A group of residents at the Northside Piers and the Edge are ignoring the city’s mandatory evacuation order and bunking down for the storm, the New York Observer reported. The two luxury condominium towers are located on the Williamsburg waterfront within a primary flood zone, known as Zone A.
Javier Andrede, a Northside Piers resident, told the Observer that after Hurricane Irene, he thinks he’ll be fine staying at home. “There might be a little wind, some flooding, but I’m not worried,” he said.
However, building management is taking the order seriously: last night, they shut down the elevators and sealed the building, meaning residents cannot go in or out. A police officer spent Sunday afternoon driving around the complexes to convince residents to heed Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s order to seek higher ground.
An Edge resident, Jim Butler, told the Observer that more material things kept him at home. “I just got these kick-ass new stereo speakers and I am going to listen to those until the power runs out,” he said.
Northside Piers developer Toll Brothers City Living sued two contractors over leaky windows at the building, as The Real Deal reported.
Other Zone A areas around the city include the Rockaways, Long Island City, Red Hook, and the U-shaped waterfront strip from Midtown East to Lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side. [NYO] — Zachary Kussin