http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Irene_in_New_York

Last Note:
The "hyped up" storm.

BTW: Gov Cuomo publicly ostracized a reporter for making light of Irene and therefore defending people making hay of Sandy. Gov Cuomo said that to this day some places upstate are living with the consequences of Irene.
Irene was called a Once in 100 Years storm.

The city wanted to avoid needless deaths and therefore sounded the alarm, and while some were spared they didn't realize how lucky they were.
I personally wasn't too affected by Sandy but I realize how lucky I am.

wnyc, You need to do a better job fielding the people who sit in for BL. Something isn't right when your audience is smarter than the guy on the radio. Break out the binders and give us intelligent qualified people.

There are so many many qualified women who could replace BL...
BINDERS full of qualified women - please WNYC break with the sexism and place qualified professionals on the radio. Mike Pesca is insufferable!
He is a sports commentator not a journalist and what he just uttered on the radio is an insult to all BL listeners.

This dovetails with oped in the Times about the loss of oysters at the intersections of fresh- and saltwater bodies throughout the region, and how they had served as a buffer. Development, pollution--all contributors.

i have to say mike pesca should stick to sports and not tell Bloomberg how to run the city of New York. This dumping on Mayor Bloomberg is not comming of a radio station of the stature of WNYC.
I'm dismayed at Mike Pesca's LACK of professionalism!
Yes he is male, (a man), but that doesn't make him qualified on replacing BL.

Irene was a disaster upstate, and NYC didn't KNOW EXACTLY where it would make land fall and took the SAFE than SORRY approach of "hyping it up" as Mike Pesca so eloquently and poetically said on the radio just moments ago.

We should speak about MOTIVE and even the real estate development motives that have been pushed by city officials in the past 12 years. These are being done without regard to safety and the long term effects on the environment and without any consideration about Global warming and the longer term economic development of the region.

We need to understand that Public housing and nursing homes ARE WHERE THEY ARE today BY DESIGN because these people were being placed in areas that are away from the center and in undesirable run down areas.

Jim,,, I totally agree with you. Like all people that complain about Big Government; they want it to keep out of their business but when they're in need of help and especially financial, they're the loudest ones crying for the government handouts. Just like the farmers out west.

In Staten Island Great Kills 70 Tennyson Ave at the very shore is slated for a luxury condominium with 80+ for residents of 55+.4 story building!
It was downzoned a few years ago for. Community board and community voted against it.
Builder took it to BSA for "variance" and the rubberstamp board said OK.
Why are people on that board w. real estate background?? It is on water, wetland!

arverne by the sea, from what i saw, is basically the only area in far rockaway that did not get badly damaged......

"Heavy hand of government" — Several of the areas most heavily impacted by Sandy are comparatively conservative for this region, represented by Republicans (like Grim or King). These are people who rail against 'big government' but they are now expecting that big government to fund their rebuilding in the same place _and_ insure it.

This refers to last segment - why not move bellevue to st Vincent's - just reopen st Vincent's - not flood zone

OK what is an engineered beach?