The Halloween parade going off as scheduled is indicative of how quickly most of Long Island City has returned to normal, and I suspect that by the time the NYC Marathon winds through Vernon Boulevard, most of the residents travails will be concentrated on the next days commute. The Gantry Park workers have fully cleaned up the park, and other than a few small odd signs it looks like nothing ever occurred there, even the piers look untouched. Murray Park has a large tree down right in the middle of it and all cordoned off. Yet despite posting signs that the park is closed they have opened all the gates and yesterday kids were in the playground and on the sports field kicking soccer balls with their parents who stayed home from work. There has even been growth in the last two days, as construction workers have been fully present at the new TF Cornerstone project on Center Boulevard, and also are close to finishing the walls on the adjacent new elementary school.
Of course there are still omnipresent reminders of the storm. All the reports out of the Powerhouse, Foundry, and Yard are a sad counterweight to how easily most other people fared in LIC. Now, per a comment here earlier, comes word that The Murano had five feet of water in the lobby and will not have power for another 7-10 days. Also, the two main subway arteries for the southern half of LIC, the 7 train and the E train, are still unable to get people into Manhattan. This means that after Daylight Savings Time occurs Saturday night, the long walk home from the F and N trains will be in the dark, and the walk to them will now be in the light. Finally there are the trees. In one respect LIC was very lucky in that they did not cause the havoc in terms of direct damage and power outages, that they did in the suburbs. On the other hand they are a reminder that some things will be gone forever due to this storm, or at least for our lifetimes. I wrote about the damage in Shady Park, which has been well documented and now has a Facebook page attempting to find what I surmise will not be a very easy solution. Yet it is with regret that I must report that the iconic weeping willows hovering over the back of the LIC Bar, have had their locks considerably shorn, and one of the three has been completely cut down. So even though most of LIC came away from this storm in good shape, and things are working their way back to normal, nothing stays the same forever.
Anonymous says
November 2, 2012 at 12:21 pmAre there any fund raising plans for Shady Park?
Fred says
November 2, 2012 at 12:46 pmThose weeping willows should have been clipped months ago as they were hanging down to within 3 feet of the road. Maybe if there had been pre-emptive action the storm wouldn’t have taken such a toll on them and this weeks cutting wouldn’t have had to be so severe, or done at all.
CL says
November 2, 2012 at 1:35 pmMy guess is that any fundraising for Shady Park will be done through the Facebook page, probably after some of the bigger problems are taken care of.
So sad about the weeping willows.
Dee says
November 2, 2012 at 2:27 pmIf the E and 7 trains are still down come Monday, I think the subway commute will be alot more crowded next week.
Al says
November 2, 2012 at 2:43 pmAnd I think the commute will become alot more tiresome come December, if as I suspect the 7 train tunnel takes a long time to repair.
karen says
November 2, 2012 at 4:02 pmAny LIC volunteer cleanups happening this weekend? Happy to help with whatever is needed in the nabe!
Ally says
November 2, 2012 at 4:11 pmI agree that there won’t be any easy solutions to making Shady Park shady. One idea though, is to not focus on using trees for immediate comfort, but maybe installing some kind of tarp or tent, at least on part of the park.
Anonymous says
November 2, 2012 at 4:23 pmWe are hopeful and happier now! Thanks for the report again.
Anonymous says
November 2, 2012 at 6:27 pmNYC MARATHON CANCELLED – so much for your return to normal
Q says
November 2, 2012 at 8:36 pmIt’s too bad about the Marathon, here in LIC I think it would have been really welcome. Though I could understand how most others would feel based on things seem to really suck for all those people just here in LIC without power.