Hurricane-battered New Yorkers are bracing for another violent storm that’s expected to hit tomorrow, as Mayor Bloomberg ordered parks, playgrounds and beaches closed.
The storm is moving up the Atlantic now, though forecasters are holding hope the system veers off the coast and misses New York.
Even so, it’s believed winds could reach 50 mph in New York and New Jersey tomorrow and Thursday.
All city parks, playgrounds and beaches will close from noon Wednesday to noon Thursday due to the storm.
The city’s department of buildings also order all construction work halted at noon tomorrow as well.
Mayor Bloomberg stopped short of calling for an evacuation of coastal areas — but urged those residents to be careful.
“So even though it’s not anywhere’s near as strong as Sandy…out of precaution and because of the changing physical circumstances we are going to going to some small areas and asked those people to go to higher ground,” Bloomberg said.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Garden State residents who just got their power back might lose it again tomorrow because of this nor’easter. It could also slow other recovery efforts.
“[There’s] nothing we can do to stop the storms,” Christie said.
Coast surges from this oncoming nor’easter are expected to reach as high as three feet along the New Jersey and New York coasts, only about a third of the power of last week’s Hurricane Sandy.
If temperatures are cold enough, snow might even fall in northeastern New Jersey and the lower Hudson River Valley.
Central Massachusetts and western Connecticut also could get an inch or two of snow.
“There’s a feeling of foreboding and fear,” said Bruce Alco, 51, whose Rockaways home already is without power from last week’s Frankenstorm.
“No one thought the last storm was going to be as bad as this, and look what happened,” added Alco, an engineer.
“Even if [the new storm] is milder, it might do more damage because of the weakened infrastructure.”
It’s going to be a cold week in New York with temperatures only expected to top 40 degrees tomorrow 41 degrees Thursday — with the wind chill making it seem like a freezing 32 degrees or less, said Brian Edwards, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.
“When it rain, it pours,” said Gov. Cuomo. “When it storms, you get more storms.”
“The storm that they forecast is a serious storm. It would hit communities, some of which may not have power, some of which already have flooding, so it complicates the situation.”
The forecast was freaking out Hazel Ayala, 27, whose Rockaway Beach Boulevard home is without power and gas — and, therefore, without heat — leaving her, her boyfriend and her two kids freezing.
“I’m scared this is going to happen again,” Ayala said. “I only live three houses away from the water. I just want to leave from here.”
With Post Wire Services