NY mayor: Coastal residents should move out Friday

By Joan Gralla | Reuters – 6 hrs ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers living in low-lying areas should think about moving out on Friday before Hurricane Irene hits the city of 8.4 million people, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday.

The mass transit system might have to be shut down on Saturday, making it difficult for residents to leave if they wait, Bloomberg said at a televised news conference.

Hurricane Irene, raging up from the Caribbean toward the U.S. east coast, is expected to hit New York on Sunday with winds of up to 95 miles an hour.

Public transport in New York, home to Wall Street, Broadway theaters and thousands of businesses, might have to be shut through Monday.

Bloomberg made it clear people in coastal areas such as Battery Park City on Manhattan's southern tip, Coney Island and the Rockaways should not linger until he issues an evacuation order because that could endanger emergency workers.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly promised an increased police presence in evacuated neighborhoods to deter looting.

Bloomberg said he would decide by 8 a.m. on Saturday on whether to order about a quarter of a million coastal residents to evacuate. City shelters will open by 4 p.m. on Friday, he said.

To keep traffic flowing, public permits for events such as fairs and block parties were revoked for Sunday. Permits in coastal "Zone A" areas were canceled for Saturday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency on Thursday, which helps New York state tap aid from the federal government.

SUBWAYS MAY BE HALTED

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York's buses, subways and suburban commuter rail lines, could remain shut through sometime on Monday, Bloomberg said, advising employers to prepare.

New York's mass transit system is the largest in the United States, serving 8 million people a day.

The subways might have to be shut because surging sea water could damage equipment. Commuter railroads face flooding and strong winds that might knock down their power lines.

MTA Chairman Jay Walder said the mass transit system must shut if winds top 39 mph.

"It takes us a minimum of eight hours to shut the system down," he said.

Some Long Island service already was being modified.

"The Hamptons special trains for tomorrow are canceled," Walder said.

The MTA also runs major city bridges and tunnels. Whether bridges must be closed will be decided on a case-by-case basis, Walder said.

Nursing homes, hospitals and senior citizens' centers in the low-lying areas must evacuate -- unless the city and state give them permission to stay -- by Friday night.

"For those who are homebound and not as mobile as we would like (them) to be, we would strongly urge that they move tomorrow," Bloomberg said.

(Additional reporting by Pascal Fletcher in Miami; Editing by Jan Paschal and Bill Trott)

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