Croton & Ossining Last Minute Shopping Ahead of Hurricane Irene

People in Ossining and Croton are busy preparing for the storm. Many residents are out right now trying to stock up on food, water, batteries and hardware supplies. The parking lot of the A&P at the Chilmark Shopping Center has been bustling today as people try to do their last minute shopping. "Whatever I had is gone—water, milk, bread… and the D-cell batteries are sold out," said A&P employee Dan Coyne.

"I'm not too worried. I've been through this before with Hurricane Floyd," said Ossining resident Carolyn D'Agostino. "I had some family that was down by Dale Cemetery during Floyd, and they all had to come and stay with us because it was flooded… the train station was completely flooded, so lots of people lost their cars during Floyd."

At the opposite end of the shopping center crowds could be seen going in and out of Radio Shack. That is where we caught up with Briarcliff Manor resident Sharman Propp who just got done shopping in Radio Shack. "I just got batteries, and I actually found a radio at Radio Shack," said Propp, who has been through hurricanes Floyd and Gloria. "I'm hoping that we're spared. If not, we'll just clean up afterward."

Many were happy to find that Radio Shack got a last minute shipment of D-cell batteries via FedEx, but the prized flashlight batteries were gone within five minutes.

Up the road at Croton Hardware on South Riverside Ave. in Croton-on-Hudson residents were stocking up. "People have been getting batteries, flashlights and tarps. People are also buying tape to help reinforce their sliding glass doors. They're also buying gas cans," said Croton Hardware employee and Ossining resident Cary Rooney.

A number of people at Croton Hardware were looking for generators. "We were looking for a generator, but they're out," said Ossining resident Cecilia Smith. "I'm about to call my electrician and see if he can do a battery backup for me."

"I think it's going to hit pretty hard. This is serious," said Briarcliff Manor resident Gary Herbst.