GREENWICH VILLAGE — NYU has canceled classes until next week and evacuated students from dorms that were left in the dark after massive power outages swept through Manhattan as Hurricane Sandy hammered the city on Monday.
The university issued an alert on its website notifying students that classes would be suspended until Monday, Nov. 5, and that plans were being put in place to safely shelter students for as long as the power remains out.
“We did not make this decision lightly, and we understand that significant logistical implications accompany it,” the university wrote on its website Tuesday. “For those who remain, we will continue to do all we can to ease the days ahead."
The evacuation was voluntary on Tuesday but would become mandatory if power remained out as of Wednesday, according to a flier distributed to students, who were given the option of staying at temporary campus-provided lodging or with friends and family.
For those left stranded, NYU said Weinstein Residence Hall and the Kimmel Center would remain open to provide food service to students, and the student health center is providing limited services from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the rest of the week.
Evan Powell and Daniel Huskey, both 19-year-old NYU sophomores from Los Angeles, said they were given free grub today at the Kimmel Center.
Both opted to stay uptown with friends during the evacuation, which they said impacted the Alumni, Hayden, Second Street, Greenwich and Brittany dorms. But they credited NYU with being very responsive to the storm, texting students and parents with up-to-date information.
"Honestly, I'm amazed that NYU has responded so well," Powell said. "I'm at least thankful NYU is giving us the option to come to Kimmel."
Huskey agreed.
"I think this was a Black Swan in a sense," Huskey said. "It was an unforeseeable event."
