Msnbc.com photojournalist Jonathan Woods reports that the city streets of Manhattan are quieter than usual too, in anticipation of Hurricane Irene's arrival first thing Sunday. Many businesses were shuttered as business owners prepared for the worst.
He found subway platforms empty, and blocks-long lines of buses waiting to enter storage facilities. Probably the oddest sighting was finding city sanititation employees attaching snow plows to their trucks. The employees remarked that it was an unusual move and at this time, they were unclear why the city was making that particular preparation. We have calls into the New York Office of Emergency Management and will report back. (Update 7:05 ET: Keith Mellis, a spokesperson for the Dept. of Sanitation for New York City, says the plows are for moving debris. They are being added to trucks as a precaution in case Hurricane Irene leaves debris behind that needs to be quickly cleared to make way for emergency vehicles.)
In a press conference by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, two staging areas are prepared for equipment and personnel that are moving in from other areas of the state. One thousand workers and 100 dump trucks, excavators, backhoes along with trailers of water and food are expected.
See the latest images of Hurricane Irene's impact