Water Flies Off Grocers' Shelves As Hurricane Irene Spins Towards Brooklyn

Park Slope grocers struggle to keep shelves stocked with water as residents prepare for Hurricane Irene.

At supermarket on Seventh Avenue, four out of the six shelves usually filled with bottled water were almost completely empty by 9:30 a.m.

"We have sold so much water it's crazy," a cashier said as she quickly scanned three cases of bottled water.

Fernando Estevez, the manager of Key Food, said they have sold 175 cases of 24 packs of Poland Spring water bottles by early afternoon.

"I am getting ready for the worst and at least I won’t be thirsty,” said Kathryn Breachwell, who took three cases of Poland Spring from a near-empty shelf. “My dad sent me a text message that read: 'Stay away from windows. Glass kills.’ I was fine before he sent that, but now I'm scared, I have windows in every room. If it gets bad, I'll be in the closet." 

Water shelves at on Fifth Avenue were nearly empty this afternoon, too. But employees were hustling to unload cases from a delivery truck outside the store.

By noon the checkout line snaked with an abnormally large line of customers with shopping carts filled to the brim with supplies. 

Neighborhood resident Colleen Endick, 31 and eight months pregnant, was there to grab additional necessities (water, granola bars and fruit), even though her husband stocked up the house yesterday with provisions like batteries and canned foods.

"I'm pregnant, so I need a lot of water and I want to give water to my dog," she said. "It's not like it goes bad and it’s not bad to have." 

However Endick, like Breachwell, is most concerned about the possible winds shattering her windows. She said she was not terribly worried, but added, "I'm not that relaxed."

At Red, White & Bubbly on Fifth Avenue, people were stocking up on other fluids.

One cashier at the store said the storm stockpiling craze today has lead to an uptick in sales.

"It's our third biggest day of the year," she said. "Christmas, New Year's and Hurricane Irene"