The Rockaways and Coney Island as Hurricane Irene Approaches

It was dead calm at Coney Island this afternoon:

But Parks department officers were SCREAMING at people over bullhorns to clear off this dangerous beach.  But the cops told us they weren't arresting anyone and we went to Ruby's bar.

The Rockaways were bustling with people and featured a much more mellow approach by the authorities:

These buses were lined up for evacuations (this is only about two hours before the manditory evacuation took effect) but very few people were using them.

These ladies were taking their pets to stay with a friend.  They said growing up they used to have a rowboat to get to the store after every rain storm.

The police were making the manditory evacuation announcement over this speaker rig on a van, but few were paying attention:

Surfers were out enjoying the swells:

From Gravesend Bay, you could see this cruise ship making way out of the harbor and out to sea:

Kite surfers at Plumb Beach were loving the winds:

More photos here.

Update

on 2011-08-29 11:34 by controlgeek

Pictures of the same locations after the storm here.

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Hurricane Gloria Hits the Hamptons In 1985