SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

OMG! A hurricane is going to hit New York City! AGGHGHH!!!

Okay, I believe the whole thing is a bit overblown in the media. Presently, Hurricane Earl is expected to go past the eastern end of Long Island, assuming it doesn’t change course too drastically. But those of us along Southern Brooklyn’s coast still need to worry, as we’re likely to get hit by swelled storm surges, riptides and high winds, a dangerous combination for those in our coverage area. Remember that Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Gravesend, Brighton Beach and Marine Park are all flood zones.

Though I don’t think we’ll have any of that roof-ripping action and dangerous tidal waves slamming down our doors, I do think some muddy streets and flooded homes are a possibility. Along with that can come power outages and water contamination. So here are a few things you should do to prepare for the storm:

Keep reading our tips for flood and hurricane preparedness.

Blue shopping cart trapped by fallen tree. (Photo courtesy of nolastname)

When I heard that there was a major storm headed our way, I got scared for all of us stuff so mercilessly left stored outdoors. You can’t see it in this picture, but my friend, Kid Tricycle, got mangled under one of those trees. On the other side of me, Rusty (the old rusted propane tank), got spared by the tree. Thank goodness for that, otherwise, we would have all been blown to smithereens.

Cleanup is happening where trees fell on houses, but I guess no one cares about blocked streets and trapped shopping carts. Forget leaning trees, we’re talkin’ the Fallen Tower of Pisa, here!

So, if anyone out there feels something for little Baby Blue, come on over and rescue me by Avenue U and East 55 Street. As far as I know, my wheels are still working. You can just put Kid Tricycle in my cart and roll us out of here.

These scene, at East 23rd between Avenue W and Avenue V, is repeated on many local streets. Four days after the weekend storm toppled scores of trees in our area, many roads remain blocked. What streets do you know of that remain blocked?

177 MacKenzie after it was fully demolished Monday afternoon (Photo by Ray Johnson)

Leland Bodenmiller, his wife, and their three children are breathing much easier, as the Department of Buildings granted a quick 20-minute reprieve to enter their condemned home and retrieve personal possessions.

The demolition of 177 MacKenzie Street took enough stress off the Bodenmiller’s home that, with the addition of braces, building inspectors gave the green light to a quick in-and-out rescue operation.

“It was a great effort to get things out of the house and onto the lawn in 15 or 20 minutes,” said Leland. “We had to run and grab .. Whatever we have used recently, we grabbed.”

Bodenmiller said the family was able to snatch clothing, computers, photos, his wife’s wedding dress, some smaller furniture, and their son’s engineering books – among other things.

The 20 minutes “really opened it up. Precious things that were personal to us [were recovered],” he said. “We weren’t able to get some things, but we’re happy about what we got.”

Some valuables left behind include televisions, china and crystals from their wedding 35 years ago, a telescope, organ, and larger furniture.

But the Bodenmillers may have another chance. The DOB has given the landlord a one-week deadline to demolish the property since it’s no longer in immediate danger of collapsing, though it’s still condemned. Bodenmiller is hopeful the DOB may give them one more opportunity to get into the house.

“It’s like the weather,” Bodenmiller said. “Yesterday it was rainy and dreary and we couldn’t get in the house. Now it’s sunny and beautiful and we’re very happy we got to go inside.”

177 MacKenzie Street in Manhattan Beach Get Demolished

On Monday, March 15, Jacqulyn Bodenmiller should have been relaxing in advance of her marriage to Bittman Rivas in two weeks. Instead, she stood in the rain outside of her family’s home on MacKenzie Street. The family of five, and Rivas, watched helplessly as their home of 27 years was fenced up and prepped for demolition.

Almost all of their possessions were still locked inside the house, destined to be crushed by a huge mechanical claw.

On top of their home sprawled a three-story wooden frame, once a neighboring stalled construction site at 177 MacKenzie Street. During Saturday’s storm, the building slammed into the Bodenmiller’s home with a thunderous boom and shoved their house off its own foundation. Over the course of the next two days, the FDNY and the DOB inspected the home, declared it in “emergency condition” and an immediate threat. The family’s home could collapse under the weight at any time, according to city officials, and so they began demolishing both 177 MacKenzie Street and the Bodenmiller’s home at 181 MacKenzie Street.

The Bodenmillers are tenants without renters insurance. The American Red Cross put them up in a Sunset Park hotel for the time being, and they’re moving fast to secure an apartment in the area. But all their clothes and other possessions are trapped inside the house, except a few choice items Jacqulyn’s mother, Irine, was able to grab in a brief opportunity.

“It was the saddest part,” said Rivas. “Her mother had the opportunity and she grabbed the veil, wedding rings, and other wedding jewelry. She didn’t grab a thing of her own, just things for the wedding.”

Read more about the structure’s history, who’s to blame, and for photos of the demolition

As we all know by now, damage was widespread. For the most part, downed trees took out power lines, blocked off roads, crushed cars and shattered concrete like egg shells. In some areas trees fell into houses. Aluminum siding and roofing was stripped from some homes, as were signs from businesses. Boats slammed into the Ocean Avenue footbridge, splintering wooden guardrails.

In the worst damage I’ve seen from the storm yet, a stalled construction on MacKenzie Street in Manhattan Beach collapsed onto a neighbor’s home, knocking it off its foundation and causing the family to lose nearly everything (more on that later).

Ironically, Plumb Beach didn’t seem too badly damaged (more on that later, too).

These 111 photos come from Sheepshead Bites’ great readers, who went about chronicling the damage and sent us their photos. It’s only a selection of what we received. To see more photos – many with captions from the photographer – connect with us on Facebook and browse the photos tagged “Sheepshead Bites.”

Thanks to all of those who sent these in.

View photos of the March 2010 nor’easter damage

Tree uprooted. (Photo by Ray Johnson)

The high winds during yesterday’s storm on Saturday, March 13, 2010 has uprooted this tree on East 19th Street, between Avenue Y and Avenue X. Park officials were on the scene assessing the situation.

Passersby were checking out the situation, apparently glad that the tree didn’t fall onto their house!

Yesterday’s storm did more than just knock trees down and rip signs up, it totally submerged the Belt Parkway. New York City shut down the highway near Bay 8th Street because of truly epic flooding you see in this video. Thanks to David Z. for sending this over.

Courtesy of nolastname

We’re getting a lot of crazy reports here. Among them:

• Power lines are down in spots all across Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park, and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Gerritsen Avenue is “gone” under water.
• Sheepshead Bay – the bay itself – is overflowing. The footbridge is underwater and the Holocaust Memorial is being pounded by waves.
• There’s an all-hands fire on Hampton Avenue in Manhattan Beach.
• There’s a partial collapse at MacKenzie Street and Oriental Boulevard in Manhattan Beach.
• The sign at the Golden Gate Inn has collapsed.
• The sign at the gas station on East 17th Street and Avenue Y has fallen.
• Aluminum siding and yard fencing has been stripped away.
• The Bank of America property fence on Avenue Z and East 13th Street is falling into an adjacent property.
• Power line down on East 17th Street and Avenue Z, putting on a fireworks display.
• “A huge backyard gym set came flying down Ave Z and got wedged btwn and parking meter and a fence.”
• We’ve also heard that the boat from before was swept up over the guardrail, onto the sidewalk (which is a ~foot underwater), and then back into the water!

Crazy stuff, people. Add your reports in the comments section. Please – today, tonight, tomorrow – send us photos of the damage! You can send them to nberke [at] sheepsheadbites.com or upload them to Facebook and tag them “Sheepshead Bites”.

We’ve received reports of a fire at Coney Island Hospital (Avenue Z and Ocean Parkway). Several trucks and ambulances are on the scene and smoke is visible from across the street. We’re looking for more information. Please contact us if you know anything!