That’s Great . . . If Only The MTA Signed My Timecard

Underground this, underground that . . . sometimes you wish they never got rid of the Sixth Avenue El:

Powerful thunderstorms swept through the New York metropolitan area this morning, tearing up trees and damaging cars and creating mayhem during the morning commute.

Subway stations were flooded, forcing commuters out onto the streets and into taxis and buses, bringing traffic in many areas to a standstill. The region’s three major airports — La Guardia, Kennedy and Newark — all reported flight cancellations and delays.

No subway line was unaffected by the heavy rains and winds, according to the M.T.A. For the time being, the M.T.A. was advising commuters to stay at home.

. . .

In Brooklyn, the F train was delayed, and as trains started up again later in the morning, subway cars were heavily overcrowded.

John Han, 50, a financial adviser, said he arrived at the Fort Hamilton stop at around 7:45 a.m., but about an hour later had given up and was going home.

“The cars are running, but real slow,” he said, accompanied by his wife. “It looked like a sardine can. We are going home and taking a shower and going to try again, because we are very sweaty.”

Around Brooklyn, motorists drove in search of an open subway line, so that they could park and take the train.

In Manhattan, the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 lines on the West Side, and the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 lines on the East Side had ceased operations as of 8 a.m.

The 42nd Street shuttle was also suspended. The E and L lines were not in service, as were significant portions of the F and J lines.

Furthermore: Commuters Try To Board A Manhattan-Bound 7 Train YouTube Video, Commuters Try To Board A Manhattan-Bound N Train YouTube Video.

Global Warming = More Crime?

Are we to assume that if the earth’s temperature rises, there will be a related rise in crime? Oh my god, don’t tell Al Gore because he’ll probably get all uppity about that, too:

The NYPD — with an assist from Mother Nature — is putting the freeze on crime across the city and in the subways.

February is on pace to be the safest month on record since the NYPD began tracking crime statistics by month 13 years ago, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the Daily News yesterday.

. . .

Citywide crime this month through Sunday has fallen 10% compared with the same period last year.

The number of murders is also down to 46 from 75, a 39% drop, the statistics show.

The reduction in overall crime has coincided with an unusually cold stretch of weather: Temperatures have averaged 24.6 degrees, records show.

But Kelly noted this month’s decline in crime followed a similar reduction in January, which was unusually warm.

“We’ve had a recent cold snap,” Kelly said, acknowledging a link between the cold weather and low crime rate. “But the weather was mild for a significant portion of 2007.”

Gary Conte of the National Weather Service, said during the first 18 days of this month, temperatures in Central Park averaged about 9 degrees below normal. Before the last few days, when the mercury crept above 40, the month was on pace to be one of the coldest in 100 years.

“There’s no doubt with the colder temperatures, more people were inside,” Conte said.

Chuck Has Prognosticated

The latest incarnation of Staten Island Chuck emerged from his tree stump this morning and did not see his shadow:

Staten Island Chuck, a groundhog with a purpose, crawled out of his cozy tree stump at the Staten Island Zoo this morning and what he saw — or rather didn’t see — means an early spring is in our future.

No shadow, no long winter. The formula is simple.

But after this season’s record-breaking warmth that saw the mercury hit 72 degrees on Jan. 6, Chuck’s prediction this morning before a delighted crowd of kids and their parents — and some high-ranking public figures to make it official — was a no-brainer.

More than 200 children, parents and dignitaries stood under the pavilion at the Staten Island Zoo this morning to watch 10-month-old Charles G. Hogg VII make his first appearance on the big stage.

. . .

Standing beside tuxedo-clad Advance Editor Brian J. Laline, who presided over the ceremony, Councilman Michael McMahon made the announcement as the morning’s first sign of snow flurries began to fall.

“I got it, I got it, Chuck has prognosticated,” McMahon proclaimed. “No shadow — spring is coming.”
. . .

Punxsutawney Phil, Chuck’s chief rival, also did not see his shadow and predicted an early spring.

There Was?

They’re saying there was a trace of snow yesterday, making this the latest first snowfall on record:

Yesterday, Jan. 10, a date that will live in meteorological history, snow flurries were glimpsed in Central Park for the first time this winter.

The previous record for the latest recorded snowfall was Jan. 4, 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes discussed with his Cabinet the possible minting of silver dollars.

The first snow yesterday, a chilly, blustery day, follows a period of unusual warmth throughout the Northeast and especially in New York City. A shift in the jet stream, which carries frigid air from the Arctic Circle, appears to have spared the region the usual winter storms so far, meteorologists say.

For the record, flurries fell in the park at 9:55 a.m., when the temperature was 33 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. It was over in less than 15 minutes. New Jersey got more snow, with Newark Liberty International Airport reporting a total of 0.1 inch.

Follow The Money

The mighty horticulturalist union is licking its chops over its good fortune:

Cherry trees in Brooklyn’s Botanic Gardens have hit full bloom months early. Crocuses that shouldn’t be seen until April are flowering, and turtles forgot to hibernate.

With temperatures getting close to 60 degrees yesterday, New York has so far skipped winter — and left nature in a tailspin.

“It is magic out there,” said the garden’s horticulturist Mark Tebbitt.

“In my nine years here, I have never seen this type of growth in winter.”

Snow is another thing New Yorkers haven’t seen this winter, threatening a 115-year-old record for the season’s latest snowfall (Jan. 6, 1892).