The Worst of Hurricane Sandy is About to Hit Ditmas Park

The worst of Hurricane Sandy is about to hit, says Mayor Bloomberg. Neighbors are advised to stay indoors and do not try to evacuate because that window has closed. Here’s a rundown of news and photos coming in from around the area.

• The police are urging the public to call 911 for emergencies only. For downed trees and flooding, call 311.

• A jogger near Prospect Park was hit with a falling tree limb earlier today. She wasn’t in the park, said the Mayor, but running under dangerous trees nearby. With so many big trees in our neighborhood, this is as clear a sign as any: stay inside.

• Much of the nearby area lost internet access starting at about 6 p.m. but many neighbors are now back online.

• Damage continues to pile up throughout the neighborhood. Di Fara Pizza has taken a few serious hits (pictured above) just like the rest of the neighborhood. Councilman David Greenfield tweeted this picture of the famous pizzeria with part of its wall blown off.

If you had a Donatello-like urge for pizza, San Remo was open earlier but is no longer answering phone calls, leading us to believe that they’ve closed up shop. Have an undeniable urge for Chinese food? Double Dragon is still open in Newkirk Plaza. The delivery man only just stopped bike riding around in this crazy storm. He had donned a serious yellow rain jacket for his work but now, with the peak hitting, he’s smartly decided to call it quits as well. And if you need something a bit stronger, Sycamore has stayed open and populated on Cortelyou Road. But if you’re home, the smart move is to stay inside and wait this storm out.

• In Newkirk Plaza, a homeless woman huddled in several layers on the wet concrete and refused to leave the plaza to go to nearby shelters.

Neighbor Jocelyn took a picture of a crushed car on Rugby Road between Beverley and Cortelyou Roads.

• Lights have been flickering throughout the neighborhood but it’s not clear if anyone has actually lost power yet.

Neighbor Parkin spotted this tree on Westminster Road between Avenue H and Glenwood Road.

Tess spotted this tree down on East 22nd and Ditmas Avenue.

Fed Ex was still running despite the obstacle course of fallen trees.

Dorchester Avenue was blocked off due to debris.

Mike snapped this picture on Wellington Court off of Rugby Road.

Mark sent this photo in from Cortelyou Road between Westminster and Argyle Roads. The real estate office next to the fire station will need to reattach their sign.

This is one of many trees down on Marlborough Road.

Neighbor Chris sent this picture from Albemarle and Argyle Roads at 4pm.

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 keep updating the blog throughout the storm, so stay tuned and stay safe.