Calm before the storm - a day in NYC.

Grand Central Station today
It was a strange day to be in New York City today - the calm before the storm and all that. Certainly everyone was talking about Hurricane Irene and I saw a lot of scaffolding being taken down from buildings although it was hard to tell whether or not this was routine construction or storm preparations. I saw two girls giggling as they took photos on their cell phones of their office door with tape on it. I guess they thought this wasn't great hurricane protection.

Woman and man wait at cross-walk.
This is New York and their cool seems to be intact. I heard a woman thank a bus driver and wish him good luck in the storm. He seemed pretty nonplussed. A friend tells me she needs to stock up on food but is reluctant to go the store incase it is full of panic-buyers. She just can't face it.

Fifth Avenue today.
 Locals are peeved the city transit system is to be closed from noon tomorrow - they consider that a tad early. I'm amazed they have a sense of what constitutes good timing in the eye of a storm. We watched locals on the news from our hotel room talking of how they will heed the evacuation warnings this time although they have ignored them in the past. These people are hardcore.
Central Park
 In Central Park tourists were renting row boats as usual, joggers were running around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and artists were painting the scene. This one told me she's worried. She's not sure what to do and she lives in the city. She also thanked me for asking permission to take her photograph. Most people don't bother, she told me. I wished her good luck and left her alone with her paints and easel.

Artist paints the baseball field in Central Park today.
 Ever since watching American cop shows as a kid I have a thing for New York City but never explored Central Park. Today on the eve of a hurricane which threatens life in the city like never before, it seemed like a good day to do it.
Underneath a bridge in Central Park.
I was left with a sense that New Yorkers will cope with whatever is thrown at them but I'm worried for them and I wish them all the luck in the world.

Row boat on Central Park lake today.
See more NYC photos
My good samaritan on route 20.
My favourite New York song...

Comments

  1. Excellent .. great read. Wish I could visit England for a bit .. now .. as I lived there for three years when I was a kid. That England is all gone now (1960-1963) .. I imagine it would be as different to an English time traveler as Canada is to you. Curious. Have you blogged yet about differences between Canada and the US .. as you cross back and forth?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi there...just discovered your blog. I moved to Montreal in 2006 from the UK and found myself laughing out loud at some of your posts!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hear it wasn't as bad as expected, thank goodness. I'd love to go to NYC again - haven't been there since my teens.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts