You Can Remove the Tape, The Hurricane’s Passed

Nine months after Hurricane Irene threatened New York City, people still have big Xs of tape up on their windows. City Room checked out 11 neighborhoods around the city and found tape still up in all of them, with explanations from the residents ranging from laziness to difficulty in taking it down. We’ve still got some taped windows around here–what’s your excuse?

Of course, the tape is pretty much pointless in the first place. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says this about whether you should tape your windows to protect them from breaking in a hurricane:

No, it is a waste of effort, time, and tape. It offers little strength to the glass and NO protection against flying debris. After the storm passes you will spend many a hot summer afternoon trying to scrape the old, baked-on tape off your windows (assuming they weren’t shattered). Once a Hurricane Warning has been issued you would be better off spending your time putting up shutters over doors and windows.

The Atlantic hurricane season begins this Friday, June 1, and the NOAA predicts it will be a near-normal season, guessing at a 70% chance of the Atlantic seeing 1-3 major hurricanes. So maybe hold onto those candles you bought in bulk last summer–but skip the tape this year.