NEW YORK CITY — As Hurricane Sandy heads for New York City, certain neighborhoods are at risk for serious flooding from the storm surge.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has called for the evacuation of some of those areas, which have been divided into three zones based on flooding risk.
The area most at risk, called Zone A in the city's hurricane evacuation plan, includes coastal sections of all five boroughs. For a map of the zones, click here. Residents in the following areas have been asked to seek higher ground:
► In Manhattan. Battery Park City, Tribeca from Greenwich Street to the Hudson River, the Financial District from Beaver Street to the harbor and from Pearl Street to the East River, Chinatown from Cherry Street to the East River, and on the Lower East Side from Baruch Drive in the Baruch Houses to the river.
In the East Village, Zone A extends to Avenue D from East 4th Street to East 8th Street. From there, it extends to Avenue B up to 14th Street.
From there, the zone extends into Stuyvesant Town, from Avenue C to the East River, and even parts of Gramercy and Murray Hill, from East 20th Street to East 37th Street from First Avenue to the river.
On the west side, everything west of 11th Avenue is in the riskiest flood zone between Tribeca and Chelsea. There, Zone A extends from the Hudson River to 10th Avenue, between West 20th Street to West 26th Street, and from the river to 11th Avenue between West 26th Street to West 41st Street.
From there, the zone covers the area west of the West Side Highway between West 41st and West 72nd Streets.
► In Brooklyn. From Greenpoint, Zone A moves west between Commerical Street and the East River from the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Then it heads down Kent Avenue through Williamsburg to the Navy Yard, which is entirely in Zone A. In Vinegar Hill, Zone A runs between Plymouth Street and the river, and then along Front Street through DUMBO.
From there, it turns to Furman Street along the Brooklyn Heights shoreline to Columbia Street in Carroll Gardens. Most of Red Hook is in Zone A, from Van Brunt Street along to Columbia Street, turning west on Centre Street. The Gowanus Canal is in the zone, as is the area one block to each side.
In Sunset Park, the area between 19th Street and 39th Street, from 3rd Avenue to the harbor, and then from 39th Street to 53rd Street from 1st Avenue to the harbor is in Zone A.
All of Coney Island, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach are in Zone A, as is a section of Sheepshead Bay between West Street and Bedford Avenue between Avenue X and the Belt Parkway. The area east of the zone between the Belt Parkway and the shore is also in the evacuation zone.
► In Queens. Breezy Point and certain pockets of the Rockaways are in Zone A.
In Long Island City, Zone A starts on 44th Drive and runs from the river up to 21st Street, where it turns south to 46th Avenue where it turns west to 5th Street. From there, the zone extends west along Borden Avenue to 27th Street. Then, north to 47th Street, and then east to 31st Place, then south to Review Avenue. From there, the zone heads southeast to Greenpoint Avenue.
► In The Bronx. The area around Yankee Stadium along River Avenue and 153rd Street between the McCombs Dam Bridge 149th Street is in Zone A. Small sections of Soundview, Throgs Neck and City Island are as well.
► In Staten Island. Huge swaths of Staten Island are in Zone A. The area along the South Shore between Hylan Boulevard and the bay are in the zone. On the Arthur Kill side of the island, the area between Arthur Kill Road and the Kill are in Zone A. So is the area between the West Shore Expresseway and Arthur Kill. On the North Shore, the area between Richmond Terrace and the river is in the evacuation zone.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged residents of Zone A on Sunday to seek shelter with friends and relatives who live on higher ground. For those who have nowhere to go, the city has shelters set up at certain points in Manhattan that began opening Sunday.
Here's a list of the city's hurricane evacuation shelters.
► In Manhattan. Seward Park High School, at 350 Grand St.; Baruch College on East 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue; the High School of Graphic Communication Arts, on West 49th Street, between Ninth and 10th avenues; John Jay College at 10th Avenue and West 59th Street; Hunter College, at Park Avenue and East 68th Street; Brandeis High School on West 84th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues; IS 118, at Manhattan Avenue and West 105th Street; PS 171, on East 103rd between Fifth and Madison avenues; IS 88, between Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. and Fredrick Douglass Blvd.; Bread and Roses High School, at Edgecombe Avenue and West 136th Street; City College, at Amsterdam Avenue and West 138th Street; IS 90, at Jumel Place and West 168th Street; and at George Washington High School, between Audobon and Amsterdam avenues at West 193rd Street.
► In Brooklyn. NYC Technical College, at 300 Jay St.; Park Slope Armoy, at 361 15th St.; J.H.S. 57, at 125 Stuyvesant Ave.; I.S. 111, 35 Starr St.; I.S. 117, AT 300 Willoughby Ave.; I.S. 136, at 4004 4th Ave.; I.S. 189, 1100 East New York Ave.; I.S. 246, 72 Veronica Place; P.S. 249, at 18 Marlborough Road, I.S. 271, 1137 Herkimer St.; I.S. 55, 2021 Bergen St.; I.S. 292, at 300 Wyona St.; I.S. 383, 1300 Greene Ave.; Franklin K. Lane High School, at 999 Jamaica Ave.; Brooklyn Tech High School, 29 Fort Greene Place; Boys & Girls High School, at 1700 Fulton St.; John Jay High School, 237 7th Ave.; Bushwick High School, 400 Irving Ave.; I.S. 187, at 1171 65 St.; Franklin D. Roosevelt High School; 5800 20 Ave.; and Clara Barton High School, at 910 Classon Ave.
► In Queens. Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Blvd.; Queensborough Community College, at 222-05 56th Ave.; York College, at 94-20 Guy R. Brewer Blvd.; Grover Cleveland High School, at 21-27 Himrod St.; I.S. 217, 85-05 144 St.; Belmont Racetrack, Hempstead Turnpike and Cross Island Parkway; John Adams High School, at 101 Rockaway Blvd.; P.S. 136, at 201-15 115 Ave.; P.S. 19, at 98-02 Roosevelt Ave.; I.S. 74, at 61-15 Oceania St.; J.H.S. 185, 147-26 25 Drive, Bayside High School, 32-24 Corp. Kennedy Blvd., Forest Hills High School, 67-01 110 St.; P.S. 175, 64-35 102 St.; William C. Bryant High School, 48-10 31 Ave.; P.S. 20, at 142-30 Barclay Ave.; Newcomers High School, at 28-01 21st Ave.; P.S. 166, 33-09 35 Ave.; Newtown High School, 48-01 90 St.; Flushing High School, at 35-01 Union St.; Hillcrest High School, at 160-05 Highland Ave.; and Aviation High School; 45-30 36 St.
► In The Bronx. Lehman College, at 250 Bedford Park Blvd.; Bronx Community College, at 20 West 181st St.; I.S. 201, 730 Bryant Ave.; I.S. 98, 1619 Boston Road; P.S. 102, 1827 Archer St.; M.S./H.S. 141, 660 West 237 St.; I.S. 145, at 1000 Teller Ave.; P.S. 211, at 1919 Prospect Ave.; P.S. 92, 100 East 179 St.; P.S. 306, 40 West Tremont Ave.; William H. Taft High School, at 240 East 172 St.; Evander Childs High School, 800 East Gun Hill Road, Harry S. Truman High School, 750 Baychester Ave.; and P.S. 5, 564 Jackson Ave.
► In Staten Island. P.S. 80, at 715 Ocean Terrace; I.S. 51, at 20 Houston St.; Curtis High School, 105 Hamilton Ave.; Tottenville High School, 100 Luten Ave.; and Susan E. Wagner High School, at 1200 Manor Road.
From these locations, evacuees will either be assigned to that shelter or taken to another shelter.
For additional information on evacuation zones and which shelter you should head to, visit www.nyc.gov/hurricanezones or call 311. To see if you are in a flood zone, try the city's address lookup tool.
The city encourages residents in evacuation zones to maintain a "Go Bag" of emergency supplies that they can grab at a moment's notice to flee their homes.
According to the city, the go bag should contain copies of important documents (such as passports, copies of photo IDs and proofs of address kept in a plastic bag), an extra set of car and/or house keys, copies of credit/ATM cards and up to $100 cash in small bills, bottled water and energy bars, flashlights, essential medical information, battery operated AM/FM radio, contact information for friends and relatives, a regional map, first aid kit and child care or other special supplies.
For residents who do not live in an evacuation zone, the city recommends maintaining an Emergency Supply Kit to help ride out the storm at home.
The kit should contain: one gallon of water per person per day, non-perishable canned food, can opener, flashlight, first aid kit, battery-operated radio with extra batteries, whistle, iodine tablets, personal hygiene products, battery-operated phone, and child care supplies or other special items.
Residents with pets should either send them to stay with friends or relatives who live outside the evacuation zone, or otherwise prepare an evacuation kit for them that includes extra food, leashes, muzzles and proof of shots.
Even residents who live outside the evacuation zone are urged to take precaution.
Those living in skyscrapers were asked to be prepared to take shelter below the 10th floor of the buildings.
For additional information about evacuation procedures, the city's full hurricane evacuation plan can be found on www.nyc.gov.
