Knocks out power to thousands
in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
A 60-foot pine tree torn from the ground by the winds crushed two cars in Queens Village.
Martin Van Buren High School student Sadia Khan, 15, heard the commotion during her Spanish class. “The wind was making really weird sounds,” she recalled. “It was hitting the glass, the windows, and it was really strong. I thought I heard (the tree) fall and then people screaming.”
Downed tree branches on the tracks knocked out service on the No. 5 subway line in the Bronx from Eastchester-Dyre Ave. to E. 180th St. Southbound 6 trains were skipping the Middletown Rd. station because of debris on the station platform.
Con Edison reported close to 60,000 customers without electricity by midafternoon, while PSEG Long Island said 36,099 customers were powerless.
A high-wind warning remained in effect for the area through 6 a.m. Saturday.
The ugly weather canceled more than 700 flights at LaGuardia Airport, along with 486 at Newark and another 401 at Kennedy, according to the website FlightAware.com.
Passenger Paul Sagar, 51, of Windsor Heights, Iowa, was stranded at LaGuardia after his flight to Des Moines was scuttled.
“I’d rather it be canceled and have to wait than fly in bad weather,” said Sagar. “Nothing worse than feeling storm turbulence and holding onto your seat. I’ll take the long wait.”
Forecasters also warned of “significant beach flooding and erosion” along the New York and New Jersey coastlines.
New Jersey officials were particularly worried about a stretch of sand south of Atlantic City, where beach repairs were still underway from previous storms.