With Memories of Past Disasters in Mind, Locals Prep for Irene

The sun may be have been out and shining for the most part today, but local residents and business owners are taking no chances ahead of this weekend’s storm, with memories of past floods and natural disasters all too fresh in their minds.

In Bronxville, many shops and apartment buildings are under serious threat of flooding due to their proximity to the Bronx River, including , whose co-proprietor Don Di Bona is reminded on a daily basis of the potentially unstoppable and unforgiving force Mother Nature represents.

Not only does Di Bona have pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in 1999 hanging on his office wall – as well as an impressive stack of photographs depicting the damages done to his business in his desk drawer – but the inside of his garage is also marked with a very noticeable chest-high white line, a water mark left by Floyd more than a decade ago. Di Bona also said he has strong recollections of the flood of April 2007, which caused thousands of dollars in damage in Bronxville and was what he called “the biggest I’ve ever seen.”

“We lost everything then,” said Di Bona, whose garage sits only feet away from the Bronx River. “And the way they are talking about [this weekend], it’s going to be even worse than that. We’re going to move everything out. We’re going to move all the cars, and whatever is left over we are going to put up on the lifts. Everything that is electronic is going to be raised. Basically we’re going to clean up the whole floor. We don’t want to take any chances.”

Hurricane Irene isn’t spelling bad news for all local businesses and their owners, however, as certain services and goods are in extremely high demand as a result of residents gearing up for the rough weekend. One neighborhood store fairing particularly well in the pre-hurricane craze is Andre’s Hardware Store in Bronxville, which has been all but ransacked of any type of storm and emergency gear and equipment, everything from windshield protectors to flash-lights and lanterns.

“Flashing lights, batteries, tarps…People are definitely concerned,” said Ron Galloway, employee at Andre’s Hardware. “We’re definitely selling away a lot of materials. People are concerned about the flooding also, and the windows.”

Local supermarkets have also been a busy spot lately, as residents have been urged by state, county and local officials to stock up on water, canned foods and other indispensable items.

Bronxville resident Jim Canty, who recently moved back to the Village from North Carolina, was one of many customers that could be seen lugging away packs of water bottles from the Food Emporium in Bronxville Friday morning, and although he admitted to never having experiencing a hurricane, said he has witnessed a number of tornadoes and has been getting some well-informed advice from a friend at the National Weather Service.

“He said that it’s going to be big,” Canty said. “And when they say it’s going to be as big as one [hurricane] that hit in the fifties, the best thing now is that we know in advance. So we’re definitely prepping for the weekend.”