Mayor Bloomberg tells New Yorkers to “stay off roads” for Nor’easter
Vehicles sit in traffic on 10th Avenue November 2, 2012 in New York City. Limited public transit has returned to New York. With the death toll continuing to rise and millions of homes and businesses without power, the U.S. east coast is attempting to recover from the effects of floods, fires and power outages brought on by superstorm Sandy.
NEW YORK — Hundreds of flights were canceled on Wednesday in the New York and Philadelphia area as a Nor'easter storm brought snow, rain and high winds to the region, CNN reported.
New York and New Jersey Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico said over 700 flights were canceled, with more expected.
"The city is taking significant precautions in advance of the storm, including halting all construction, closing all city parks, encouraging drivers to stay off the road after 5:00 PM, or to use extreme caution if they have to drive and employing door-to-door operations to urge people without heat to take shelter to stay warm," said a statement from the mayor's office.
The mayor said the storm would likely cause flooding in low-lying areas affected by last week's Hurricane Sandy and high winds could down trees already weakened.
The mayor urged that residents in hard-hit parts of Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn to leave their homes but fell short of ordering a mandatory evacuation, as he did for Hurricane Sandy.
All New Yorkers are urged to stay indoors during inclement conditions," Bloomberg cautioned.
Meanwhile, DNAinfo reported FEMA closed disaster recovery centers in Staten Island due to the impending weather.
"The temporary shuttering of the facilities, which help victims register for disaster relief, as well as city food distribution centers come even as many of those still reeling from the monster storm were not told that they had to leave the battered areas," the website reported.
New York City's beaches and closed have been shut down until mid-day Thursday, the Huffington Post reported.