Hurricane Irene: New Yorkers React to the Hype

Hurricane Irene slowly moved its way up the east coast Saturday night, and met New York in the morning as a tropical storm. The city that never sleeps was systematically shut down all night-subway out of service, building elevators shut off expecting major flooding across the island. And while some were affected with power outages and flooded basements, New Yorkers were left feeling a mix of emotions as the storm passed: thankful, disappointed, bored. Just like they did after the earthquake earlier this week, people are taking to facebook and twitter to share their personal accounts.our editor recommendsBox Office Report: Hurricane Irene Takes $25 Mil Bite Out of Box OfficeHurricane Irene Gets a Twitter Handle New mom and daughter ofDonald Trump,Ivanka Trump,tweeted: "In my daughter's 6 weeks of life, she has already experienced an#earthquake& a#hurricane! After all this, the average rain storm should feel pretty uneventful. Meghan Blalock, a writer from Alabama who now lives in NYC,tweeted: "Only NYers would complain about#Irenenot being big + bad enough. A hurricane ain't a new Coen brothers film. It's better to feel nothing." Hurricane Irene: All Broadway Performances Canceled This Weekend Bethenny Frankel apparently couldn't sleep through the storm out in the Hamptons, and reported that a tree that was knocked over took out the power in her home. She also tweeted photos of a lifeguard stand that had been blown a mile away from it's original spot on the beach: "Holy ballshttp://twitpic.com/6cmsgz." Others ignored the advice of Mayor Michael Bloomberg to stay indoors and tweeted pictures from downtown Manhattan, now slightly underwater: Julie Shapiro discovered that Water Street in the Financial Disrict was living up to it's name. She tweeted a photo: "Water Street. Literally.yfrog.com/h3r3hupj." STORY: Hurricane Irene Gets a Twitter Personality Christina Dalit stepped outside of her apartment building at 23rd Street and Avenue C in Manhattan and found several trees had been uprooted. She began tweetingpictures of the mess: "Oh, hey...this happened.yfrog.com/h0w0fkaj#Irene." On facebook, musicianKyle Saulnierreactedto an early report that only one person was left without electricity in Manhattan: "NY1 reports ONE (1) customer without power in Manhattan. Really, guys? One? If that's true, THAT'S your story right there." Alec Baldwin, who just moved into a new apartment in Soho with his girlfriend, Hilaria Thomas, 27, apparently lost electricity, among some other minor storm damage he encountered. He tweeted, "Lots of limbs down. No flooding. 1 window blew out of sun room. Only problem is power's out. I can't play Mayor's Hurricane Bunker on Wii." STORY: Earthquake: Twitter Users Learned of Tremors Seconds Before Feeling Them Comedian Jim Gaffigan, however, tweeted that the storm didn't live up to the hype: "Hey@apluskthat Hurricane Irene was the best episode of "Punk'd" ever." Hari Kunzru followed suit on his twitter: "BREAKING#Irenerevealed as viral marketing stunt by Duracell, Mag-lite andPolandSpring." Comedian Andy Borowitz tweeted a jab at both the Weather Channel and Fox News: "If the Weather Channel loses any more credibility it will be Fox.#irene." Related Topics Alec Baldwin Bethenny Frankel Hurricane Irene