By Colin Campbell 10/29/12 6:23pm

storm sandy

(Photo: Wikimedia)

The Rest of New York’s Bridges Are Closing Too

Getting out of Manhattan will get significantly harder after 7 p.m. tonight, as Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Andrew Cuomo declared the city’s bridges will be shut off to the general public due to heavy winds from Hurricane Sandy. The Triborough Bridge is currently scheduled to remain open, but is subject to closing at any time. The news comes after Mr. Cuomo already announced a number of bridge closures.

“In addition to the bridge and tunnel closures that have already been announced, the East River bridges–the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Ed Koch-Queensboro bridges–will close at 7 p.m. tonight,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a press conference in Brooklyn this evening. “After 7 p.m., only emergency vehicles will be permitted on those bridges.” At the same time as Mr. Bloomberg’s address, Mr. Cuomo sent out a press release stating he directed Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority “to close New York City bridges including crossings to Staten Island.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 10/29/12 4:33pm

frankenstorm

A wave crashes into the Bay Ridge shore. (Photo: Robert Katz/Facebook)

Governor Cuomo Calls Up National Guard, Closes a Bunch of Bridges

Governor Andrew Cuomo, on his whirlwind tour of New York State, touched down in Long Island this evening to announce a number of bridge closures, the National Guard being called up, and the continued danger of, as he put it, “Sandy’s Fury.” Notably, as of 7 p.m. tonight, the Verrazano-Narrows, George Washington, Henry Hudson, Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges will be closed, joining the Tappan Zee Bridge and Cross Bay Veterans Bridge, which shut down earlier today.

“We have another 1,000 National Guard who have been called up, and they, in so many ways provide the energy, the muscle if you will, to do many of these operations ,” the governor said. “The majority of those National Guard will be deployed on Long Island. As the issue becomes more and more the coastal surge, Long Island becomes more and more vulnerable.”

Mr. Cuomo also updated New Yorkers on the storm’s overall status. Read More