The Seward Park High School evacuation center and emergency shelter is now seeing some activity. A number of residents have checked in. News crews are awaiting a facility tour from mayor’s office.
         
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 The outer bands of Hurricane Irene provided a backdrop for a parade of pleasure boats and other watercraft that motored downstream on the East River this morning. The rain began to spatter around 10 a.m., as Lower East Side residents and businesses braced for Hurricane Irene’s impact. The storm made landfall near Point Lookout, N.C. this morning, and began churning up the East Coast. Along the East River on the Lower East Side, joggers and bicyclists squeezed in one last run or ride. A handful of fishermen tried their luck while a parade of pleasure boats sailed downriver at a brisk clip, presumably for the safety of dry docks. Click through for more photos, and we’d love to post pictures from readers; email them to us at tips@thelodownny.com.  Reporters and camera crews from a German television station, the Associated Press and other media hovered outside the shelter at Seward Park High School this morning, waiting for news and interviewing one shelter worker sporting a large backpack, who said he was a city school teacher and had come to work for the duration of the storm. Continue reading Storm Watch Saturday: Scenes Around the LES  
 Fine Fare on Clinton Street is sill packed but the shelves are still full and the a.c. Is going full blast.
This was the scene last night outside Seward Park High School, the neighborhood’s designated hurricane shelter. There were plenty of supplies on hand, cots set up inside — but no one had checked in. A newspaper photographer and some Euro shutterbugs were the only passersby we noticed. As today’s 5 p.m. Zone A evacuation order approaches, we’ll see if there’s more activity here. In a briefing this morning, the mayor’s office predicted the storm would hit the city tonight with winds between 55-75 mph. The mayor indicated there’s a possibility power will be cut off downtown, once the storm hits. Here’s the latest LES-related Irene news:
(more to come)
Good morning. At this hour it’s 75 degrees in New York City, with 90% humidity. While rain is starting to come down in southern New Jersey, forecasters say it won’t start to fall here until around 3 this afternoon. It’s another story down south, of course. Hurricane Irene made landfall in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina two hours ago. She’s now a Category 1 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. Here in the city, the transit system will begin shutting down at noon — it’s about an eight hour process. Meanwhile, residents of Evacuation Zone A (including sections of the waterfront on the Lower East Side) must leave their homes by 5 o’clock tonight. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for NYC. We’ll be following LES-related storm developments throughout the day. An updated list of businesses closing and programs canceled is coming up shortly. If you need to know if you’re in Zone A, have a look at this interactive map from WNYC.
 Workers are busy loading in supplies for a Hurricane Irene shelter at Seward Park High School on Grand Street this afternoon. As Hurricane Irene approaches the North Carolina coast this afternoon, New Yorkers are scrambling for provisions and pasting duct tape on windows. At Seward Park High School, workers unloaded pallets of water, baby supplies and other emergency provisions from large trucks, in preparation for the hurricane’s arrival in the Big Apple tomorrow evening. The Grand Street school is one of 91 sites being put to use as shelters as of 4 p.m. today, in the wake of Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s evacuation order for residents of all ”Zone A” low-lying areas, including those along the East River in the Lower East Side. In the excerpt of the zoned flood map below, Zone A is defined by the dark gold color; a full map of all five boroughs is online here (PDF). See our story here for more details.
Bloomberg also announced this afternoon that all MTA buses, subways and railroads would begin shutting down as of noon tomorrow, as city officials move vehicles to safe storage. Bloomberg advised that the system may not be back up to full capacity in time for Monday’s morning rush hour, and cautioned employers to monitor its status. On the motorist front, alternate side parking rules and meters will be suspended Sunday and Monday. In other storm-related Lower East Side developments this afternoon:
The Office of Emergency Management has now posted some better maps on Facebook showing Lower Manhattan’s evacuation zones. Mayor Bloomberg has ordered a mandatory evacuation of Zone A by 5 p.m. tomorrow, due to Hurricane Irene. This includes sections of the waterfront on the Lower East Side. State Senator Daniel Squadron (whose staff has been quite busy on twitter and email today) passed along these advisories for residents of Zone A:
If you’re not sure whether your home is located in Zone A, you can use this online tool on OEM’s web site (providing you can access the web site).
 The Weather Channel. The Weather Channel graphics certainly look scary. This morning officials up and down the East Coast are not taking any chances, as Hurricane Irene begins to batter the Carolinas. There’s now a Hurricane Watch in effect for New York City. Here’s the latest Lower East Side-centric info on the big storm:
UPDATE 12:15 p.m.
UPDATE 12:45 p.m.
(more to come)
 Ed's Lobster Bar Annex, 25 Clinton Street. The Lower East Side spinoff of Ed’s Lobster Bar (the original restaurant is located on Lafayette Street) opens tonight at 25 Clinton. Grub Street got a look at the menu for Ed’s Lobster Bar Annex, which will be open for dinner only (and Sunday brunch after Labor Day). As you’d expect, there’s a large raw bar — oysters ($3 each), clams ($1.50 each). Larger plates include — a whole steamed lobster ($34) and, of course, a lobster roll ($27). The new twist on Clinton Street, however, seems to be small, “sharable” plates. Among them – mini lobster rolls ($5 each), lobster meatballs ($8 for two), lobster tacos ($12 for three) and fried oyster sliders ($4 each). One of the highlights at this location: a backyard capable of seating 20 people. The restaurant will be open Tuesday-Sunday (closing at 11 p.m. weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends). If you’d like to have a look at the whole menu, here it is!
Okay so here’s the good news: it’s going to be mostly sunny with a high of 85 today. We all know the bad news: her name is Irene, she’s a dangerous Category 2 storm (having weakened slightly overnight) and she could very well be coming our way by the end of the weekend. The Weather Channel predicts: Irene could “hug the coastline potentially making a landfall in southern New Jersey Sunday afternoon with the center coming very close to or over New York City Sunday evening.” Even if there’s no direct hit, officials have major concerns about flooding and high winds in the city. Continue reading Good Morning, Hurricane Irene (Please Go Away)
Here are musician Ken Beasley’s top music picks on the Lower East Side this week:  Dujeaous DUJEOUS – Fri, Aug 26 | 11:30PM at The Mercury Lounge Pronounced [Doo-Jee-Us], New York’s Dujeous are keeping the flame of East Coast Hip-Hop burning brightly. With 7 members contributing equally to a sound full of horns, wah-wah pedals and city-centric lyrics, the band isn’t locked into any one way of creating a song. The group is very New York, and they’re more than happy to remind you of that with any mic, instrument, or tool within arms reach. It’s their creativity, along with the group’s energy on stage that has built them a hefty following over the last 8 years. $10// 217 E Houston St.
New information this afternoon concerning the closure of the Bialystoker Nursing Home on East Broadway. First, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, City Councilmember Margaret Chin and State Senator Daniel Squadron have sent a letter to the state health commissioner. Continue reading Bialystoker Nursing Home Controversy: Elected Officials Appeal to State Health Commissioner
A follow-up on the continuing tensions between the Forsyth Street produce vendors and the NYPD. Last month, the vendors and the Urban Justice Center staged a protest under the Manhattan Bridge, complaining that the police and other city agencies were going on a ticket-writing frenzy in an effort to scare them away. Yesterday, representatives of many of those agencies, as well as State Senator Daniel Squadron, City Councilmember Margaret Chin and staff from the offices of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Borough President Scott Stringer got together to discuss the situation. Continue reading Elected Officials Discuss Forsyth Vendor Concerns with City
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