A flash flood watch is still in effect for New York City and surrounding areas, though the rain seems to have calmed down a bit, for the moment. But earlier today it was pretty awful, outside and apparently in the subway as well. AM New York's Tim Herrera shot this video, in which commuters actually have to use umbrellas to get out of the E train at 34th Street to avoid being drenched by the wave of water pouring down.
Today is the first day of fall, or "the autumnal equinox," if you're fancy. Maybe that means something to you, like cozy sweaters and football games in the out-of-doors and the rosy-cheeked drinking of apple cider among friends, or maybe it means that it's going to rain and be horribly sticky and make you feel like hiding inside in the air conditioning until winter. Fall is capricious! And so, today, it brings with it a nice, wet, potential flood. The rain will be heavy through Saturday evening, with a flood watch in effect for basically all of New York City as well as parts of Connecticut, New Jersey, and upstate New York.
A rupture in a nearly 100-year-old water main near Central Park West and 106th Street just before 11:30 a.m. yesterday led to scenes like the above in the streets, as well as 10 feet of flood water on the tracks of the A, B, C, and D trains (and, obviously, suspension of service). MTA workers worked all night pumping out the water, and all was back to normal as of about 5 a.m. this morning.
Of all the secret fears and weird city-living superstitions we have -- getting hit in the head by an air conditioner as we walk down the street; falling or getting pushed into the subway tracks -- drowning in an elevator was not one of them...until now. On Sunday, Edward Tyler and Windell Admaker were working in the former Staten Island Hotel in Graniteville, which is being converted to an assisted-living facility. Riding in the elevator, they found it wouldn't open. They took it down to the basement, which had become flooded due to all of the rain, and it "sank to the bottom of the shaft," reports the New York Times. Yikes.
Summer is great, isn't it? When the mercury rises, nothing beats pouring a cool glass of H20, watching the sprinklers overwater your lawn, or just taking a 3-hour shower. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior, combined with the heat itself, is doing a number on our nation's water piping. CNN reports on this growing problem, saying, "The EPA estimated that between 2007 and 2027, drinking water utilities will have to invest $334 billion on new infrastructure." You may want to rethink running your Slip 'n Slide all night.
A while back, we were all a bit concerned about our New York City water exploits. A fire in the engine room at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harlem caused the plant to shut down, spewing nasty water out into our nearby bodies of H20, and officials deemed the Hudson, and parts of the East River, unfit for recreational activity. Eventually the problem was fixed and all was hunky dory again. But...was it? The New York Times has a piece today on their Green blog that explains that, actually, what you might not have been thinking about during your latest dip or kayak trip (WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?), is that "Sewage routinely contaminates the Hudson River throughout the year, rendering the waterway unsuitable for swimming and other recreational activities for at least one and a half days a week, a report based on four years of water testing shows."
The Coast Guard announced they intercepted and seized a semi-submersible vessel, its five-man crew and 7.5 tons of cocaine. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection airplane spotted the fiberglass semi-submarine and a Coast Guard cutter caught up to it off the Caribbean coast of Gracias a Dios, Honduras. The Miami Herald reports the traffickers sank the ship, but this weekend an FBI dive team was able to find it and its cargo: $180 million worth of cocaine. -thumb-250x166.jpg)
Cocaine, but not this cocaine.
Happy Monday! Remember how hot it was this weekend? Gus the bulldog certainly does. He wanted to bring his pool inside, which seems only reasonable, given the circumstances. Gus the bulldog is not to be trifled with.
Enjoy today's 79 degrees. It'll hit 90 tomorrow. [JDoll / @thisisjendoll]
Hoorah. You can now drink (water) easier, as city officials have announced that the number of homes with elevated lead levels in their tap water is back to normal. Last year testing had found elevated levels in 14 percent of the older homes, known to have lead service lines or lead in the pipes, that were tested. In the latest round of tests, conducted from early January to June 30, less than 2 percent of the samples were elevated. Still, all residents are still being urged to run their water for a good 30 seconds before cooking with or drinking it, regardless of how many times we've been told "waste not, want not," or "turn off the GD faucet while you brush your teeth!" The Department of Environmental Protection, for their part, is investigating what led to the higher levels of last year, and there will be another round of testing completed by the end of this year. But...what about those crazy bugs that make our water so delicious? Mysteries, how thirsty you make us! [NYT]
For reasons currently unknown, Alfa Choice, 29, and her boyfriend, Christopher Shears, 44, jumped off the Tappan Zee Bridge together from the roof of their parked SUV on Tuesday morning. They were nude and holding hands. Choice, who had taught at the Bronx High School of Science, was rescued and died from injuries sustained in the 175- to 250-foot drop. Shears was rescued and is in extremely critical condition at Nyack Hospital, reports the Daily News. 
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