Hurricane Scenes from Around New York City

There are still about 12 hours before Hurricane Sandy makes landfall but everyone is already feeling its effects. Neighbor Barbara sent in two photos of tree damage on East 16th Street. Many of the large trees that line streets such as Westminster and Argyle Roads are swaying and creaking around the neighborhood.

Ditmas Park is far from deserted. Although most people seem to be smartly avoiding streets with big trees, Coney Island Avenue has traffic and plenty of pedestrians are still walking along Foster Avenue and Cortelyou Road. A few joggers are out around the neighborhood and a couple of neighbors are walking around taking videos of the trees as they sway.

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the rest of the New York City area. Here’s a round up of what’s happening in other communities.

• The Hudson is flooding further north as well.

• Manhattan Beach is under water. A caller on WNYC says that Russian radio stations are telling listeners that it’s a “good day to take a look” at the beaches. At least one crazy man decided to take advantage of the waves and go for a swim.

• Trees are falling in Park Slope as well.

• Coney Island is being pounded and everyone was just kicked off the boardwalk.

• Red Hook is under water and Fairway is in trouble.

• The Gowanus Canal is flooding.

• The East River is beginning to wash up into DUMBO.

• The FDR Drive has been under water since this morning.

• All coastal neighborhoods in Staten Island have been evacuated. Flooding is already occurring.

• NASA has released incredible photos of Sandy from space. The agency is also streaming video of the storm from space.

• Tunnels have been closed down.

• As expected, much of Greenpoint is flooding.

If you have any pictures or updates from the storm, email us at ditmasparkcorner@gmail.com or leave a comment and we’ll post it to the blog. To make sure you get breaking news, you should follow us at @DPCornerBlog on Twitter and on Facebook in case the neighborhood loses electricity or internet connectivity.

We’re going to be updating the blog throughout the storm, so stay tuned and stay safe.

Photos: Barbara