A Letter from Councilman Lander Before the Storm

As Hurricane Sandy barrels down on New York City, all public schools, the stock market and the subways are all closed down until further notice, and there are 72 evacuation shelters open for Zone A evacuees, as all residents are waiting for the historic storm to hit land south of the city Tuesday night.

As the Monday morning winds pushed through Brooklyn, Councilman Brad Lander (D-Park Slope) sent a letter to all his constituents.

Read the letter below to get information Lander wanted to pass along to the community:

As you know, Hurricane Sandy will make landfall later today, bringing life-threatening storm surge, extremely high winds, and very dangerous conditions throughout our neighborhood, city, and region.

Do not be tempted by the lack of rain this morning to underestimate the storm. It is going to get worse as the day progresses, and the danger is not always seen. The wind is going to make it difficult to get around, and may well bring down trees or lead to flying debris. The storm surge is already causing flooding in some areas, and will likely get much worse. And there is a very real possibility of widespread power outages.

If you are in "Zone A," where the City has ordered a mandatory evacuation, you should already have evacuated. If you have not, I implore you to do so immediately. To determine if you are in “Zone A,” enter your address at the Office of Emergency Management website. The list of shelters citywide is there as well (and those in our area are listed below).

If you do not live in Zone A, and are not an emergency service worker, I urge you to stay home. Be ready for power outages, check on elderly neighbors, and keep a "go bag" ready in case you do need to leave.

New York City Public Schools will be closed on Monday, and every community event or program I am aware of has been cancelled.

There is no MTA subway or bus service.

Alternate Side Parking regulations and meters will be suspended on Monday.

You can continue reporting hurricane related problems in our district on that page.

But, for the latest information, you should stay tuned to local news stations, call 311, or visit the City’s severe weather webpage.

Brad

Evacuation centers/shelter in our area:

• NYC College of Technology (300 Jay Street, between Tillary & Johnson, in Downtown Brooklyn)
• Brooklyn Technical HS (29 Ft. Green Place, between DeKalb and Fulton, in Fort Greene)
• John Jay HS (237 7th Ave, between 4th & 5th Streets in Park Slope)
• IS 136 (4004 4th Ave, between 40th & 41st Streets in Sunset Park)
• PS 249 (18 Marlborough Road, between Church Avenue & Caton Avenue, in Prospect Park South)
• IS 187 (1171 65th St, between 11th & 12th Aves, in Borough Park)
• FDR High School (5800 20th Ave, between 57th & 58th Streets, in Midwood)

NOTE: The Park Slope Armory is being used as a backup medical shelter, for people with medical needs.