[IMAGE]DSC-0090-copy-2.jpg[/IMAGE] NEW YORK — With wind calculations suggesting Hurricane Irene could endanger subway cars where they run above ground, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials will shut down the subway system, according to the New York Times. Commuter rail lines that serve Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut will also be shut down, as will commuter rail lines — but not buses — in New Jersey.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg also ordered a mandatory evacuation of coastal areas in Brooklyn; Queens, including all of the Rockaways; and Staten Island, along with Battery Park City and the financial district in Lower Manhattan and Governor's Island.  For the full story, click here.

The original story is below:

NEW YORK — With Hurricane Irene headed toward the East Coast, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's New York City Transit is preparing for the possibility of evacuating hundreds of thousands of residents in low-lying areas and a full shutdown of the city's transit system, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking at a news conference from City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he could make a decision by 8 a.m. Saturday about evacuating the public from parts of the city. Irene is expected to begin affecting the New York City region sometime early Sunday morning as a Category 1 storm, Bloomberg said. Such storms have winds of 74 mph or higher.

The mayor also ordered all hospitals, nursing homes and senior homes in low-lying areas to be evacuated Friday, unless they receive a special waiver from both the city and state health commissioners. For the full story, click here.

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