for service in a line that stretched the length of the store—some of whom had trekked as far as 40 blocks in search of sustenance.

“I walked all the way down from 141^st,” said Kevin Blaikie. “It was the first [place] that served actual breakfast—real food.”

For the businesses themselves, there were a few extra costs to staying open through the storm.

Matt Hecht, the owner of SIP Bar on 110^th and Amsterdam, told his employees he’d pay for taxis to get them to work, given the shutdown of the city’s transit system. He also offered up his couch as a crash pad.

Hecht said he was never too concerned about the hurricane, the impact of which he said had been overblown by authorities. He was open not just on Sunday morning, but late into Saturday night, as well. And the bar, he said, was “packed.”

“It’s a rain storm—this is not that big of a deal,” he said.

“Everyone’s coming in and saying the same thing, which is, ‘Thank God someone’s smart enough to be open.’”

Other business owners said they came into work as a service to their communities.

At 111^th St. and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, the big supermarket, Organic Forever, was closed. But Cheo Abreu, the owner of the adjacent American Meat Market and Grocery, said he had kept his doors open, “because the neighbors need it now.”

Reported by Nat Herz
CUJIreneWatch 

On the Ground: Battery Park and Ground Zero

Police patrol in unmarked vehicles on State Street beside Battery Park after midnight. Flooding, which began late Saturday evening, is expected to worsen as Hurricane Irene nears. (Photo: Adam McCauley/CUJIreneWatch)

View from the tip of Battery Park across State Street, early Sunday morning. Rainwater continues to gather, it had already exceeded three inches by 1am. (Photo: E.D. Cauchi/CUJIreneWatch)

Police van waits as gusting winds push through the Battery Park area, Sunday, August 28, 2011. (Photo: Adam McCauley/CUJIreneWatch)

Sandbags line Battery Place between Broadway and Greenwich Street. (Photo: E.D. Cauchi/CUJIreneWatch)

Two guards stand watch over ground zero as rain and wind temporarily subside around 3am. (Photo: E.D. Cauchi/CUJIreneWatch)

Construction signs are left strewn by gusting winds as Broadway stands empty, early Sunday morning. (Photo: Adam McCauley/CUJIreneWatch)

Battery Park: The Instagram

The Setup

Hurricane Irene’s latest victim

Our locale

Stranded Canadians

Canadians are known for braving the elements, but that doesn’t typically include hurricanes.

For Canadian Sheila Jones and her two daughters, a girl’s trip to New York has turned into much more of a spectacle than the Broadway show they saw earlier today. Swimming in their ponchos in Times Square, they weren’t discouraged by the rain pouring down around them.

“At least it’s not snowing,” joked Shelley Pearce.

They planned the trip earlier in the week, convinced the forecasters were exaggerating conditions. Their Sunday afternoon flight has been grounded like many others as New York airports are closed until Irene passes on Monday.

Vacation with Irene: It’s still worth it

Trying to avoid Irene's rain. Ray Clontz, Ashley Perron and daughter Avriana huddle under umbellas north of Times Square on Saturday, August 27, 2011 (Photo: E.D. Cauchi/CUJIreneWatch)

On Friday they drove in from Boston, Massachusetts for a few days in city. Ray Clontz, Ashley Perron and her three year-old daughter Avriana knew that Irene was also stopping by, but they came anyway.

“They always make it sound worse than it is,” says a rain-drenched Ray, when asked about his decision to ignore weather reports this week.

Seeking cover under the Winter Garden’s awning just north of Times Square, they discuss their Saturday trips to Ground Zero, FAO Schwartz, and Sprinkles (for cupcakes, of course).

Smiling, they turn to leave, crammed under two umbrellas.

“This is my favorite city in the world,” Ashley says.

Hurricane Irene seems to feel the same way.