A violent nor’easter pummeled New York City and the region Saturday, bringing drenching rain and powerful winds — and toppling a tree that fatally struck a Brooklyn man.
The 56-year-old suffered “trauma throughout his body” when gusts that reached 45 mph downed the tree on Euclid Avenue in East New York around 3:30 p.m., police said.
Follow live updates on the powerful nor’easter set to bring dangerous winds, flooding to the East Coast
The unidentified man was rushed to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after 5 p.m.
The storm, which began pounding the metro area late Friday, is expected to dump up to 8 inches of rain by the time it moves offshore Monday.
The downpours and violent gusts, which could reach 80 mph in some parts of the Northeast, were to come in waves, with lulls in between.
“Mark my words, much more is coming,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a press conference Saturday morning.
She declared emergencies in NYC, Westchester and all of Long Island.
“With tonight’s full moon the tides may even be higher. We expect waves of 20 feet in some areas,” said Hochul.
Coastal areas in Queens, Staten Island, Long Island and the Jersey Shore were inundated as the torrents combined with high tides.
Queens was slammed, with kayakers taking to the roads in Howard Beach and an Uber driver scooping water out of his drowned car on Almeda Avenue in Far Rockaway.
Two cops were injured on the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Glendale after violent winds toppled a tree and lightpole. As they waited for utility crews to arrive, a Nissan SUV slammed into their idling patrol car. The officers were taken to the hospital in stable condition and the SUV’s 60-year-old driver was treated at the scene.
Downed trees and power lines left at least 100,000 homes in the dark along the Atlantic Coast, with nearly 30,000 customers in New Jersey, and 20,000 in New York, without power as of 7 a.m. Saturday. NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill declared emergencies in eight counties.
The storm wiped out the weekend for many, canceling the Global Citizens Festival concert in Central Park, which was expected to draw 60,000 people; along with The All Things Go Festival at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Ed Sheeran canceled his weekend concerts in Foxborough, Mass.
Several Queens bus lines were diverted due to flooding or downed wires. The subways were on schedule, but service on the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Jefferson and Long Branch lines were suspended Saturday morning because of downed trees.
Barrier islands in Long Island and New Jersey were getting the worst of it Saturday.
In Surf City on Long Beach Island, NJ, Andy Carreno negotiated knee-high waters with a young relative in his arms. Nearby, marina owner Kenny Formica said that the storm had carried off boats despite efforts to secure docklines the day before.
“This is like an 8,000-pound boat and, you know, a $150,000 boat — just gone,” he said, adding that he had not seen such heavy flooding since deadly Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
New York City’s Emergency Management Department warned Gothamites living in basements to move to a higher floor.
Some daring beachgoers ignored warnings and spent Saturday at Rockaway Beach, where they caught barrels in waves as high as 10 feet.
Preston Head, 35, came all the way from Laguna Beach, Calif., to shred the gnar out in Rockaway during the storm. Sadly, the aggressive Atlantic Ocean waves busted his board.
“The ocean can be cruel. Today it is very violent,” Head told The Post. “I had some of the best barrels that I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Bobby Gonzalez, a local boogie boarder, had to give up.
“It wasn’t working for me today. The waves were just smashing me in the face,” Gonzalez said, adding, “It was exhausting just trying to get out there.”
Forecasters predicted 4-6 inches of rain for New York City, and 6-8 inches for parts of the Jersey Shore and eastern Long Island, before the rain tapers off Monday afternoon.
“In addition to the rain, significant coastal hazards will persist along the East Coast as the strong northeast winds coincide with high astronomical tides into early next week,” Senior AccuWeather Meteorologist Mike Doll told The Post.
“Due to the prolonged nature of the northeasterly winds, water levels from coastal flooding may be the highest for some locations in several years. Severe beach erosion has already occurred in some areas and will continue to be a problem through the weekend,” Doll said.
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But the problems are not limited to beaches.
“Trees are still full of leaves and the ground is saturated from recent heavy rain. This can lead to downed trees. Power lines may also come down, leading to power outages that could last into early next week for some communities,” Doll said.
Relief comes Tuesday.
“Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday look nicer. High temperatures for most places in the Tri-State area will be in the low to middle 70s with nighttime temperatures dipping into the 50s to lower 60s. Sun and clouds all three days,” Doll said.
Additional reporting by Tina Moore, Nicholas McEntyre, Thomas Gamba-Ellis, Kaydi Pelletier, Nadine Bourne and Mary Connelly.
