BATTERY PARK CITY — The Battery Park City esplanade was eerily quiet Saturday, as skies darkened and residents pulling suitcases headed east.
The ferry terminal along the Hudson River, which is usually buzzing with boat traffic, sat empty, and Parks Enforcement Patrol officers shooed families from parks and playgrounds along the water.
"I'm scared but he is not," said 8-year-old Sara Gordon, a TriBeCa resident, who sat on a bench overlooking the river with her father, Steve Gordon.
Sara said she was worried about her friends and their pets. Her family, with its cat and two turtles, planned to ride out the storm in Chappaqua, Steve Gordon said.
As Hurricane Irene approached, the city issued a mandatory evacuation order for much of lower Manhattan Friday afternoon, including all of Battery Park City and parts of the Financial District, South Street Seaport and western TriBeCa.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg also warned Saturday that Con Edison may have to shut power to Lower Manhattan ahead of the storm.
All residents living in Zone A of Lower Manhattan, which includes Batter Park City, have until 5 p.m. Saturday to evacuate, but with the entire public transit system shut down at noon, the area was quickly emptying out much earlier.
Battery Park City Authority officially closed all parks at 8 a.m. Many shops, restaurants, museums and hotels in lower Manhattan also closed, from chains like Starbucks to the Battery Park Pharmacy. Some businesses, including the Marriott Hotel on West Street, boarded up their windows and posted signs saying they would not reopen until after the hurricane.
Franco Finstad, 43, a TriBeCa resident, was playing with his 18-month-old twins in a playground in northern Battery Park City at 9 a.m. Saturday when PEP officers told them they had to leave.
"I'm not concerned, but I am annoyed," Finstad said as he carried his bawling son and daughter from the park. "It's not even raining yet. Everyone is paranoid because of Katrina and the blizzard. It's like civilization is shutting down."
In North Cove Marina, Michael Fortenbaugh, founder of the Manhattan Sailing Club, supervised volunteers who secured the club's fleet of 45 boats. Workers removed sails from the masts, severed connections to gas tanks and added extra ropes tying the boats to land.
Fortenbaugh said he and a handful of experienced volunteers would ride out the storm at the marina, looking after the boats and ready to help with rescues in an emergency.
"We've tried to anticipate everything that will go wrong and prepare for it," Fortenbaugh said.
Across the West Side Highway, the Whole Foods on Warren Street closed at 9 a.m. after staying open all night to serve throngs of customers.
"It was the busiest I've ever seen it here," said Quinton Foroozani, an associate team leader who has been working since yesterday. "The registers were backed up all the way through the aisles."
Whole Foods ran out of bottled water during the night and got low on items like canned beans, rice, cereal and pasta, but deliveries during the night replenished all those items by early morning, Foroozani said.
Alev Yalmon, 38, carried two large suitcases with her as she picked up bread, ham, popcorn and fruit at Whole Foods just after 8 a.m. Saturday.
She lives in Battery Park City, which is being evacuated, and planned to stay with her brother in TriBeCa.
"I'm concerned about it, but being concerned doesn't help, so I'm trying to stay in a good mood," Yalmon said.
Susan Schulman, 62, a TriBeCa resident who lives across the street from buildings that are being evacuated, was stocking up on bread and other basics. Her daughter and 9-month-old grandson are coming to stay with her because they live in the evacuation zone in the Seaport.
"I hope it's next to nothing, but you just don't know," Schulman said. "We have a lot of glass [windows], and you just don't know."
While residents pulling suitcases steadily flowed out of Battery Park City and into taxis on Saturday, others planned to stay where they were.
"It's going to be a little scary, but we have nowhere really to go," said Rich Brotman, 56, who has lived in Battery Park City's Gateway Plaza since 1983.
Brotman said he and his wife couldn't afford a hotel and were concerned about leaving their cats. He bought ice, toilet paper and other essentials Saturday morning, preparing himself for several days without electricity.
"There's a tight network of community people who are sticking it out," Brotman said. "We're all in touch with each other."
