New York City battered by fierce storm

New York City struggled to recover on Friday from a fierce storm that roared through Thursday night, throwing down trees like sticks, crippling debris-strewn neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, disrupting commuter rail service and killing at least one person.

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Long Island Rail Road officials said that crews were working through the night to remove debris from tracks, and they hoped to have most service restored for the morning rush hour Friday, but warned of scattered delays, and said service would continue to be suspended on the Port Washington line.

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City officials said they would focus on Friday on cleaning up the debris from the storm —particularly downed tree limbs in many parts of the city - but they cautioned they were still trying to determine the scope of the task.

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Commuters whose trains home were canceled flooded into the subway seeking other routes to Queens.

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Trees were down on every street in the adjacent neighborhood, blocking traffic and preventing residents from getting in or out of their homes.

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The storm and its aftereffects bore many of the hallmarks of a tornado, with the tops of countless trees sheared off and roofs blown off houses.

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Bus and car traffic was reported at a standstill through much of the hardest-hit areas.

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The winds ripped some trees out of sidewalks and blew them 30 to 40 feet knocking out electricity as they landed on power lines.

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The fast-moving storm, with winds estimated at 60 to 80 miles an hour, caused widespread damage. There were numerous reports of small fires, power failures and damage to homes, stores and vehicles.

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The worst of the storm started about 5 p.m., as a warm front from the south approached New York City. A line of thunderstorms moved through, intensifying as they reached the shore, causing winds to rotate within a small area, a characteristic that prompts a tornado warning, according to John Murray, a National Weather Service meteorologist. The storm tore through Staten Island, then Brooklyn, hitting Park Slope and Bedford-Stuyvesant hard. It then moved into Queens, striking strongly at Middle Village, Forest Hills and Bayside.

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