Photos: Waterfront Businesses Prepare For Hurricane Irene… Just Barely

Coffee Spot cafe, which boasts “NO PANIC” in masking tape on their glass storefront, appears to capture the sentiments of most business owners in the waterfront area, who are doing little in the face of the hurricane’s threat.

A handful of businesses on Sheepshead Bay Road, Emmons Avenue and the blocks surrounding them are indeed making preparations in advance of Hurricane Irene, but the majority appear to be calling nature’s bluff, saying that it’ll have settled down to little more than wind and rain by the time in hits Brooklyn

During a tour of the neighborhood’s waterfront commercial strips this afternoon, Sheepshead Bites found only about one out of four businesses along Sheepshead Bay Road making even the most minor of storm preparations – usually taping X’s across their storefront windows. More shockingly, even fewer Emmons Avenue businesses – the waterfront restaurants and shops that likely stand to face the most damage – appear to be taking the storm seriously. Most, including all the restaurants in the landmarked Lundy’s building, remain entirely unprotected.

Most of the businesses that took precautions only put tape across their storefronts. A smattering – including Bank of America and Waldbaums – are boarding up entirely, while others have put sandbags in front of their doors to help prevent flooding. The city, meanwhile, has emptied all garbage cans and gathered them against walls to keep them from blowing through the streets.

Construction sites are largely a big question mark. We noticed some that have not had loose items removed or items secured. Some hadn’t been touched in months. At St. Mark Catholic Church, construction workers had spent the last two days securing the scaffolding around their belltower, currently undergoing renovation. Still, the parish’s leader, Father Grimaldi, told us he thinks the screen meshing may tear in the winds.

At local supermarkets and bodegas, the chaotic and long lines we heard about yesterday have fizzled. Stock remains low with some shelves totally cleared out, but lines are just about gone in every supermarket we stopped into. Gas stations also saw lines last night and some ran out of gas this morning. They have since received new deliveries and are pumping once again.

We put together the following photos, which shows just how some businesses , residents and others in Zone A are gearing their properties up for the storm.