[link to www.ny1.com]

As Hurricane Irene is projected to hit the East Coast this weekend, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his top priority is to evacuate the city's most vulnerable, including hospital patients and nursing home and senior home residents, from low-lying areas in the five boroughs by Friday night.

Mayor's Press Conference
Click here to watch Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Thursday evening press conference on Hurricane Irene.

There are five hospitals and eight nursing home facilities in the so-called "Zone A" evacuation areas — the patches of the city that are most likely to be significantly impacted by Hurricane Irene — that need to have all patients moved to higher ground by 8 p.m. Friday. The city fire department will aid with the evacuations.
Any exceptions will need to be cleared with the city health commissioner and Department of Health and state health officials.

Under the current state of emergency, city agencies will be allowed to "undertake whatever activities and measures are needed" to protect lives and property in the five boroughs.

City officials will decide by 8 a.m. Saturday whether evacuations are needed for residents of the city's low-lyings areas, such as Battery Park City in Manhattan, Coney Island in Brooklyn, the Rockaways in Queens and some parts of Staten Island.

“It is a long time away in meteorological terms,” said Bloomberg, but he said that current predictions that Irene will be a Category 1 hurricane and pass over eastern Queens.

This comes as Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency this afternoon in advance of Hurricane Irene's arrival.

The Category 3 storm could intensify into an even stronger Category 4 today, with winds over 130 mph. By the time Irene gets close to the city, winds could slow to tropical storm levels.