MANHATTAN — The city sizzled Thursday, giving an early taste of what summer has in store — and offering New Yorkers the chance to test their tactics for dealing with humidity.
Temperatures hit 90 in Central Park by mid-afternoon and were forecast to stay there going into the weekend.
New Yorkers like Laura Raider and her 18-month-old son, Charlie, were in Union Square’s playground, using the sprinklers to cool off.
"The water makes everything better,” said Raider, who lives in Gramercy.
Raider is prepped for worsening weather, however — she had air conditioners at her apartment installed yesterday and expects a blistering summer ahead.
Raina Mahmoud, originally from Egypt, isn’t a stranger to the heat, but she's developed ways to stay cool, even though she covers up for religious reasons, she said.
The key is to wear lightweight clothing and stay out of the sun, she said.
She hasn’t had air conditioning set up in her Bed-Stuy home yet, but intends to soon.
“I’m used to the heat thing,” said Mahmoud, who works at a Dunkin’ Donuts and expects hot days like these to be especially busy ones.
For those who have to work outside in the heat, luck plays a big part.
“You get some sites in Manhattan where the sidewalks are cooking all day long,” said Frank Paladino, 66, who runs a construction company and was overseeing workers at a work site in the Village that had some partial shade.
Paladino said he makes sure his workers get plenty of drinking water and occasionally wet their heads to keep cool.
He said he wasn’t surprised about the abrupt weather shift.
“It always happens,” said the East New York native who now lives in Manhattan.
“You just deal with it.”