Coastal storm batters NYC with heavy winds, power outages

A ferocious coastal storm brought heavy rain and strong winds to New York City early Monday, causing extensive power outages in Queens, downed trees and the threat of flooding in low-lying areas.

Thousands of New Yorkers were left without power following a steady overnight downpour that complicated the morning commute. Wind speeds neared 60 mph while a flood watch was in effect in all five boroughs. The Verrazzano Bridge was temporarily closed in both directions.

Middle Village resident Maria Battaglia, 49, told the Daily News she heard the wind howling when she went to bed Sunday night.

“I wasn’t scared, I was just like, oh God, I hope we don’t lose power,” she said. “And we woke up and we were like, oh my God.”

According to Battaglia, when she awoke around 8 a.m., her electricity was out and a downed branch blocked the sidewalk in front of her home. She said things were back to normal by 11 a.m., but the outage forced her daughter, who works from home, to travel to Whitestone and work from her boyfriend’s place.

“It’s a little stressful to lose power,” Battaglia said.

Pamela Ricker, 59, said her alarm clock was flickering when she awoke Monday around 7 a.m. and noticed a branch had fallen onto 75th St. between Caldwell and Eliot Aves. She and Battaglia both said Middle Village power outages aren’t uncommon when storms hit.

Salvatore Pizzolatio, 84, said he lost power Monday morning and experienced flooding in his two-story home, but some of his neighbors were more fortunate.

“A friend of mine across the street, nothing,” he marveled. “Even the garage door opened.”

The National Weather Service warned Monday morning that the deep storm over the Mid-Atlantic coast was expected to move northward into eastern Canada, continuing to produce heavy rain in its path.

Gov. Hochul said Monday morning that the storm was “having a widespread impact from Long Island through the city all the way up to the Hudson Valley.”

NYC Emergency Services said 8,650 people were without power citywide around 8 a.m. Outages affected every borough but Manhattan with Queens seeing the largest number with lost power, including in Middle Village. More than 3,500 customers were left in the dark in that borough. More than 2,270 Staten Island residents were without electricity Monday morning. Power outages throughout the state impacted at least 37,000 New Yorkers.

The governor’s office warned the current weather system was expected to produce between 2 and 4 inches of rain in many locations through Tuesday. The city saw up to 2 inches of rain going into Monday morning.

J train service was temporarily suspended in both directions as MTA workers cleared debris from tracks at Woodhaven Blvd. Northbound 6 trains were delayed for the same reason at the Westchester Square–E. Tremont Ave. station in the Bronx. Northbound N trains were diverted to the D line from Coney Island-Stillwell Ave. to 36th St. in Brooklyn while workers cleared clogged tracks near New Utrecht Ave. in the early morning.

Officials blamed track debris for “severe” delays on the J and M lines, where clutter “caused a train’s brakes to activate on the Williamsburg Bridge.”

NYC Ferry temporarily suspended rush-hour service between Rockaway, Sunset Park and Wall Street. The Staten Island Ferry was also slowed by dangerous weather. A travel advisory was in effect until noon.

Air travel was impacted at both of the city’s major airports. Flight Aware, which tracks flight delays, reported roughly 14% of early morning departures and arrivals at Laguardia were canceled. JFK reported numerous delays and cancellations. Flights to Boston Logan International Airport experienced average delays of an hour and 45 minutes. More than 130 flights were canceled at that airport by 9:20 a.m.

Jessica Jarvis said that losing power “for a moment” in her Middle Village home wasn’t the end of the world.

“It could be worse,” she said. “I could be sitting there with no electricity at all.”